I read a lot about sustainability, practices & brands. Greenwashing is a big issue and will absolutely not be found here. That's why I've laid out the key points to our business and what's good about them. We would love you to get in touch if there's a specific you don't understand, a topic you want to know more about or something we've missed out completely! Let us know.
Speed is never prioritised over waste. We will always ensure this rings true. The fact that a tree was planted, time and effort was spent ensuring it grows properly, it was cut down, manufactured through various processes to find itself made into fabric, to be shipped to a supplier, to be sold & shipped to a company like ours... all to end up in the bin because someone wanted to cut a pattern a little bit quicker? Nope. Not gonna happen.
There is no planet B.
In order to make use of samples & faulty garments we do all of our photographing in not-quite-perfect items. Yes this can be hard and requires a lot more attention to detail, but it's so worth it. We also have plans to set up a platform for 'faulty' garments (maybe the logo was applied in the wrong place, maybe the stitching on the inside isn't very neat, maybe there's a mark on the fabric). We have no desire to waste these items and this will become live when we have enough items to make it worthwhile. Thankfully we don't have many at the moment.
We're so excited to be paired with One Tree Planted and be able to offer the amazing benefit of a tree being planted for every order! We're proud tree huggers and we're always on the lookout for more ways to help out, so watch this space to see what else we get up to.
We're proud of how our packages look when they turn up on your doorstep. We pour love, care and attention into every part of our business. Why would we stop at the packaging? So, what do we use?
CARDBOARD BOX - made from recycled materials.
TISSUE PAPER - acid free, bleach free, recycled.
OUTER PLASTIC BAG - made from 100% recycled materials, also recyclable (depending on where you live & if your local council accepts soft plastic).
STICKERS - Fully biodegradable & the backing sheet is recyclable.
So, how are we going to make this list smaller?
This is an easy one. We're working through our current supply and will re stock with sustainable elastic - more expensive, but worth it. Not all sizes of eco-friendly elastic are able to be found so this may pop on and off our list, depending on our current garments.
I'm currently working out the best option for our unusable scraps. We're very meticulous when we're cutting our garments and always waste as little as possible, however there is always waste. It cannot be helped.
Two options I'm currently considering:
- Finding a charity shop that will bag up chunks to sell as toy/cushion stuffing.
- Send it to a private recycling company.
As our garments need to be highly durable and hold up under a lot of stretch, specialist threads are used. Woolly nylon & Stretch Polyester to be precise. I'm unable to find any recycled versions of these threads. I will of course keep my eyes out!
Suppliers
We have 2 suppliers of our fabrics, one based in the UK and one based in The Netherlands. I'm very happy with our fabrics and these companies processes (that I know of). However neither of them are as transparent as some other sustainable companies.
We currently don't have an option to change our suppliers and are very aware that no company is perfect so we're happy to sit tight and reap the benefits we get from them.
Bamboo
What is not so wonderful about bamboo is the manufacturing process. In order to make the fibre soft to the touch and not 'woody' it's required to go through a chemical process. There is a way to make bamboo fibre more eco-friendly however it is extremely difficult to find due to its harsh and heavy labour process and high costs.
I definitely recommend researching bamboo fibre more if this is something that interests you. I absolutely love the fibre and if i could find the better for the planet version i would of course stock that. However this doesn't change my love for it. There are so many amazing benefits to wearing bamboo and so I will continue to make with it.
Well, there it is. The good, the bad and the ugly. Was there any ugly? Let us know. We love to hear from you. Any suggestions to improve our practices, queries on our processes or questions on our work.. we want them! Email us now or comment below.
At Raw Flora, we aim to be transparent and honest; we want you to understand why our clothing is the right choice for both you... and the planet.
The Fast Fashion industry attempts to capitalise on quickly moving trends in fashion, creating mass produced, cheap to manufacture garments which are often not built to last.
Raw Flora is a Slow Fashion brand. The slow fashion industry is made up of three main sectors:
The most commonly recycled materials are Polyester (PES) and Nylon. Both the virgin (unrecycled) and recycled finished product are exactly the same - the only difference is where the fibres originate from.
Virgin Polyester and Nylon are both made from oil - a non-renewable fossil fuel.
Recycled PES and Nylon are made from discarded products. Using these recycled materials reduces the need for landfills and lessens the amount of waste contaminating the oceans whilst saving excess water, contributing to a lighter carbon footprint.
Recycled PES:
Recycled PES is made from discarded plastics, such as empty drinks bottles. The discarded plastics can be broken down into PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) pellets which, when melted are formed into a thin fibre and then knitted into the fabric. Raw Flora do not currently carry any recycled PES garments.
Recycled Nylon:
Made from any item which contains large amounts of Nylon. Fishing nets, carpets and tights are all great examples. The items are cleaned and put through a regeneration and purification process to separate the nylon from other fibres that are present in these items. They then follow a similar process to Recycled PES to form the fabric. All of Raw Flora's Nylon is made by the leading recycled nylon brand: Econyl.
For further info there are so many great resources online. We recommend Textile Exchange if you would like to learn more about recycled fabrics.
Using cotton as an example, organic means that no harmful pesticides or fertilisers have been used in the making of the cotton. These substances cause great harm to farmers and their surrounding land. Only cotton can be used on this land and so takes up a large amount of their property that could otherwise be used for other income sources or food. The substances also dry out the cotton, meaning vast quantities of water have to be pumped back into the cotton therefore resulting in large water wastage and excessive energy consumption.
Sustainable fabrics are a lot more common and are the best place to start to achieve an eco friendly world. They are made with conscientious decisions and can be approved standards through Oeko-Tex (see more info below). They are much better for the environment than a standard textile and should always be favoured. To clarify, organic fabrics are sustainable but sustainable fabrics are not necessarily organic. The best example of this is Bamboo.
Bamboo as a whole is a very sustainable fabric and does not require any fertilisers or pesticides. Cultivation of the plant does not use much water. It can be grown organically. However, in the making of the textile some chemicals ARE used and it's for this reason that bamboo fabric can-not be called organic. There is a lot of mis-selling when it comes to 'organic bamboo'. Many companies claim to make or sell organic bamboo textiles. This is simply not the case.
Bamboo will always be a very popular option for clothing as it's highly absorbent and, due to its microporous formation, the fabric is both warming in the cool and cooling in the warm. There are some studies which claim bamboo has anti-bacterial properties, however, more research is needed in this area and so we do not claim this.
Certification is usually given through Oeko-Tex or GOTS.
Oeko-Tex provide indepth inspections of fabric or garment manufacturing to give an internationally recognised standard. See Oeko-Tex to look at all of their different standards and what they mean. At Raw Flora, we use Standard 100 fabrics which means no harmful substances have been used in the manufacturing or dying of the material. This is perfect for people who are allergenic or have sensitive skin.
Organic materials are often given Global Organic Textile Standards (GOTS) approval. This proves, to anyone buying the material, that it's the real deal and you can trust what you read. It is not an easy standard to achieve and requires both time and considerable financial outlay.
The certification chain is where it gets messy. No manufacturer, wholesaler or retailer can claim to have GOTS or Oeko-Tex authentication without having the approval as a business, even if the product has not been altered in any way from the standard approved company they bought it from. Raw Flora are currently unable to gain Oeko-Tex or GOTS certification due to the cost. However, as we know the fabrics we sell are approved, we are more than happy labelling them as organic or 'better than most'. If you wish to see the certification from our wholesalers, please contact us and we'd be more than happy to help.
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