Are we truly sustainable? Part III

Materials

The whole process of choosing the best and most sustainable materials are followed by the 3R principle. This principle stands for: Reduce, reuse and recycle. That’s why we believe in sharing all information of our supply chain openly because we do not have anything to hide.

With this vision in mind we did research on materials which fitted the best by this principle. We found Xpore, our weapon of choice as membrane. This membrane is 58% Bio- PET and 42% polyester, this combination makes it 100% recyclable and results in minimal pollution. Xpore has a lot of environmental friendly credentials, they are a bluesign partner and are working to produce only recycled materials without any pollution in the whole process. Check out this article to learn more about Xpore.

Not only the outershell of our jacket is sustainable, but all details need to follow our vision. 

We partnered up with Rudholm, the market leader in this area. Following all regulations coming from their certifications on Oeko-tex, REACh, Bluesign, Sedex, BSCI and SAC/Higg. This results in a complete jacket which fits completely with our vision.

Production

The next step in the process of producing our newest Open One series is the research in actually producing the product. 

In the fast fashion industry, most companies are still looking for the cheapest labor they can find. Not caring about the safety, the working hours or a fair salary for the working people. As Open Wear, we do not want to join this way of working. We want to make sure that the people that produce our products work in a safe environment, with normal working hours and get paid what they deserve.

We started researching the production and want to find a partner which fits our vision. A factory with experience and innovation is a must. Innovative production methods such as sonic cutting, heat welding and sew-free production make it possible to produce high quality products in an ethical way.

Factory

Waiwah is a real household name in the outerwear world. They established in the 60’s and started out with outerwear and making seam seal waterproof garment in 1981. They are able to deliver high-quality products in an ethical and fair way.

Our 3R principle fits very good with Wai Wah. For example, the leftover fabrics are normally waste, Wai wah uses the leftover products for future reparations and production repairs. The waste of fabrics is around 3% to 5%, all this garment is now being reused. 

Wai Wah is producing our 3-layer shell program and is also the manufacturer of the highest quality products for brands like The North Face, Mammut and Norrøna.

Packaging

Now after the process of producing our new Open One series we still have to send and ship the products to you. The packaging of the products need to be sustainably produced and solid enough to bring the products to your doorstep. We found a company called doosopmaat. This company fits our vision and produces packaging of cardboard which is 80% recycled and the other 20% is made of trees out of scandinavia. They are out of ecologic forests and for every felled tree, they plant two new ones. This is not the only thing, most packaging is 40% too big. Our packaging is exactly tailored, which results in less material, less transport volume and less pollution in the whole process.

Shipping

Now we are in the last part of the whole process, shipping the products to our customers. Our partner Snowcountry is taking care of the whole shipping process. Snowcountry uses parcel companies like UPS, DHL and PostNL that take steps to reduce the CO2 impact of transportation. And although a reduction to zero is, not yet, possible they offset the carbon footprint with carbon compensation programs.

UPS Sustainability

DHL Sustainability

PostNL Sustainability