We are a clothing store that sells t-shirts displaying messages that in many cases are about climate change and other environmental issues. We’re building a brand that’s associated with accountability to the environment, sustainability, and the willingness to confront uncomfortable facts. We pride ourselves on our commitment to the concept of ‘awareness’.
Yet it’s an uncomfortable fact that what we do, in selling cotton-based clothing to accomplish our stated goals, clashes with these ideals. The clothing we sell takes resources to make, and then more resources to get it to you. The production of clothing is very water intensive, while the apparel industry as a whole is responsible for an outsized amount of greenhouse gas emissions. There is no way around this. In spite of the efforts we make to offset our impact explained below, we are not yet a carbon neutral company.
The answer to this issue is complicated, and not perfect. We’re doing everything we can to reduce our impact while remaining competitive and financially viable as a business. This is manifested through selecting suppliers that prioritize sustainability, donations to climate change-focused NGOs with every sale, and a carbon offset program in our check out process. We currently operate with very thin profit margins, but utilize a made-to-order business model that allows for low fixed costs.
Our shirts are not ‘fast fashion’. Our organic and conventional cotton variants utilize heavy fabrics that are pre-shrunk, and will survive many washes in terms of both the fabric and the legibility of the captions.
All of our t-shirts related to the environment and climate change are sourced via organic cotton and recycled rPET (plastic bottles). Organically grown cotton uses significantly less water than conventional cotton, while each shirt reuses the equivalent of approximately 4 plastic bottles. These shirts are sourced by Next Level Apparel.
Our conventional cotton shirts are sourced by Bella+Canvas in Los Angeles. Through a unique manufacturing framework, these shirts use 7x less water in the dyeing process, and are made at manufacturing facilities producing almost no waste.
$1 of every shirt sale, regardless of what collection the shirt is from, is donated to 350.org.
At checkout, you will be given the option to add a carbon offset credit in addition to your purchase. This contribution will fund renewable energy and forest conservation projects. You’ll be able to learn more about where your specific contribution is going in the checkout process, along with further information that will come in a follow up email.
We know that what we do isn’t perfect, but we believe that there’s value in raising awareness about the issues we feature. We are continually striving to improve our sustainability as a business, and hope you can join us on this journey.