Sustainability

Creating Sustainable Clothing is One of Our Core Values

The apparel industry emits as much as 8-10% of all global greenhouse gases and is the second-largest consumer of water. On top of that, as much as $500 billion in value as unworn clothes are often sent directly to landfill. [source] So the last thing the world needs is more clothes and home goods – items that will, probably, end up in landfill at end-of-life, creating more greenhouse gases, as well as polluting more rivers and streams through production processes. 

 

We strive to make goods that don’t harm the earth before, during, and after, their use

For these reasons, and because we are out to help make the world a better place, we make small runs of apparel so that we don’t overproduce and waste resources.

Our goal is to make fully compostable clothing and home goods that will not be sent to landfill – ever.*

We strive to be a zero-waste apparel manufacturer so that none of our fabric scraps end up in landfill.

We use Canada Post for all our shipments, and choose a level of postage that automatically includes carbon offsets for all parcel shipping.

We use minimally processed natural and organic fabrics and low-impact dyes to maintain the fabric’s natural properties. Low impact dyes are those that contain no heavy metals such as mercury, lead, or chromium.

Traceable supply chain: We work with factories that have responsible environmental and labour practices.

Our apparel and home goods are designed and made in a small shop in Toronto, Ontario, Canada near our office. This means that design changes can be made quickly in a hands-on way instead by video or having samples sent via mail.

We only source from like-minded companies - those which create their products as sustainably as possible. They must also have fair labour practices and if possible, strive for zero-waste in their manufacturing. 

For these reasons, and because we are out to help make the world a better place, we will err on the side of small selections of apparel and home goods until we know they will sell.

 

End of life responsibility: We will take back any CoolYourSweats item you’ve purchased at its natural end of life and recycle or repurpose the fabric. Alternatively, so far, products are fully compostable in backyard composts if prepared properly.

We aren’t perfect, but we are continuously looking for solutions to decrease our overall consumer footprint.

*While our fabric is 100% compostable in backyard composts, our thread is 100% polyester. It turns out cotton thread doesn't have the stretch necessary for knitted garments. When it's time to compost your nightwear, after a very long life, please cut or remove the sewing thread and elastic waistband (for shorts) before cutting up and putting in the composter. Any questions? Please contact us at service@coolyoursweats.com