Sustainability
DESIGNED TO LAST
Our products are made to last from durable materials within the principles of The Jeans Redesign project by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
Up to two-thirds of the garments impact on the environment is realised at the design stage so, to reduce our impact on the environment, we source eco-friendly fabrics and components.
We have our materials and facilities independently certified by third parties. It is important to us that the improvements we make to our products and processes are benchmarked and quantifiable.
MATERIALS
RECYCLED COTTON
Recycled cotton is our hero fibre. It is repurposed from either pre or post-consumer cotton waste that would otherwise go to landfill. It is the most sustainable cotton fibre according to the Sustainable Apparel Coalition's HIGGS Index.
Using recycled cotton, as compared to virgin cotton, in our denim give us an immediate saving of 98% of the energy used to make it and 100% of the water used. This is huge and adds up to 8 bath fulls of water per jean. Our recycled cotton comes from our mill partner's in-house shredding plant which is a stones throw from their spinning facility and mill.
RCS AND GRS RECYCLED COTTON
BETTER COTTON INITIATIVE
IT'S IN THE DETAILS
Our entire collection is consciously designed to reduce our impact on the planet and all of our components are carefully researched and selected to help us create the most sustainable products possible.
FSC CERTIFIED SWING TICKETS
OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100
YKK ECO FINISHED HARDWARE AND RECYCLED POLYESTER ZIPS
WOVEN LABELS, POCKETING and WASHCARE LABELS
DENIM PACKAGING
CIRCLE BACK
Remember our jeans are carefully made by people we care about and are designed to last. But if you feel your jeans have completed their journey with you, we won't take it personally. In fact, we'll take them back through our Circle Back initiative and send them to Thrift+, our charity partner. As a thank you for participating, you'll receive credit to spend with us.
For more information on our Circle Back initiative and the other ways we work towards our Circular Mission read here.
ETHICAL FINISHING AND WASHES
Our mill employs the latest technological developments to reduce water and hazardous waste and is a world leader in sustainable processes and fabrics:
LESS DIP DYING - saving water by reducing the amount of indigo vats the yarns pass through.
ZERO WASTE WATER- our mill has a world- class water purification system that gives drinkable water after treatment.
For more information on EIM scores read here.
What we say no to:
POTASSIUM PERMANGANATE - or PP spray. We don't and won't use PP in our production, instead we get those natural vintage fades using advanced laser technology and ozone machines, eliminating both hazardous chemicals and water waste.
BLEACH - we ozone wash instead of using hazardous hypo-chloride bleach.
Did you know that nearly a quarter of the water a jean uses during its life cycle comes from home laundering? For our top tips on how to wash your jeans kindly please read here.
We are a new brand and make everything at our own mill and factory. We are currently working on our code of conduct and are excited to be sharing it on here shortly.
However we centre everything we work towards and all of our partnerships around three of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals:
Gender Equality - Empower Women and Girls and ensure their equal rights.
Reduce Inequalities - Support the marginalised and disadvantaged.
Responsible Consumption and Production - recycled paper, plastic, glass and aluminium.
We will be sharing more about the specifics of how we are working towards these goals in our first biannual report in November 2020.
In the meantime read more about our partnerships here.
CODE OF CONDUCT
At seventy + mochi we understand that the production of clothes has an impact on both people and the planet. That is why we have made it our mission to make denim the right way. We are committed to using kind practices. We will be monitoring how our code of conduct is upheld. Our transparent supply chain helps us to do this but we understand that this can be a work in progress. We promise to work towards continuous improvement.
The below certifications help us ensure that the health and safety of our team is priority no.1. As a consciously kind denim brand one of our key considerations is our employees wellbeing and that of all the people throughout our supply chain. As we are on the ground in our facilities daily we are in the unique position to be able to connect with our team and see first hand how they go about their work. We also ensure that we pay every employee a living wage. With good management and kind practices we aim to look after our workers but these external certifications help us ensure that we are being held accountable and are fully transparent.
HIGG INDEX
Manufacturers use the Higg Facility Tools to measure the social and environmental performance of their facilities. The Sustainable Apparel Coalition developed the suite of tools that is the High Index to measure environmental and social labor impacts across the value chain. With this data, the industry can identify hotspots, continuously improve sustainability performance, and achieve the environmental and social transparency consumers are demanding.
SA 800 CERTIFICATION - SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY
The SA8000 Standard is the world’s leading social certification program. It is an international certification standard that encourages organisations to develop, maintain and apply socially acceptable practices in the workplace.
SA 8000 certification addresses issues including forced and child labour, occupational health and safety, freedom of association and collective bargaining, discrimination, disciplinary practices, working hours, compensation, and management systems.
As well as setting workplace standards worldwide, SA 8000 also embraces existing international agreements, including conventions from the International Labour Organisation, the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
CERTIFICATIONS
Having a simple supply chain gives us full the transparency to make consciously kind choices that are mindful of the planet and its people. The factory that produces seventy + mochi denim has been in our family for over 70 years.
We are helping to pioneer a manufacturing process that reduces water energy and harmful chemical consumption as well as designing out waste.
Our facilities have the below certifications on top of the ones already mentioned above:
ISO
ISO certifies that a management system, manufacturing process, service, or documentation procedure has all the requirements for standardisation and quality assurance.