We got more curious. What would it take to make products with a holistic approach? We had heard about the Nordic Ecolabel certification, one of the world’s toughest holistic certifications. Sportsmanship came over us, and after a year of documentation and choices together with our supplier, samples and more documentation, in 2018 we obtained the Nordic Ecolabel certification on a group of jeans products. It felt good.
Parallel to this, we also learned that cotton is a dirty crop. From an environmental and human perspective, growing conventional cotton is an industry with a one-sided focus on profit. The environment suffers severely, and so do the people involved.
Viscose is a cellulose based fiber, made from trees. We also learned that deforestation is another structural challenge of our industry, so when a fiber supplier introduced to us viscose made based on trees from replated forestry (FSC or PEFC-certified), the transformation process began…
Industrial washing machines based on new technology were introduced to us. E-Flow nano technology using substantially less water, chemicals and energy in the washing process made sense to us. And the impact could be measured.
From 2019-22 we transformed from the use of conventional cotton to organic cotton. From use of conventional viscose to EcoVero / Birla viscose. From conventional washing methods to eFlow. And from 2022 onwards, these have been and are our choices – because they only make holistic sense.
Achieving ambitious goals makes us want more. The global conversation is more holistic than ever, and we want to follow, being a company as a force for good. Therefore, the next step for us is applying for a B Corp certification latest in 2024. In preparation, we started measuring our CO2 emission, identifying our highest risks in our everyday work following the OECD’s guidelines and much more.
Why? Because years ago, we promised ourselves that whatever we do, it’s got to feel right.