SUSTAINING AND PROTECTING OUR EARTH AND OUR PEOPLE IS IMPORTANT TO US. WE WERE FOUNDED IN 2013 UNDER ONE MESSAGE : TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN EVERY AREA OF OUR BUSINESS MODEL. WE BELIEVE WE ARE THE ONLY BRAND THAT FOCUSES ON MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN EVERY WAY. HERE'S HOW :
For every ethical fashion garment you buy from us, we donate a pair of underwear to a woman in need. Why? Because underwear is the most needed and under-donated item of clothing. It's the only item of clothing that cannot be donated used, it must be donated new. Organizations all over the world request new underwear donations from us on a weekly basis, and we consider it a privilege to learn about the good they're doing in the lives of women and to be able to donate such a necessary basic need to the women they serve.
We source only practical, long-lasting quality fabrics - resulting in longer wear and less waste on the environment. Our classic and most popular fabric blends are made from the fastest-growing plant in the world - bamboo!
95% of our fabrics are OEKO-TEX certified. OEKO-TEX is a company who has dedicated almost 30 years to making the textile industry safer for human and environmental health. The bamboo, fabrics we source ensure no harmful substances were used during any stage of the production. Our lace fabrics are made in a sweat-shop free, fair labor factory in Florida to be long-lasting and low waste.
The majority of our fabrics - about 95% - are fully biodegradable. Because of a combination of our high-quality construction and the long-lasting lifespan of the natural fabrics we source, our garments are intended to happily stay in your closet for years. Unlike plastic apparel like polyester and nylon that sit in landfills until the end of time, our apparel is made to be KIND to the planet. 95% of our fabrics don't have any plastic - we limit elastic and stick to biodegradable fabrics like bamboo, organic cotton, tencel and modal. At the end of your garment's long lifespan, it will begin to break down into the environment and our planet won't be stuck with your closet forever. How cool is that??
This element of our business structure was a non-negotiable since day one. Since we launched sales and production in 2014, we've manufactured every one of our garments in the United States with the goals of sustaining and creating new US manufacturing jobs, ensuring fair wages and fair labor. In 2015, we decided to make an even bigger positive impact on the local economy and lower our carbon footprint even more. We moved all of our cut and sew production to our headquarters city - just a few blocks from our flagship store - in Kansas City, MO.
Because of our commitment to have our products made in Kansas City, this eliminating freight shipping (with the exception of our fabrics before theyre sewn into garments) and therefore lowers our carbon footprint. Our products are even designed by our founder in Kansas City and all of our patterns and prototypes are made in Kansas City.
We pay our sewing contractors and payroll sewing employees not just a fair wage, but a living wage. A living wage in our state of missouri is a minimum of $11.16. We pay our seamstresses and storefront employees a starting wage of $12/hr.
Textile dyeing is the second largest polluter of water globally. In areas of China, India and other parts of the world, dyed water will actually stream out of faucets because of improper disposal of large batch textile dyes usually from large apparel manufacturers. During the dye process, approximately 10-15% of dyes are released into the environment, which is why it's so important for companies and consumers to know how their clothes are being dyed.
When we introduce a new color collection into our line, the majority of time we contract a local maker to hand-dye our sustainable fabrics using natural dyes like avocado dye, ancient indigo, and dye from real marigold flowers. Natural dyes are not only safe for the environment and your body, but we believe in small batch manufacturing and fabric dyeing which also lowers water waste.
Many apparel brands have great sustainability practices and intentions, but when it comes to packaging and shipping, they often let the ball drop for cost savings and end up resorting to plastic bags. Since day one, we've been using packaging/retail bags that are reusable, made in the USA, chemical free, unbleached and eco-friendly. Our shipping mailers were always from recycled materials, but this year we stepped up our sustainability game and replaced our recyclable mailers with 100% compostable shipping mailers from Better Packaging Co to send your packages all over the world. These compostable shipping mailers help lower our overall waste. They're made from corn starch and polylactide which is made from corn waste and other plants. They've been certified to biodegrade in a standard home comport within 180 days.
We even use compostable zip pouches for our bamboo face masks and for our 2-pack boxer brief and 3-pack boxer brief sets.