Sustainable Organic Cotton Clothing

My organic cotton clothing is made by a fantastic company, based in the UK. Garments are constructed in their factory in India, and printed-on-demand on the Isle of Wight. They use sustainable processes throughout. Each item is designed to be sent back to my printer when its worn out, and new products are made from the material that's recovered. How cool is that!

 

I am so proud to be working with this planet-friendly, UK-based company and ready to shout about their operations from the rooftops. If you are as into this as I am, please read on to find out a little more about the way Talking of Plants tees and sweatshirts are produced.

 

Here’s to wearing beautiful sustainable clothing made from natural materials and helping to end waste together.

·𖥸· 

 

cotton buds ready for harvest in morning sun 

Print on demand

Talking of Plants clothing is printed-on-demand. This means that products are printed in real-time, once you place your order on my website. This reduces overproduction and waste-stock being made. Clothing is sent to you directly from the print-on-demand facility, which means it takes just one journey to get to you.

 closeup of grey t shirt neckline

 

Organic cotton

Items are made from natural, organic cotton using renewable energy. The cotton used in the garment production is grown organically in the north of India*. Cotton is produced using co-planting and insect traps to control pests; and manure to fertilise the plants, in place of inorganic, toxic pesticides and fertilisers. These methods create biodiverse habitats and result in the super-soft feel the cotton fabric has. Irrigation for the cotton crop comes nearly all from rainfall which is collected in reservoirs during monsoons.

*The manufacturing of the cotton fabric and the construction of the garments takes place in India, where the cotton grows. The plain clothing is then shipped to England. This causes less impact on the environment than it would to export the raw material to the UK to process it here.

 

Raw organic cotton buds in hands

 

Clean production

Talking of Plants clothes are constructed in India and printed in the UK. 

    • Closed loop system dye house: A lot of water is used in the process of dying garments. The wastewater discharged from some dyehouses is a major source of water-pollution. The dyehouse responsible for colouring Talking of Plants garments uses a closed loop system. This means that after dyeing the fabric, the water used in the process is recovered and cleaned. It is then recirculated for the next batch of dyeing, and this operation is repeated indefinitely. This reduces the amount of contaminated waste-water going back into waterways and contributing to water-pollution.
    • Clean printing: The machines in the UK that print my illustrations onto each item don’t use or produce any hazardous chemicals during the printing process.
    • Carbon neutral: The operation in the UK runs on solar power and in India, the factory owns two wind farms and a 150kw solar array. Throughout the production of this clothing, the machinery used within the factories is dynamically turned on and off as required. This reduces wasted energy.

 

Recyclable packaging

My organic cotton tees and sweatshirts are shipped directly from the people that print them for me. They will arrive in a rip-proof, splash-proof paper mailing bag. They’re even covered in funky doodles, so they’re perfect for reusing, or colouring in! Large orders come in cardboard box sealed with paper tape.

Brown paper mailing bags with printed doodles in black ink

 

Circular organic clothing

Send your worn-out clothes back.

Products are designed to be returned and remade again and again, so they never enter landfill!

I am confident that you are going to love wearing your new threads, and you’ll get a lot of use out of them, but…all good things will eventually come to an end. One day your favourite Talking of Plants garment will look a bit worn out (won’t we all), and when it does you can send it back to be remilled.

Here’s how:

    • Scan the QR code on the care label.
    • Get your Freepost returns instructions.
    • Receive credit to spend at Rapanui. Rapanui are the people who make my clothing and are doing great things to change the clothing economy and industry. This is their little "thanks" to you for helping do great things.
    • Tell me when you have returned a Talking of Plants item of clothing and I will send you an additional discount to use in my shop.

Label in a grey t-shirt with a QR code on it 

The organic cotton recovered from your returned item will be processed and spun into new, organic yarn. It will then be made into brand new products.

 

From the start this clothing is designed to be remade time and time again – known as a “circular economy”. This is different from recycling, or upcycling, where the material is turned into something different before it is then thrown away. A circular economy is infinite because by design the material flows in a loop.

circular fashion economy infographic

 

·𖥸· 

 

If you would like to know anything else about my sustainable, organic clothing range, please send me a message.