A look at the fabrics we use and why
There is a huge amount of hype around ‘Eco friendly’ everything right now, so I wanted to share some of the highlights around the fabrics we use and how they reduce our impact on the environment. We all know that production in any capacity has a negative impact; however we are working to ensure all our products are as environmentally friendly as possible and through sustainability projects, hope to create a carbon neutrality at a bare minimum.
Why use Organic Cotton?
Organic Cotton is grown using only natural fertilisers and non-genetically modified seeds. Wastewater is treated so that no contamination is released into the environment and finishing leaves no dye, bleach or chemical residues.
Just these simple changes mean that farmers can reuse seeds and grow mixed crops helping feed their families and reduce financial risk. The treatment of waste water through organic farming methods maintains soil quality meaning rain water is held in the soil so less water is needed.
Each of our Organic cotton T-shirts use 27 gallons less water to produce than traditional cotton production!
Traditional cotton production uses 10% of the world's pesticides and 25% of the world's insecticides. These strong and often toxic chemical agents pollute the local ecosystems.
Why use Regenerated Cotton?
Regenerated cotton processing includes collecting and sorting waste cotton by colour, shredding and blending with recycled polyester derived from waste plastic bottles and finally re-spun and knitted into new garments
As an example on average our sweaters use 0.22kg of cotton and 19 plastic bottles to produce. This saves over 200g of pesticides and fertilizers,3.2kwH of energy, 2,000 litres of water, 1kg in dyes and finishing chemicals and 11kg of CO2 emissions
Why use Recycled polyester?
Our Recycled polyester process involves taking PET ( polyethylene terephthalate ) plastic bottles and crushing, cleaning and re-polymerising them into polyester chips. These are then melted and extruded before finally being spun into yarn for knitting.
These processes significantly reduce landfill waste, soil contamination, air pollution and water pollution. As well as the indirect benefits above, we also save between 40-50% energy consumption compared to virgin polyester and of course there is no further petroleum or fossil fuel used in producing them.
Why use Eco Viscose
EcoViscose ( a man made natural fibre ) is derived from cellulose which is extracted from sustainably sourced wood pulp. The pulp is then dissolved, spun, finished and dried ready for knitting using a 100% chlorine free process. This closed loop process ensures all water and chemicals used are collected and reused.
Our process has a 0% pollution impact on the local ecosystem and ensures that all wood and pulp is sourced from responsibly managed forests. This fabric is fully biodegradable at end of life, removes soil erosion through reduced multi-crop farming and uses 50% less water than generic viscose production.
Thanks again for taking the time to read about the fabrics we are using for our products. As with the rest of the world, we are continually evolving and learning about new techniques and products. We are fully aware that this is just the very beginning of the journey toward true sustainability, but we welcome you to join us on this exciting transition.