What 'sustainable' actually means to us

"Sustainable" is one of the most overused words in product marketing, so we want to be specific about what it does and doesn't mean for us — and where we are still falling short.

Materials

We use GOTS-certified organic cotton for the tees and hoodie — verifiable supply chain from field to mill. The pleated pants are conventional cotton twill while we look for an organic option at the same weight that doesn't triple the price.

Packaging

Every box, sticker, and bit of tape we ship is paper-based and recyclable. We wrote about the specifics in our packaging post — short version: FSC-certified mailers, unbleached tissue, starch-based paper tape.

Production volume

We produce small runs and restock based on demand rather than forecasting it. This means we sell out of things — which is the source of most of our customer complaints — but it also means we don't end up with warehouses of leftover stock at end-of-season.

Where we fall short

Our small accessories — the lighter, the umbrella, the cables — are sourced from manufacturers we can't directly audit. We disclose factory and country on every product page; we're working toward bringing more of that supply chain into our direct view but we are not there yet. We'd rather be honest about it than make claims we can't back up.