Sustainability and eco claims on textiles

Feb 06 2010

The recent news around the clampdown on eco claims as made by bamboo textiles by the Competition Bureau in Canada and the Federal Trade Commission in the USA were welcome announcements for us. As textile industry veterans, we had long wondered about the eco claims that bamboo marketers were making and was relieved to see that both government departments looked into the complete process of its manufacture and adopted new standards that will determine what makes an eco friendly fabric. The new standards will include “whole process” from the origin of the fibre right down to its processing and its end fate.

The announcements however, raised a question of credibility around eco friendly clothing and with so much new doubts and confusion around what makes an eco friendly tee shirt, we thought we would clarify our position here and invite anyone out there, to let us know whether you think we do enough to support our claim of being”the most earthfriendly clothing” there is.

We define below, our thoughts and opinions on the common questions asked, which is what shapes our policies when we engage in making earthfriendly consumer goods.

Is it sustainable?
We’ve adapted the Brundtland Definition on sustainability as accepted by The World Commission on Environment Development in 1987 as “ a sustainable product must be able to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
- every material and process we choose to use is examined from the time the raw material is picked up to the manufacturing processes needed to transform that raw material into a viable consumer product. The viability of the product in our market place is important as it needs to be good enough to be able to compete with and displace other consumer products which we would like to think, carries a heavier impact on the environment.
- Its social impact has to be dynamic. The creation of jobs that pay a decent wage is important to the sustainability of a product. Every supplier or contractor that is involved with our products gets their full asking price. We ensure that the workers get their due portions by maintaining open communications with them directly so that they can make us aware of any costs issues. To further that open way of doing business, we name the suppliers and contractors publicly so that if anyone wanted to verify our claims, they are able to contact these people directly.
- The environment. If you are familiar with what we have been dong, you will know that our focus has been on materials that are usually casted away like our recycled fibres or something that nature has willingly given up like our fashion jewellery. This is somewhat of a moot point to make if you have been a customer but the most important factor that we look at in determining a sustainable material
is whether the use of this material takes it away from a better end use. As in the case of bamboo fabrics, the charges were that it leads to soil erosion as the plants are harvested off the river banks or in the case of soy fabrics, why use up a food staple for clothing when hunger globally is so prevalent?

Sticking by the adapted version of the Brundtland Definition, we say that yes, our products are truly sustainable in that we’ve only used what our generation is throwing out or what nature has given us without our forced cultivation of that material.

Is is good for the environment?

In order to qualify ourselves to make the eco or earth friendly product claims, we look at the complete process of the product from the way origin material was sourced or produced to the added materials/chemicals if present in mid production all the way to its end fate. We’ve seen the common mistakes made by other products that start off with a decent base like organic cotton produced in a closed loop environment and end up with a horrible product when they start printing it with inks that contain PVC and pthalates.

We stuck with 100% recycled fibres despite the sexy siren call of organic cottons and bamboo because we know what is involved in the whole process of producing fabrics from virgin fibres. We know how much energy, water and chemicals are used to produce simple tee shirts from virgin fibres.

Factors that must be considered for any green products.

1- How much energy did it use to produce and correspondingly, how much CO2 emissions were involved in its production?
In using 100% recycled fibres where first life colors are used to produce new colored fabrics,the use of colored recycled cotton clippings and polyester from recycled PET containers gives us the ability to cut out most of the toxic processes in producing fabric from virgin yarns, whether natural or man made fibres. The energy savings from the reduced processing directly equates to reduced CO2 emissions. The dry process used to recycle the 65% cotton clippings means superior energy savings compared to 100% recycled poly products which requires high heat levels in order to melt the raw materials before extrusion into new yarns.

2- How much of a chemical footprint did it leave in its production?
In using 100% recycled fibres, there is no need for agrichemicals of any sort,whether organic or not to produce the fibres. First life colors also mean that no bleach or dyestuffs and the usual chemicals used to treat and dye fabrics like lead,formaldehyde and pthalates is used. In our refinishing process,which includes the printed labels, we use 100% organic compounds to make up the the labels. The use of the word organic here should not be construed as being safe or non toxic as lead, mercury and formaldehyde are also naturally occurring chemicals.

3- How much water was used in its production?
With drinking water fast becoming a commodity, the last thing we would want to do is to waste this precious natural resource. 100% recycled fibres do not need as much water to process since the dyeing/bleaching and cleaning processes involved in virgin fibres are eliminated.

4-Did the product either directly or indirectly cause the loss of forests or natural habitats for animals?
The canopy of green trees that covered the planet has shrunk the past 20 years as the global population boom increased demand for food and other consumer products. We won’t touch on how trees will absorb carbon dioxide as that pitch is almost synonymous with greenwash marketing. We will say that we are alarmed at the rate of animal spcies extinctions due to the loss of natural habitats for them. Since the source fibres are 100% recyled materials, no land is required to cultivate any crops, thereby freeing up potential farm land for food crops or better still, old growth forests left for the animals to continue their existence.

5-Landfill diversion from using 100% recycled fibres.
Preconsumer/ post industrial cotton clippings and used plastic bottles are given a second life. Every piece of clothing we make is made to last. There is no scrimping on the work or quality in order to make profits. Our goal is to first, displace the production of a conventional tee shirt, which we think uses up too many natural resources to produce and secondly, offer the end consumer the option to keep the tee shirt until they get tired of wearing it, not because it shrank or fell apart.

6-What impact does the manufacturing of the product have on the social/ human side?
We believe that the growing disparity between the haves and have nots will grow to such a level in the coming years, that great social unrest will occur globally and challenge our physical state borders as we see them now. Small as we are, our human mission is to engage everyone that has a hand in our products, as a partner. Where the usual business problems and obstacles are discussed and worked out together. Our hope is that somehow somewhere, the way we work will inspire big corporations to engage in the same business practises as the way business has been done up to now, is obviously not a model that will be sustainable for the planet in the long term.
We do not engage in price squeezing and would rather stay away from a product that is too expensive for market, rather than squeeze our suppliers on prices.
Wherever possible, we pay a premium price better than what our suppliers ask for on the understanding that the better dollars paid trickle down to their employees.
We believe that education is key to the long term future of the planet and that every one on it has a right to try and better their lives through learning. We continue to engage school children in our own communities, to raise awareness about what their daily actions mean to the environment and the planet they will inherit. We continue to sponsor or subsidise children in developing nations where education is a luxury that most cannot afford.
We constantly look for earth friendly products and processes that can engage the unskilled, the elderly so that everyone gets to make a living with their hands.

Point 6 is not directly related to our clothing and the eco claims we make. It is there as part of our standards for what makes a green product in general.



Does this qualify our tee shirts for an ecofriendly claim?We certainly think so.

If you have a question or opinion on these issues, we would love to hear from you as it has been friends and supporters and competitors that have guided our direction and continue to help us shape the future.

Please send all your thoughts and comments to robert[at]eco-gear.ca

eco claims

Has anyone else out there wondered about the eco friendliness of organic cottons and bamboo fabrics? I've been told that neither are ecofriendly and yet the retailers that are selling these to us, keep telling us that they're both good for the environment.