Our Progress Towards A Sustainable Future
It goes without saying that 2020 has been a challenging year; one where we have all needed to reflect, adapt and refocus. With the impact of COVID-19 on so many in the garment sector and the escalating climate crisis, we have reflected on our responsibilities and what we do and value at Cloth & Co. and just how important continual improvement is to us.
We’ve got a long way to go, but we believe this is the right thing to do for people, our planet and our oceans.
We believe ethically-made clothing should be the standard in the apparel industry, where we consider the impact of our actions and let our values guide our decisions as we make our clothing and accessories.
Organic cotton is a great example of our efforts to support ethically-made clothing. It supports biodiversity and soil health, uses rainwater more efficiently, eliminates GMOs and harmful chemicals from we wear, and so much more.
As a sustainable business that values people and the planet we continually strive to not only challenge ourselves to adapt, but to define even better sustainability practices with goals for the years ahead.
Where are we now?
Organic Cotton
Why Organic Cotton? There are many reasons why organic is important but three of the key reasons for us are; to protect the farmers, their families and everyone in the supply chain including you from harmful chemicals, to regenerate life and biodiversity in the soil and to conserve water, without which there would be no life on the planet.
Our cotton is 100% certified organic, we source a longer fibre so it is silky soft and much more durable meaning it looks and feels better and lasts longer.
One of our new initiatives is to work with Chetna Organic for the supply of our beautiful organic cotton for our waffle collections.
Image by Chetna OrganicThis has been an exciting step for Cloth & Co. to be working with this farmer owned organisation. Chetna Organic aims to improve the livelihood options of small scale farming households in the rain-fed regions of India by making their farming systems regenerative and more sustainable which results in being more profitable.
The Chetna program empowers farmers to be able to meet stringent organic standards and create an enabling environment for the farmers so as to not make compliance a burden.
Chetna cotton is completely traceable from seed to bale so we can ensure that none of the fibres are contaminated throughout the processing.
The Chetna Program has been operating since 2004 and today works with over 10,000 farmers spread across the states of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Odisha making a huge impact on these mainly tribal farmers and their communities.
Image by Chetna Organic
Our 2021 goals are not only to increase the amount of cotton we source from Chetna Organic but to move further towards complete supply chain transparency and positive impact through our SA8000 & Fair Trade certified factories, building on our artisan partnerships and hand loomed textiles as well as the use of solar plant energy and water conservation practices.
Chemical Free Dyes
All of our garments and accessories are chemical free and certified to the OEKO-TEX® Standard 100. This ensures that products are free from dangerous substances—chemicals like pesticides, heavy metals, formaldehyde, and undesirable surfactants. The certification is designed to ensure the effect the dyeing industry has on the environment is minimised and the garments are safe for consumers as well as the people who make and sell them.
Compostable Packaging
Having an online business and shipping hundreds of parcels every week set off alarm bells from the outset. We couldn't bear the thought of all that plastic so after a lot of research (compostable packaging was not that easy to find) we have partnered with Better Packing Co. to ensure our products are sent sustainably too. These bags are made from compostable packing and Australian Certified. For a product to be labelled ‘compostable’ within Australia, it must be proven to have no harmful impacts on the worms or microorganisms in its end state after composting.
Image byReducing Our Carbon Footprint
One of the realities for us working out of India is the carbon footprint through shipping to Australia. To support our sustainability measures, we have partnered with Ecologi, a climate crisis organisation who help compensate carbon offset through funding climate projects and providing opportunity for businesses, like us to take action and work towards climate solutions. Our personal impact and plantation of 689 trees has led to a carbon reduction benefit of 6T.
This month we have supported the Istanbul Landfill Gas Extraction which provided clean electricity for 1.2 million homes from treated waste gas and contributed to the Peruvian Protection of the Amazon where 98,932 hectares of prime forest has been managed. Supporting this Climate Crisis organisation is imperative to our sustainability foundations at Cloth & Co. to ensure we take action in saving our Earth.
Image by Offset Earth
Labels / Tags
To support our sustainability measures we have ensured all aspects of our garments and production are contributing positively to people and our planet. Our labels are made from 100% GOTS certified organic cotton and our swing tags are all made from recycled cotton.
We feel there is still a long way to go however we have kicked some goals and want to celebrate our sustainable outcomes so far. Everyone has worked so hard to establish and continue to produce thoughtfully designed, affordable collections that have a positive impact both social and environmental. We also want to acknowledge that we could not have done this without the support of all of our customers, we feel humbled by the incredible feedback we get from so many of you.
Image by Curate Store
We look forward to the year ahead and sharing our achievements at the end of 2021, showcasing Cloth & Co. as a continually growing sustainable and transparent business.
Heres to enjoying the simple (important) things in life, friends and family.
Love from all of us!
Cloth & Co. xx
Feature Image by @onlydecolove