Sustainable practice meets great style
We believe sustainability starts with all of us. That’s why we’re working towards eliminating waste in the fashion industry by saving as much material from landfill as possible.
The fashion industry is responsible for a staggering amount of global greenhouse gas emissions. We want to prove that it can be better. Whether that’s by reducing impact at each stage of our garments’ lifecycle or encouraging our customers to choose well and buy less, we’re serious about doing the right thing.
We’re by no means perfect, but we’re committed to transparency and improvement. Have a question about our policies or want to clarify something with our team? Get in touch here.
Upcycled Materials
We believe no material can be more sustainable than those already produced.
We sort through excess, deadstock and discarded textiles and handpick the materials that we believe can be upcycled before they can go to waste. All of our fabrics are carefully selected to meet our sustainable production and quality criteria.
The huge scale of textile waste in the fast fashion industry means that there is plenty of fabric left over for businesses like ours to bring back to life - although we still hope that a sustainable fashion industry reduces the vast amount of deadstock!
For more information on the sustainability of deadstock fabric, read our blog
Limited Styles
No mass production. We focus on hand-picking the best fabrics and imagining creative ways to bring them back to life, creating smaller batches and less waste.
To learn more about why limited collections are better for the environment, read our blog.
Unique Creative Journey
Our designs start from dead-stock, excess and waste materials. This limits our design options. That's why we have great designers come up with creative ways of bringing them back to life.
Net Zero Emissions
100% emissions offsetting via carbon certificates.
Trusted Suppliers
Our fabrics are sourced from excess, deadstock and discarded textiles of mid-scale contract manufacturers. We work with a small number of suppliers who we have an open and trusting relationship with, and regularly conduct visits to ensure good work practice. All of our factories strictly prohibit child labour and employ regular employment policies.
The nature of our upcycling process means we must be located close-by to where large quantities of waste and excess fabrics are generated in the first place, which is typically large-scale factories for fast fashion brands. Therefore whilst our sales, distirubution, design and marketing operations are based in the UK our current suppliers are located in Turkey. Many of these factories are also struggling with their recycling capacity and waste management, so this allows us to maximise our impact.
Finite Packaging
No unnecessary packaging. We use biodegradable shipping bags and recyclable tags/labels to cut down on waste. Our plastic use is minimal; where unavoidable, we use recyclable.
Considered Design
As part of our goal to design waste out of the fashion industry we aim to minimise the amount of design cycles before an item is signed off, restricting it to a single prototype of one colour and size to reduce waste. The number of revisions or design iterations are also kept to a minimum, and once the process is over any failed prototypes are donated to members of the team or their family members.
Minimal Water Waste
We use direct print technology where possible to minimise water waste compared to traditional dyeing methods. Much of the deadstock material we save is white, so wherever possible we use direct printing to save the white fabrics and bring colour to our collections.
1 Order = 1 Tree
We plant a tree for every order we ship, helping you to do your part towards combating climate change
Championing Sustainability
We want to spread the word about sustainability, and build a community of like-minded individuals. Our blog is a perfect mix of information and lifestyle tips guaranteed to get you started on your sustainability journey.
Get started with our 8 Easy Sustainable Fashion Tips to Try Today
Follow us on Instagram @beeandalpaca
Bee & Alpaca
Help us upcycle excess production and dead-stock fabrics.
