Colour permitting, most styles in our debut Spring/ Summer collection are made with 95% organic cotton with just a smidgen of cashmere (5%).
Did you know that organic cotton produces 98% less water pollution, 94% fewer greenhouse gas emissions, and removes 450 kg more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere per hectare compared to regular cotton?
Don't worry, nor did we until we started using it for our S21 collection.
So what exactly is organic cotton and how is it different from conventional cotton?
1: Firstly, organic cotton is produced and certified to organic agricultural standards, meaning that it is good for soils, ecosystems and people by using natural processes rather than artificial ones.
Most importantly, organic cotton farming doesn't use toxic chemicals or GMOs (genetically modified organisms).
Instead, it combines tradition, innovation and science to benefit the environment and promote a good quality of life for all involved.
2: It also uses 88% less water and 62% less energy than conventional cotton which uses over 15% of the world's insecticides and 7% of its pesticides.
3: Growing organic cotton also keeps farmers and their families safe as they are not exposed to toxic chemicals in the field, or through their food and water supply.
4:Another important benefit about organic cotton is that it is 80% rain fed, reducing pressure on local water sources. And, in 5 years time, two-thirds of the world’s population may face water shortages. The absence of chemicals also means that water is cleaner and safer.
Conventional cotton by comparison is often grown in water-scarce areas using irrigation. And, did you know that it takes 2,700 litres of water to make a conventional cotton t-shirt?
5: Organic cotton is grown from organic cotton seeds. Cotton seed oil is used in a variety of food products such as cookies, chips and vegetable oil, and is also fed to livestock. So while cotton fibre is not something we put in our body, the by-product can make its way into our diets.
Caring for the world and the people we share it with is a life choice, and choosing organic cotton is part of this choice.
Fives years ago, 26 million metric tonnes of cotton was produced globally, much of it for the apparel industry. Organic cotton makes up less than 1% of this. By choosing organic over conventional cotton you have the purchasing power to influence brands, manufacturers and even farmers.
When you buy organic cotton you are investing in water conservation, cleaner air, better soil and farmer livelihoods. The price for organic cotton is therefore sometimes, but not always, higher. However, with demand on the rise, more choices will become available.
In instances where organic cotton was not available, we used BCI Cotton which comes from the Better Cotton Initiative: the largest cotton sustainability programme in the world. It strives to make cotton better for the people who produce it, and better for the environment it grows in.
Currently, it accounts for 22% of cotton production worldwide.
Our Environmental Values
