My aim is to remain transparent about our manufacturing process. Continue reading to find out a little more about the methods we use during production:
20% of the 80 million garments produced each year are not being bought. What happens to them? They end up being dumped into landfills or even worse, burnt. This is a huge problem. Currently, only 1% of all textile production is made using recycled materials. That leaves us with a huge opportunity to give what would otherwise be discarded another life by recycling it. This is the easiest way to slow down the unsustainable landfill situation the world is currently in.
Natural items can take hundreds of years to breakdown in landfill, and by recycling we are saving all that space! Synthetic products left in landfill will sadly never decompose. They have the most sinister potential to release toxic chemicals like methane and CO2 into the groundwater and surrounding soil.
Recycling saves on energy consumption, water usage and the dyeing process. It also helps reduce the use of virgin fibres.
Just 2.5% of the world’s water is classed as freshwater, with the majority of this being frozen or deep underground. It’s important we consider our water wastage as if we fail to do so, the planet may run out of fresh water in the next 25 years. One t-shirt from crop to shop uses around 2,700 litres of water, the equivalent of what one person drinks in 2.5 years. We reduce water usage in two highly impactful ways.
The first being, we always try to use recycled material which needs almost no water to become a new high quality material; secondly, in the production process, our factory has the latest water saving washing technology. When combining recycling with clean water saving washing technology we can reduce water usage as much as 95%, a staggering 2,500 litres of water saved for every item made.
We have taken cotton scraps from a factory in India that would otherwise be left as waste and partnered the upcycled fibre with spandex to create a beautiful revived material.
By upcycling you immediately minimise the use of natural resources such as water and energy to make a product. On our upcycled cotton, we have decided to use the original colour of the material instead of dyeing it which eliminates the use of chemicals and reduces water usage. By repurposing these waste materials we are saving landfill space.
Another negative from the fashion industry is the disposal of toxic water waste into natural water systems. The world bank estimates that at least 20% of water pollution comes from textile dyeing. Wastewater contains toxins such as lead and mercury which massively harms both aquatic life and the health of millions of humans living close to these water systems.
One of the ways we reduce our negative impact on our planet is by using lower impact certified fabrics and waterless dyeing. This ensures that no harmful toxins are introduced into the environment.