ETHICS & ENVIRONMENT
Hi there, I try wherever possible to source clothes that are ethically and environmentally produced.
Garment manufacture:
Most of the sweatshirts, hoodies & tees etc I print on are produced in factories with the strictest rules and regulations when it comes to ethics and the environment. Everything is either FAIRWEAR or WRAP certified. This means:
- No use of child labour
- No use of forced labour
- Safe and healthy working conditions
- Legal labour contracts
- Environmentally friendly
Most of them are made from organic cotton (this requires much less water to grow, and contains no nasty chemicals) and recycled polyester.
Most of the sweatshirts, hoodies and tees have the following certifications:
GOTS - Global Organic Textile Standard
OEKO- TEX - free of harmful chemicals and safe for human use
PETA - Vegan - no animal testing involves in any of the ingredients or products.
The SuzyD joggers are made in factories in Italy that are inspected regularly by the Italian authorities, who check for a number of things including child labour/working conditions/health & safety. The manufacturers also visit all of the factories every month, subject to Covid. The same conditions apply to the fabric/yarn supply.
The other joggers, jeans and skirts I sell I have checked with the manufacturers and they all assure me that they are produced ethically and the factory workers have good working conditions.
Printing:
All garments are printed in the UK under strict regulations, and the ink is health safe and phthalate free. If you want the most environmentally friendly ink then go for the water based ink printed products, contact me if you want to know which ones these are.
Packaging:
I used to receive all my tops from my printing company nicely folded in a plastic packet. This made them look very nice and was also very convenient for me! I'd then put the plastic packet inside another plastic packet for sending... again, very convenient! But all that plastic didn't sit well with me. So now I receive all my tops in cardboard boxes and wrap them in acid-free tissue paper and send them out in eco-friendly paper packets.
Some of my joggers may arrive in plastic, I have had a word with the manufacturers about this and they are looking into alternatives. The plastic is however recyclable.
The swing tags I use on the products I've designed are made from paper and hemp cord (not plastic).
The return slips are printed on recycled paper.
Carbon offsetting:
I pay a subscription to Ecologi for trees to be planted every month to help soak up carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. If you click here then you can see how many trees I have planted so far. At the time of writing (Dec 24) it is well over 21,000 trees. Although carbon offsetting is not the definitive answer to curbing global warming, being responsible for more trees being planted in the world can only be a good thing!