PURPOSE
- PARTNERSHIPS
- STRIVING FOR BETTER
- SDG'S
- REPORTS
Partnerships and collaboration are invaluable in fostering real positive change as they enable collective efforts, shared knowledge, and diverse perspectives to address complex social and environmental challenges effectively.
THREAD TOGETHER
Thread Together is a charity organisation that aims to reduce clothing waste and support vulnerable communities in Australia. The organisation partners with retailers, manufacturers, and wholesalers to redirect new and excess clothing items to people in need. By doing so, Thread Together helps reduce the environmental impact of clothing waste while providing much-needed clothing to those who cannot afford it.
Through our partnership with Thread Together, Cloth & Co is able to donate surplus clothing to people in need. This helps us reduce waste and ensure that our clothing items are put to good use. We are proud to support Thread Together's mission to reduce clothing waste and help vulnerable communities in Australia.
UPPAREL
As part of our move towards being circular, we have partnered with Sydney based textile recyclers UPPAREL to make it easy for you to minimise what you’re putting into landfill.
As you know most of our well-worn clothing is not suitable for charity or second-hand clothing stores and dumping our clothes on them comes at an enormous cost... So now we have a solution that is much more sustainable!
Upparel offer a circular fashion model to save on our individual landfill waste. Providing an actionable solution to reusing and recycling garments, Upparel are helping us achieve actionable measures towards tackling the climate crisis.
To date, Upparel have saved over 4 million items from landfill, made up of clothing, linen and shoes. This impact has saved over 600,000kg of greenhouse gases polluting the atmosphere.
Our partnership with Upparel offers you an easy solution to minimise your waste, de-clutter and do good for the environment. Just clear out your wardrobe and pack up to 10kg into a box, and have it collected at a small cost of $35. As an added bonus, we will reward you with a $25 Cloth & Co. gift voucher to spend on any full-priced item online!
ECOLOGI
We have partnered with Ecologi to reduce our environmental impact.
It's now common knowledge that one of the best tools to tackle the climate crisis and keep our temperatures from rising above 1.5C is to plant trees. They are also crucial to preventing ecological collapse.
The Eden Reforestation Projects plant millions of trees around the world each month, and they are currently planting mangroves in Madagascar on our behalf.
More than 90% of Madagascar’s original forests have been destroyed, displacing entire animal species and taking away the Malagasy’s ability to farm and live on the land. Entire mangrove estuaries are gone, leaving the bare earth to wash away into the sea.
Planting trees is broadly known for reducing our environmental impact, but it also has a significant impact on communities that are directly affected by deforestation.
DIRT CHARITY
Cloth & Co.'s partnership with DIRT Charity, founded by International Model & Environmentalist Arizona Muse, prioritises 'Regenerative' practices in fibre production, supporting soil regeneration, biodiversity conservation, and sustainability in the fashion industry. Cloth & Co. is donating 5% of all sales of our 100% Organic Cotton collection available online.
Continuous IMPROVEMENT to drive positive social and environmental impact.
At Cloth & Co., we wholeheartedly embrace the philosophy of progress; continuously striving for better, when it comes to our social and environmental impact. We understand that achieving absolute perfection in every aspect of sustainability is an ongoing and intricate journey. Instead, we choose to focus on constant improvement and taking meaningful strides forward.
We recognise that small, consistent changes can culminate in significant collective impact over time. With unwavering transparency, we share both our accomplishments and areas for growth, as we believe that honest communication fosters trust and accountability. Guided by our commitment to sustainable practices, we set ambitious goals and implement innovative solutions to become Climate Positive, Exceed in Labour Practices, Exemplary Work Environments, and Empower Local Communities. We firmly believe that progress is an iterative process of learning, adapting, and evolving, and we are dedicated to effecting positive change, one conscious step at a time.
the united nations sustainable development goals (sdg'S)
Cloth & Co.'s alignment with 12 out of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) represents a significant commitment to sustainability and social responsibility in the fashion industry.
We view our approach as setting us apart in several ways:
1. Holistic Sustainability: Although many fashion labels focus on a set of SDGs, they are typically those directly related to their operations such as responsible consumption and production, and decent work and economic growth. Our approach at Cloth & Co.'s is more comprehensive, addressing a wide range of interconnected global challenges, from poverty and inequality to climate action and environmental conservation. We view this as a fundamental part of who we are and what we set out to do.
2. Operational Transformation: Aligning with such a broad spectrum of SDGs necessitates a profound transformation of standard business practices at all levels. This includes radical supply chain transparency, investment in sustainable technologies, comprehensive workers training and empowerment initiatives, and more. This level of commitment is not common in the industry, particularly for larger brands with more complex supply chains, however at Cloth & Co. we weren't founded as a standard business. Cloth & Co. was created out of a desire for change and positive impact.
3. Brand Differentiation: As the global community becomes more aware and concerned about the social and environmental impact of their purchases, we strongly believe that brands who demonstrate tangible commitments to sustainability are the future. Cloth & Co.'s alignment with these 12 SDGs is an assurance and commitment to our community that we uphold our values and will continue to strive for better.
4. Leadership and Education: By taking a leading role in the fashion industry's sustainability efforts, Cloth & Co. hopes to take strides in a positive direction that we hope will influence and inspire others in the industry towards more sustainable practices.
CLOTH & CO.'S 12 SDG'S
SDG 1: No Poverty
Cloth & Co. contributes to local economies by providing stable income to artisan communities in developing regions. Our main production unit employs women from various marginalised backgrounds empowering them and providing them with access to a living wage and ongoing capacity development.
Impact Metrics:
- Income: Increased income for artisans by 25% on average.
- Poverty reduction: Reduced the poverty rate within their artisan communities by 30%.
SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
Cloth & Co. have partnered with Sewa Shram Shakti foundation, an NGO dedicated to the wholistic rehabilitation of women and girls who have been rescued from human trafficking and sexual violence.
Impact Metrics:
- Health & Safety: The 300 women that have been through this program have been taught basic health & hygiene. They provide good quality sanitary products and nutrient supplements.
- Well-being: Sewa provides counselling and a safe environment for wholistic rehabilitation.
SDG 4: Quality Education
Cloth & Co.'s NGO partner offers skills development training to marginalised women and those rescued from human trafficking and domestic abuse.
Impact Metrics:
- Training: Since 2017, they have trained over 300 survivors in skills development
- Education: All the women that have been through this program have been taught financial management, income generation and bargaining capacity.
SDG 5: Gender Equality
Cloth & Co. promotes gender equality by prioritising women's employment and leadership opportunities. The women in our stitching are educated to understand their rights in a male dominated industry.
Impact Metrics:
- Employment: 100% of Cloth & Co.'s head office employees are women.
- Leadership: Cloth & Co. is a women led, mother & daughter founded business.
- Suppliers: Our focus is on women's empowerment and therefore all of our supply relationships support women. Our regenerative cotton project in Kalahandi, Odisha India supports 500 women farmers.
SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
Cloth & Co. minimises water usage in production by focusing on less water intensive fibre crops such as hemp and regenerative cotton. We ensure that our fabrics are all natural fibres grown without toxic chemicals and independently certified. We work exclusively with certified OEKO-Tex or GOTS dyes.
Impact Metrics:
- Water reduction: Our choice fibres takes in to consideration the use of irrigation. Hemp is a rain-fed crop. Regenerative Cotton is rain-fed with rainwater harvesting used as supplementary.
- Chemical Free Water: We ensure no toxic chemicals are used in our production.
SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
Cloth & Co. ensures living wages, safe working conditions, and career development opportunities.
Impact Metrics:
- Wages: Employees earn a guaranteed living wage and are provided with other resources required to improve their standard of living.
- Employment: Our stitching unit employs ongoing 25 women who have been trained.
- Scope of work: Our stitching unit is structured so that the women can choose their type of work based on interests and strengths. We work on the basis of individuals tailoring whole garments so that it's not mindless repetitive work. They are able to utilise their skills and take pride in what they do and feel rewarded by their individual success.
SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
Cloth & Co. innovates by drawing on traditional craft techniques and artisan skills combined with new technologies and contemporary design innovations to create positive social and environmental impact. We have organised funding for improved infrastructure of our stitching unit
Cloth & Co. continues to research and implement different approaches to more sustainable practices in our sourcing and growing of fibres, production and sourcing for all aspects of our business - from seed to stitch, including all of our operations, Cut make and trims, labelling and packaging.
Impact Metrics:
- Innovation: Invested in the research and development of regenerative agriculture for cotton farming. Continuously investing in the most sustainable options for productions and sourcing.
- Infrastructure: Upgraded infrastructure in the Delhi stitching unit to provide high quality equipment and a good working environment.
SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
The company promotes social inclusion and equality by exclusively employing artisans and women from marginalised communities for their fabric and garment production.
Impact Metrics:
- Employment: 100% of the artisans and women that work in our stitching unit are from marginalised communities.
SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
Cloth & Co. uses organic and natural materials, minimises waste with a focus on circularity.
Impact Metrics:
- Sustainable materials: 100% of products are made from organic and natural fibres. This ensures that the end of life impact of a garment is as minimal as possible.
- Waste reduction: Fabric waste is designed out of the production at inception. We ensure that patterns maximise fabric consumption.
- Maximise longevity: We ensure the highest quality of fabric and construction to extend the life and wearability of the garment.
SDG 13: Climate Action
Cloth & Co. uses natural and organic materials, environmentally friendly dyes, biodegradable, compostable and recyclable packaging. We work with hand loom where ever possible for its zero carbon footprint and as a company we minimises CO2 emissions. We partner with tree planting organisations. We invest in new approaches for example regenerative farming. A large portion of our collection is made from Hemp which sequesters more carbon than it emits.
Impact Metrics:
- Carbon footprint: We are currently measuring it with a goal to be Carbon Positive.
SDG 14: Life Below Water
Cloth & Co. avoids harmful chemicals that could pollute water bodies and endanger aquatic life. We use natural fibres and no synthetics ensuring that no micro plastics are going into our water systems.
Impact Metrics:
- Chemical use: 100% of our production uses environmentally friendly dyes.
- Micro Plastics: 100% of our virgin fibres are natural and therefore there are no micro plastics.
SDG 15: Life on Land
Cloth & Co. contributes to sustainable land management by sourcing organic and sustainable raw materials. We invest in regenerative farming practices. We have a strong focus on animal welfare and ensure that our fibres are independently certified.
Impact Metrics:
- Organic materials: 100% of our cotton is sourced from organic farms with an aim to transfer all of our cotton over to regenerative by 2025
- Land management: Our regenerative cotton project in Kalahandi, Odisha India where land preparation for growing the cotton typically involves low tillage to save organic carbon into the soil, without disturbing the soil structure while removing weeds and unwanted vegetation to ensure proper drainage. We also invest in third party certified land management fibres such as Nativa and Shokay.
COMING SOON.
CLOTH & CO.
Where exceptional quality, craftsmanship, and positive impact converge. We prioritise quality over quantity, curating foundational wardrobe pieces with care. Our design philosophy centres on crafting timeless pieces from the worlds most beautiful sustainable natural fibres. We put people, planet and prosperity at the core of everything we do, minimising our impact and creating positive change.