Sustainability

by Alexandra Taylor April 8, 2021

The good, the bad and the ugly.

Just kidding, there's no ugly here. But we do want to be transparent and show you the positives and negatives to our operations. We have nothing to hide and want you to know what you're buying and who you're supporting.

We are not perfect.

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.

Production & Waste

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.

Giving back

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.

Packaging

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?

Elastic

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.

Waste

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.

Thread

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!

Fabrics

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

Bamboo raises a lot of discussion when it comes to how good the fibre is for the planet. The fact it is a fibre we sell, I believe you know my thoughts.

Some of the wonderful benefits of bamboo include:

The tree is extremely quick growing
No pesticides or herbicides are needed
Cutting it down for manufacturing isn't a problem due to its fast growing nature
Not much man power is required to grow
Little water is needed to grow

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.