Our quest for sustainable workwear!
When it came to a team discussion around corporate workwear, we knew what we were looking for, our requirements were:
To find garments of quality
To find garments produced using environmentally friendly means as much as possible
To find a supplier with social aims
To achieve this, our first port of call was to head to the Buy Social Scotland website. If you’re not familiar with it, this website supports Social Enterprises by offering a directory for customers (corporate and individuals) to browse the hundreds of gifts and products available. This allows us to use our purchasing power for good and shop ethically and sustainably.
It was here that we found Extincts CIC, a Social Enterprise with the mission of mobilising the next generation of animal protectors. They provide sustainable, certified 100% organic clothing and offer a personalisation service. Just what we were looking for! All profits from Extincts CIC go to conservation charities.
From here, I reached out to Lynne at Extincts CIC who was incredibly helpful from the outset. Our original ask was for T-shirts, sweatshirts and some kind of waterproof outdoor wear but Lynne quickly advised that Extincts CIC don’t offer waterproof items so research continues for sustainable, environmentally friendly waterproof coats! If anyone reading this has any suggestions, of materials or Social Enterprises that provide sustainable waterproofs, we’d be all ears!
The Extincts CIC website allowed us to upload our logo and see it as it would be printed on our selected T-shirts & sweatshirts. We were able to visualise the different colour options to see how well our branding would stand out and had the choice between 100% organic cotton products and Remill products which are made from 50% post consumer organic cotton and 50% organic cotton. We opted for the 100% Organic cotton range as this meant we could use the gorgeous navy blue colour which can be seen in the images below.
Not only are our corporate workwear items supporting a Social Enterprise and produced from 100% Organic Cotton, they’re also part of the Teemill circular supply chain. Each garment has a QR code inside. Once the garment is worn out, we scan the code and send it back to be recycled into a new item, keeping materials out of landfill and in the loop.
Extincts CIC really had thought of everything! Once we placed our order, we waited in anticipation for our goods to arrive which of course came promptly while Lynne stayed in contact with us until she knew we were happy with our order. We weren’t surprised when the parcel arrived in fully plastic-free materials and loved the marine themed shipping box - a super cute addition!
While we celebrate all Social Enterprise, our experience with Extincts CIC has been fantastic so we felt it only right to shout about it from the rooftops!
It’s interesting to see the announcement from Circular Communities Scotland this month of the Circular Textiles Fund. The Fund is backed by Scottish Government and administered by Zero Waste Scotland. Its aim is to reduce the environmental impact of textiles and supports the development of a circular supply chain in Scotland. You can read more about the fund here.