1. My garment blanks are sourced from Stanley/Stella in the EU.
I highly recommend taking a look at S/S's beautifully to-the-point sustainability report from 2021 here!
Material: Stanley/Stella works exclusively with materials that are either 100% organic or recycled. More about this specific item's material can be found in "Material & Care Instructions" below.
Working Conditions: Stanley/Stella's supply chain is largely based in underprivileged communities, primarily India and Bangladesh. This has unfortunately received a bad rap in the past, but that's because large companies don't treat their workers well. Instead of acknowledging the ability to support their weaker economies and raise quality of life across the world, they abuse their need for a job, pay them the absolute minimum, and completely forego consideration of working conditions because it saves them money. Stanley/Stella is one company taking great strides to prioritize quality, safe workplace environments. Take a look at S/S's sustainability report above to hear more in detail, straight from them.
Certifications: Stanley/Stella is certified by many leading bodies, including Fair Wear, GOTS, GRS, PETA, OEKO TEX, and OCS. Take a look at S/S's sustainability report above for more information about these certifications or the certification dropdown below for this specific item's certifications.
2. My garments are then printed/embroidered, packaged, and shipped to you via Dropshirt in the Netherlands.
Read it straight on Dropshirt's website here!
On-Demand: I chose to operate with an on-demand model, rather than bulk ordering. Thus, no extra product is produced, reducing waste. It limits my profit and takes a little longer to arrive, but it's time for us to realize these are acceptable sacrifices!
Printing/Embroidery: Dropshirt uses Epson SureColor F3000s for printing. These machines produce less waste, the water-based inks are both GOTS and OEKO TEX certified, and all parts are fully recyclable. Their pre-treatment liquid is also OEKO TEX certified. Dropshirt uses TENCEL™ Lyocell, GRS recycled polyester, and GOTS organic cotton thread, and primarily use backing made from 100% recycled cotton or viscose. For certain types of backing and applique, sustainable alternatives have not yet been created, but they continue to seek out new solutions for the future.
Packaging: Dropshirt has partnered with wastebased and noissue to ensure all packaging is 100% non-toxic and compostable or recyclable. If you choose to return an item, the mailers can be resealed and reused!
Operations & Logistics: Dropshirt's facility is powered by 100% renewable energy sourced from wind and solar farms in the Netherlands! For the small amount of gas they must use to heat their facility in the colder months, they offset it by planting trees with their reforestation partner (read more below). Dropshirt is a carbon-neutral business!
Shipping: Dropshirt ships with PostNL, DeutschePost, and DHL, all of whom have made sustainability a priority. However, given that shipping is largely in control of a handful of big businesses, progress is slow. However, Dropshirt offsets all of the carbon emissions generated in the delivery of their orders, meaning your order!
Non-Profit Partners: Dropshirt is a member of 1% for the Planet and a partner of Trees for All to offset their operations.
3. I then take it one step further.
"Climate Vault" Offset: Stanley/Stella has committed to being completely carbon neutral by 2030, and Dropshirt is already carbon neutral! To go above and beyond, I have added a bonus 250 LBS of carbon-equivalent greenhouse gases to be offset with each item sold via the Climate Vault. The way Climate Vault works is rather confusing even to me, but essentially what they are doing is purchasing carbon pollution permits (that are traditionally bought by nasty big companies so they can pollute) from regulated markets and lock them away in our "vault." In addition, many permits are later sold back into the market and that money is used to fund carbon removal technologies such as direct air capture. This way, the offset from each contribution is immediate instead of planting a tree that will take many years to be fully effective. This is far more than enough to offset the emissions generated for each item sold. According to their 2021 Sustainability Report, Stanley/Stella cannot currently calculate the carbon footprint of their garments, but even a traditional garment produces just around 9.6 LBS of carbon-equivalent greenhouse gases, according to the World Resources Institute (2017).
Conclusion!
This assessment has analyzed the sustainable journey of my products from the soil to your doorstep. My garments are not only 100% organic or recycled, but guarantee sustainable working conditions, printing/embroidery, packaging, operations and logistics, and offsetting. Treevas serves as an example of the ideal future of products as a whole. Treevas is nature's regalia!
