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GENERAL INFORMATION ON CRITERIA

Sustainable design is an important area with many interpretations – some focus on environmental criteria, defining it by a no-waste, circular economy approach, others by the use of solely organic or certified materials or a reduced carbon print production process. Others believe it is social criteria, such as fair and humane treatment of garment workers’ rights, living wages, safe work conditions and representation. For us, it is any and all of the above.

As part of our general design criteria, we believe that sustainable fashion means producing garments with consideration of the environmental and social impact that they will have throughout the total life cycle. We respect the Environmental Profit & Loss model, which evaluates how a positive or negative impact is created to balance earth’s books. In line with science-based targets (targets developed in line with what is necessary to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement – limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels), we look to prevent negative impacts, minimize impacts that are unavoidable, and push for corrective action when possible. After this we look outside of our immediate value cycle to contribute to a world in which people and nature can thrive through collaborations across industries

To support our assessments and criteria over the years, we have worked in collaboration with organisations such as Greenpeace, Cradle To Cradle, and NRDC, and our criteria covers key areas from environmental through to social. Specifically we address the following core areas: human hands, certifications, transparency, textile waste, biodiversity, materials, climate change, water and chemicals.

HUMAN HANDS

Sustainability has never been purely about the environment, it is about people too which is why we assess social factors alongside environmental ones. We are passionate about people, and when it comes to people, relationships and partnerships are central, with a focus on respectful, informative, collaborative and load-sharing across the fashion value cycle. This includes looking beyond economic GDP (monetary measure of the market value) as the only measurement of progress, such as quality of environment, protection of indigenous knowledge, and equitable distribution of prosperity across the value cycle.

Human hands are valued, meaning fair trade, safe working conditions, fair pay and an intersectional approach to business. Examples of the social metrics range from a safe and hygienic working environment, wages and benefits paid, forced, bonded, prison, prohibition of illegal or indentured labor across to community grievance mechanisms and security management for farmers and artisans.

Alongside our own projects, we work with companies, partners, organisations or brands who must center people along the value cycle. For example, this means textile mills and manufacturers, working in accordance with Labour laws, ILO standards and having a robust social compliance policy and compliance team for addressing key issues such as employment status and dismissals, work hours, child labour, wages and benefits, collective bargaining and equitable treatment.

TRANSPARENCY

It is important for our partners to be able to trace and work out impact, monitor process and to then improve the value cycle from raw material extraction to apparel disposal, as much as possible. For us, transparency relates to provenance and the provision of accessible, trustworthy information about origin, journey and impact. Our partners must work with integrity and act for the benefit of people and the planet, being open to all audits and readily providing key accreditations (see list below). For our project, it is important that all involved are traceable and transparent to provide credible communications. We support the use of platforms such as TextileGenesis™, a pioneering traceability platform custom built for the fashion & textile ecosystem for delivering radical transparency from fiber to retail.

MATERIALS

With its huge environmental impact through waste, water consumption, chemical use, greenhouse gas emissions, soil degradation and rainforest destruction, the fashion industry remains a top polluter. It produces 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions due to its long supply chains and energy intensive production. Clothing represents more than 60% of the total textiles used globally and in the last 15 years, clothing production has approximately doubled. Specifically, textiles matter. It is hard to imagine living in a world without them. Nearly everyone, everywhere comes into contact with textiles all the time, and they create a huge environmental impact in the world. Fibers form the basis of the fashion industry – without fibers we have no textiles, and without textiles we have no fashion industry. The global eco fiber market size is growing, with natural eco fibers the second largest segment – accounting for 22.6% of the global market.

We focus on the use of sustainable materials – certified eco-friendly organic and/or recycled materials with proof of certification and measured impact. For example, we work with cellulosic fibers which are of renewable origin, manufactured through a sustainable process, with a focus on carbon neutrality, transparency and biodegradability. For example, core sustainable materials will have any of the following exemplary attributes:

• responsible production such as non-GMO, no harmful pesticides or harmful chemicals used in processing
• protect the health of the workers, farmers, and the soil, air, and water quality within the ecosystem where it grows
• use recycled or repurposed materials to prevent waste from entering landfill
• reduction or elimination of synthetics including those derived from extractive resources, such as oil and gas
• biodegradable and can be recycled back into the manufacturing process
• reduce waste production
• use water efficiently or minimise waste
• climate-friendly initiatives

TEXTILE WASTE

It is important that the companies, partners, organisations or brands that we work with adopt design and process initiatives to reduce and reuse textile waste. All waste from productions is to be recycled, including packaging, fabric cuttings and dyes. This also includes wastewater and the products reuse options for end of life. Key performance indicators measured include Reused Fabric Waste Zero Fabric Waste and Zero production waste. Our partners work to ensure that the lifecycle of materials utilised are sustainably sourced, utilised and disposed to ensure future re-use, repurpose and/or recycling.

In addition, for all hazardous and non-hazardous wastes, agreements are in place with companies licensed by local authorities. All wastes are disposed of through a traceable system.

BIODIVERSITY

The earth has lost an estimated 60% of vertebrate animal populations since 1970, and less than 20% of the world’s ancient forests remain large enough to maintain the biological diversity that’s there. Whilst fashion is not the only contributor, it’s of the most overlooked. We don’t connect clothing to farms or forests but that is where it begins. We have lost touch with what things are made from and how they are made. We are able to create beautiful products because a large majority of our raw materials come directly from nature, or impact it indirectly. Biodiversity encompasses all kinds of life – running from animals, plants, fungi, and even microorganisms that make up our natural world – and so biodiversity impact affects realms such as air, oceans, freshwater, soil, and forests. 

Alongside our own projects, the companies, partners, organisations or brands that we work with focus on materials and processes which do not have a negative impact on biodiversity assesses through a range of metrics such as Annex XVII of REACH (include the Azo Colourants, nickel release, formaldehyde, APEO etc.), ZDHC wastewater test report to ZDHC Gateway Portal with this ZDHC Aid: A826KT92, or the relocation of waste water, chemicals and fabrics to external laboratories for testing.

Specifically RCGD focuses on eco-botanic filaments derived from the renewable resources and manufactured through an efficient closed-loop system. We prefer to work with fibres and filaments which are vegan and biodegradable as well as compostable, so that they can fully revert back to nature. The Vegan Society seeks to promote vegan-friendly products to ensure consumers the avoidance of animal-derived material and animal testing in the production process. These material solutions are ecologically sound with no harm to animals and little impact on the environment.

CLIMATE CHANGE

In 2018 the fashion industry produced 4% of global carbon emissions – an emissions’ share larger than that of France, Germany & the UK combined. From raw material to disposal, the entire lifecycle of our clothing impacts our climate. It has been estimated that the fashion industry emitted around 2.1 billion tonnes of GHG emissions in 2018, equating to 4% of the global total. Overall 52% of fashion’s GHG emissions come from raw material production and fabric and yarn preparation. This is driven by fashion’s obsession with synthetic oil-based materials such as polyester, which account for around 60% of the clothes we produce.

Alongside our own projects, we work with companies, partners, organisations or brands who adopt initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reduce negative impact on climate, such as shifting away from wet towards dry processing, transitioning from coal to electric energy, sewing machines through new technologies and equipment upgrades and more sea and less air transport. Measuring and taking steps to improve the energy usage and emissions is challenging but we are able to provide support for the tracking and improvement process.

WATER

According to Common Objective, it’s estimated that the fashion industry currently uses around 93 billion cubic metres of water per year, which is four percent of all freshwater extraction globally. On current trends, this amount is set to double by 2030. In addition, reducing or removing water from the dyeing process would also reduce or eliminate the levels of toxic effluents, which end up as pollutants in local water systems.

For the companies, partners, organisations or brands that we work with, initiatives to measure water from farm to finishing are undertaken or being undertaken with a focus on reduction of water use in the production process. With the example of wastewater, test results are received at regular intervals from 3rd party through criteria such as the *ICS Environment Audit.

CHEMICALS

Chemicals are used during fiber production, dyeing, bleaching, and wet processing within the apparel industry – and in the process they have huge environmental and social impact. For example, the heavy use of chemicals in cotton farming is causing illness, alongside massive freshwater and ocean water pollution and soil degradation. In addition, some of these substances used in the production of clothing – from textiles to dyes – are also harmful to the consumer and our health. Our skin is the body’s largest organ and absorbs everything that we put on it, including the chemicals in our clothes.

We work with suppliers and partners who use botanical or low-impact dyes to process textiles and produce fabrics in addition to monitoring how chemicals leave manufacturing facilities. All dyes fulfill requirements of Annex XVII of REACH (include the Azo Colourants, nickel release, formaldehyde etc.) For all hazardous and non-hazardous wastes, agreements have been made with companies licensed by local authorities. In addition all wastes are sent with a traceable system. Examples of compliance measures include ZDHC GATEWAY membership and BVE3 MRSL %100 compliance rate.

ACCREDITATION

Certifications can be a challenge, but we work hard to ensure our partners and suppliers are accredited for environmental and social impact by relevant schemes and respected industry bodies. The Ecolabel Index, an independent global directory of ecolabels and environmental certification schemes, counts 463 eco labels across 25 different industry sectors – for our work in sustainable design we focus across these key classifications, certifications, standards and schemes. Examples of programmes and certifications can be found below:

B Corp by B Lab
Bluesign®
CarbonNeutral®
CMiA
Cradle to Cradle Certification ™
Demeter Biodynamic
EU Ecolabel
EWG VERIFIED™
Fair Trade Certified™
Fairtrade Standards
Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)
Global Recycled Standard
Green to Wear 2.0 Standard
GreenScreen Certified™ Standard
ICS Social and Environmental Audit
ISO Standards: ISO 14001:2015
MADE IN GREEN by OEKO-TEX®
Nordic Swan Ecolabel: Nordic SwanSA8000 certified
Plastic Free™️ certification
Recycled Claim Standard
SA8000 Social Accountability International
STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX®
Sustainable Fair Trade Management System
The Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS)
The Higg Index – Sustainable Apparel Coalition
The Vegan Trademark
WFTO Fair Trade Standard
Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production
SEDEX (Ethical)
BSCI Certificate: Sustainable Cotton Certificate
Confidence in Textile