We’re Always Working on Improving
It's no secret that the clothing and textile industry has a long way to go when it comes to sustainability. We understand we have a responsibility to try to improve and it's not something we shy away from. We're a relatively small company, and it can be difficult to navigate without the right resources. But, we feel it's so important everyone does their part, no matter their size or industry. We've been doing a lot of research and looking at ways big or small we can improve our practices. We don't profess to have all the answers. In fact, so many of the questions we have explored only turned up more questions. The deeper you look, the more complicated you begin to realise these topics often are, and that there are unfortunately no easy answers or silver bullets. One thing we do know for sure is you have to start somewhere.
We encourage feedback and suggestions from our customers. Our products end up in the hands of others, so it's important we work in collaboration with our community to ensure the changes we implement are understood and adoptable by the people on the other side.
Built To Re-Use
Single-use soft plastics are a necessary evil to help keep garments organised and free from stains or damage. Compostable bags are great, but not everyone has access to a compost bin. Recycling soft plastic is also an important part of the chain, but unfortunately so much soft plastic never ends up being recycled. So we have been exploring the idea of making something usually destined for single-use, re-usable. With that in mind, our new garment bags are made from recycled plastic and are the same size as a 12" record sleeve. We know not everyone has records, we suggest giving them on to a friend who does! Unfortunately, not every garment we make fits in a 12" bag of this size, but any of the garment bag sizes can come in handy for storage and organising things around the home or when travelling. Our hang tags are made from recycled paper, printed with vegetable ink and are now attached to the garment with uncoated string. Please dispose of these thoughtfully.If you can't re-use our garment bags. Please make sure you recycle in soft plastic recycling bins.
It's an important thing to note, we couldn't use compostable bags for our garment bags, as you can't get them completely see-thru (which would make the record sleeve idea obsolete). Compostable bags can't be put in soft plastic recycling bins. A contaminated bin can cause the whole load to be discarded. So, unless you can compost them (or give them to someone who can) please put these in a regular waste bin.
Reuse: Our new garment bags are made from recycled plastic and are the same size as a 12" record sleeve.
We also use compostable mail satchels (made from plants) with orders from our global web store. We know our customers have varied preferences and willingness to engage, as well as different accessibility to a compost or plastic recycling bin depending on where they live. We're hopeful that with the combination of re-usability, recycled plastic garment bags, and compostable mailer bags, we will be able to get a better strike rate of responsible and thoughtful re-use, recycling and composting of our packaging.
Organic Cotton
We're working on bringing more organic cotton to our line with the introduction of our Certified Organic T-shirts.
Why is organic cotton better? Well, organic cotton farming introduces no chemicals into the environment and has a notably lower carbon footprint, uses less fuel, water and energy to produce. The dyes are also AZO free, meeting the OEKO-TEX 100 environmental protection requirements.
We're working on bringing more organic fabrics to our line. Stay tuned!
Our Factory
The main factories we work with to produce our garments are in Los Angeles (for printables) and China (for cut & sew). It's extremely important to us that the factories we work with reflect the same values we have as a company, and the many different people that help bring our garments to life are paid and treated fairly. Our China factory has around 100 workers. All workers are paid a reward rate and work in a clean and safe environment. One hour lunch breaks are in place and workers can do overtime and are paid above award rate if they choose to work extra hours. We've had long-running relationships with our factories, and they understand and share our values in building products up to a high standard, not down to a price, and maintaining an ethical working environment for all in doing so.