Our Fabrics
Hemp
The fiber of all fibers. Hemp is comfortable, breathable and wears in like no other. It’s farming requires only the basics: water, soil and sun and naturally exhibits anti-microbial properties. With it’s newly legal status, we hope to encourage the growth of this climate beneficial fiber by using it in our lines.
The benefits of using hemp span far and wide. Clothing made of hemp fiber is lightweight and absorbent, with three times the tensile strength of cotton. It is UV and mold-resistant and tough as nails.
Organic Cotton
Cotton isn’t perfect by any stretch, but by making a simple choice to opt for organic cotton, we can eliminate a major portion of the problem. The pesticide run off from non-organic cotton is a major polluter of our waterways and oceans. Opting for organic eliminates this.
Cotton is naturally soft. It’s a chemical-free natural fiber that is hypoallergenic and easy on nearly all skin types. Cared for properly, it only wears better over time.
Recycled Polyester
Using recycled polyesters is about two things: Breathing a second life into a fiber that would otherwise be waste, and reducing the amount of petroleum involved in the creation of our fabrics. We see this as positive steps towards more sustainable products.
Polyester fibers are extremely strong making for a super durable fabric. It is naturally stretchy, resistant to shrinking and wrinkling, and mildew and abrasion resistant. Hydrophobic in nature and quick drying, it makes for a reliable athletic fabric.
Our Fabric Dyeing Process
We think its important to practice sustainable operations. Through special technology we're able to improve our processes to have as little negative environmental impact as possible.
BLUESIGN® CERTIFIED
The bluesign® certification focuses on responsible and sustainable manufacturing of textile consumer products. Operating under the bluesign® certification, our suppliers trace each textile’s path along the manufacturing process, making improvements at every stage from factory floor to finished product to ensure it has been produced in the most eco-friendly manner possible.
WASTE WATER HEAT RECOVERY
Waste-water is a huge by-product of dyeing fabric. Our suppliers have optimized their facilities to mitigate the output of waste water by implementing systems like state of the art Waste Water Heat Recovery that enables them to recover the waste water energy and use it to preheat incoming cold water.
THERMAL OXIDATION
Our California supplier utilizes a Thermal Oxidizing system to clean the hot exhaust air leaving the dryers. In this oxidation process, exhaust air is trapped and burned off at 1100 degrees Fahrenheit, recycling dryer air and producing steam. The Result: they have substantially lowered gas usage and contributed to cleaner air.
L.I.T. LOW IMPACT TECHNOLOGY
L.I.T. technology allows a significant savings of 15% less dyestuffs, 22% less electricity for heating and cooling, 50% less thermal energy to create steam and 60% less water over conventional dyeing in turn creating less waste products that must be recycled or reclaimed. It not only does so without sacrificing color quality or hand it adds enhanced softness, performance and after-care quality.
Manufacturing Stateside
We play a role in our small circle and our actions create ripples that extend further than we could have ever expected. That’s why we do our best to keep things as local as possible manufacturing stateside in California.
A common response to this is always: “Why? Isn’t that so expensive?” and that’s fair, but the way we see it, there’s more to manufacturing than the price tag. Each of these contribute to the final cost of the garment, and some may argue that that’s too much. But hey, it helps us sleep at night.
REDUCTION OF CARBON FOOTPRINT
By localizing production in California, we can eliminate unnecessary CO2 emissions from shipping raw materials around the world. This helps us lower our carbon footprint.
By manufacturing in California, our factories must abide by city and state environmental regulations and consciously work to reduce their carbon footprint.
EMPLOYEE SAFETY STANDARDS
By employing US citizens, we guarantee that they are paid a living wage.
By manufacturing in California, we’re confident that we’re not contributing to child labor. All of our extended team is of legal working age.
By localizing manufacturing, we can and do show up at any time to walk the floor, check in on the teams and see that the conditions of the factories are safe and clean.
Our Packaging
We understand that we have the ability to make better decisions about our packaging; so we are - because it matters. All of our products are mailed in compostable mailers and boxes and we are actively working to eliminate single-use plastic from our business.
Aquapak Garment Bags
Bio-degradable garment bags that are non-toxic, marine-safe, and soluble in warm or hot water.
Recycled (and recyclable) Mailers
Imagine if your packaging actually cleaned up the environment and helped break the cycle of poverty and plastic pollution at the same time. These bags are proof it can be done!
Post-consumer cardboard boxes
All of our boxes are made from 100% post-consumer materials and are recyclable, biodegradable, and compostable.
In our third showing at Outdoor Retailer, the largest outdoor industry tradeshow in North America, we decided to take a different route. Having digested 2018’s clean up data showcasing an obscene and unprecedented amount of waste created by this three-day 150K person event, we understood we could not contribute to the problem going forward.
Rethinking our footprint at the tradeshow we decided that it was time to complement our sustainability initiatives and take a new stance. Being a DIY, bootstrapped brand presented unique constraints *cough* No budget, but we landed on a concept with the help of our or friend and previous booth builder Mr. Julian Sandpaper.
12 Panels of 4x8 plywood panels, pressed with soy based (biodegradable) glue and 10 steel fasteners would construct our 20t by 10 ft space. That’s it.
By CNC-ing the tables, chairs and signage out of the wood used for the walls, we realized we could create a jigsaw puzzle of a booth that not only looked great and functioned the way we needed, but also created very little waste.
Sawdust to be precise.
Here’s the question we ask ourselves: Do you feel good about the work you’re doing? ….. And the conclusion we keep drawing is that we can do more.
As a small brand, we know that we can’t right all wrongs.. But we also know that our actions create reactions that we’re accountable for. We decided to become Climate Neutral Certified because we recognize that we must do everything in our small corner of the world to be a catalyst for positive change. This is one small step that we hope will make waves far beyond our reach.
To become Climate Neutral Certified, we measured our yearly greenhouse gas emissions footprint, purchased carbon credits to offset our impact and implemented strategic carbon reduction plans across various channels of our business from manufacturing to ecommerce.
In 2021 we’re committing to the removal of 95% of single use plastic in online orders, and in 2020 we began to shift away from traditional cottons in favor of more sustainable fabrics like hemp and recycled polyester.
“Climate neutral certified companies show the world that immediate action on climate change is possible and essential."
- Austin Whitman CEO Climate Neutral
One percent doesn’t sound like a lot, but when we joined the 3000+ like-minded brands who make up 1% For The Planet, we were quick to realize the strength in numbers. Our contribution as a small brand, albeit modest, plays a significant role in a larger narrative.
Whether it’s within our immediate community or at the depths of the ocean, these partnerships provide the opportunity to work alongside and tell the stories of organizations doing work we truly believe in. These contributions fund meaningful work happening in a world that desperately needs it.
We’re just getting started here so check back soon. We’ll be telling stories and sharing the work of our 1% partners.
