Environmental Policy

Respect and Stewardship for All that Nature Gives Us Means Helping Everyone Make Greener Choices

The choices you and I make every day leave their mark on the environment for generations to come.

For a company, that mark can be huge.

We count it a privilege to use the word “Earth” in our name as a green clothing company. When you love and appreciate the outdoors as much as the founders of Fashion & Earth do, you want to do everything you can to ensure that not only you, but your children, and their children, too, will be able to experience the peace, the feeling of belonging, the feeling of being truly alive that untouched nature can bring.

These gifts of nature, evident when you’re kayaking on a pristine river, camping in an ages-old forest, hiking a majestic peak, scuba diving a coral reef – or simply relaxing at the beach – will be protected to the greatest extent possible by all our actions, as individuals and as a green clothing company.

But we know you don’t have to be the outdoor type to appreciate the benefits of clothing that’s better for you and the environment, too.

Beyond the commitment we make to environmentally responsible practices ourselves, our governing vision is to make green clothing choices easier for everyone. So every time you purchase green clothing at Fashion & Earth, you can be assured your new organic clothing item is manufactured according to fair trade guidelines and with a commitment to sustainable practices.

Together, our commitment as individuals can magnify the choices that each of us makes.

We invite you to learn more about how we conduct our stewardship for the Earth. The following environmental policy is only a starting point for our corporation. Each year, we will self-audit our activities to make sure we are meeting our environmental goals and to find ways to further improve.

Updated July 15, 2008.

Our Commitment Starts with Selling Only Eco-Friendly Products

When an organization truly cares about the mark it will make, it must embrace the highest level of environmentally and socially sustainable choices right from one end of the organization to the other. Our commitment to the environment begins with our products - the green clothing we offer to families.

All of our eco-friendly products are chosen based on several key criteria. You can be assured that every item of clothing at Fashion & Earth meets the following requirements:

All cotton, hemp, soy, and wool products must be certified organic according to national or international standards (eg. SKAL , GOTS ) and certified by any IFOAM accredited or internationally recognized certifier (eg. IMO). All bamboo clothing must be at least [Oeko-Tex 100]certified and preferably [Oeeko-Tex 1000] certified.
All clothing items must contain at least 95% organic or sustainable material. (It is currently not possible to obtain conventional organic certification for bamboo clothing products since bamboo is a wild plant and therefore not subjected to the same culture practices as conventional fibers such as cotton. However, it is still considered a sustainable fiber offering significant environmental benefits. Read more about the fabrics used in our green clothing)
All accessory products must be produced from certified organic, sustainable or recycled materials.
All products including clothing and accessories must be manufactured under conditions that meet the fair trade guidelines as set by Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International.
All products including clothing and accessories must be manufactured in a way that minimizes harm to the environment:
- No azo-based dyes are permitted in the manufacturing of any clothing or products sold at Fashion & Earth. (Azo-based dyes are known to be carcinogenic to humans and animals yet are still used in the conventional garment industry.)
- Formalin is not permitted in the manufacturing of any clothing or products sold at Fashion & Earth. (Formalin is a known carcinogen that is still used in conventional garment manufacturing.)
- In the case of bamboo clothing, the manufacturer must demonstrate that the products have been produced using the lyocell process. The lyocell process is a closed-loop production technique that recycles 99.5% of the chemical stream with very little waste entering the environment.
- All other manufacturing processes used in the creation of the green clothing available through Fashion & Earth must demonstrate efforts to minimize water consumption, energy consumption and environmental discharge.

Best of all, the organic clothing we offer is suited for a wide range of people and daily activities, making it practical and affordable for everyone to make environmentally preferable clothing choices.

Reducing Transportation Needs

Approximately 45% of global CO2 emissions are produced by North American vehicles. To minimize our impact, we keep travel to a minimum. We use teleconference technology whenever possible to communicate. If travel is required, mileage is carefully documented and at the end of the year, carbon off-set credits are purchased from our local utility

North American workers spend an average of 47 hours per year commuting through rush hour traffic. This adds up to 3.7 billion hours and 23 billion gallons of gas wasted in traffic each year. Our corporate vehicles are chosen based on their safety and fuel efficiency. We encourage staff members to do the same by offering a financial incentive toward a vehicle purchase that has a fuel efficiency of 34 MPG (7L per 100 Km) or better. Additionally, we encourage our staff to carpool or bike to work if possible.

Minimizing Electricity Usage

We have taken steps to ensure we only use the minimum electricity required to operate the business. To begin with, all office space is well lit to take advantage of outdoor light throughout the day. The office lights installed are equipped with low wattage fluorescent bulbs for those times when work extends beyond daylight hours.

Whenever possible, multi-functional office equipment is used. This reduces overall power consumption and reduces environmental impact, as less energy and manufacturing is involved in the production of multi-functional devices. All office equipment meets the highest EPA standard for electricity usage and is turned off at end of day to conserve energy.

Our office’s entire power consumption is powered through wind power credits purchased from our local utility.

Environmentally Preferable Office Equipment

Running an e-commerce business inherently requires the use of computers and office equipment. Thankfully, there are environmentally preferable choices available, which Fashion & Earth makes use of to their full extent.

All office equipment is chosen based on its energy efficiency. All monitors and computers must meet the EPEAT Gold Standard.

When purchasing new office equipment to replace older equipment, we first look at re-furbishing the old equipment and donating it to an organization such as a school, church or other non-profit group. If the equipment is un-usable, then the item is sent back to the OEM or a recycling facility for reclamation.

Fewer Consumables

Paper accounts for almost 40% of all the land-fill waste in North America. For us, that’s a good enough reason to strive toward being a paperless office.

All efforts are made to minimize paper usage relying instead on maintaining digital records and sharing information digitally. If printing is required, we only use 100% recycled paper or FSC-certified paper where available. We do not offer a printed green clothing catalog but rather, encourage our customers to view our online eco fashion catalog.

We look at every consumable item with the question first “is it required?” This applies to everything from pens, pencils, and notepads to highlighters, binders, labels, and more. If we must have that item, then we look for recycled options next. If recycled is not available then we buy products that are non-toxic and durable – if they last a long time, they don’t end up in the landfill!

All office by-products such as toner cartridges, paper products, plastics, etc. are recycled.

All waste we might produce that can be recycled (e.g. aluminum cans, plastic and glass bottles, paper, cardboard, etc.) is recycled, and all organics (coffee grains, tea bags, etc.) are composted.

Small Things That Add Up

We encourage staff to use their own plates, utensils, mugs and to bring their food to work in re-usable containers;
When purchasing corporate gifts such as wedding, shower gifts, etc, we always make sure to purchase green or fair trade gifts.
Only eco-friendly cleaning products are used.
We purchase only fair trade organic coffee for office use.
When considering furniture purchases, we look for options such as used furniture or furniture manufactured from recycled and non-toxic materials;

We stand not only to fulfill this commitment to a sustainable future ourselves, but also to invite you to join us in making greener choices every day, starting with green clothing that won’t compromise your style or your pocketbook.

If you have questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to contact us today at info@fashionandearth.com.