{"id":57033,"title":"Our sustainability story at Balearic Cafe.","description":"By using circular organic cotton in our shop, we bypass all the issues with microplastic pollution from clothing. And by shopping with us, you are supporting a better way forward for fashion.","content":"

Use rain well. Don\u2019t drain wells.<\/strong><\/h2>

In Uzbekistan, cotton farming used up so much water from the Aral Sea that the whole sea dried up. That\u2019s because the water was diverted to dry places so they could grow cotton in a USSR-era mega project that went quite badly wrong. But cotton is a natural material and nature doesn\u2019t design things badly. In some places in the World, like Northern India where there are heavy Monsoon rains, it grows naturally without irrigation. So what matters is where it is grown. Our t-shirts start the right way, because our organic cotton starts under monsoon skies. Use rain well, don\u2019t drain wells.<\/span><\/p>

Eight cups a day, for three plus years<\/strong><\/h2>

If you look at the amount of water, it takes to produce one shirt in a \u2018business as usual\u2019 scenario it works out around 700 gallons of water. That\u2019s enough for one person to drink at least eight cups per day for three and a half years, according to the World Economic Forum. That\u2019s why the fashion industry is the second-largest consumer of water worldwide. But organic farming leads to healthier soil and water. It\u2019s simply more natural, especially if you do it in places that are naturally rainy like Northern India. That\u2019s where the raw material for our items starts out. Using rain well (instead of draining wells) is one of many practical choices that makes a supply chain sustainable. No drought? No doubt.<\/span><\/p>

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Rivers, we're not like the others.<\/strong><\/h2>

Fashion causes water-pollution problems. Textile dyeing is the world\u2019s second-largest polluter of water, since the water leftover from the dyeing process is often dumped into ditches, streams, or rivers. According to the World Economic Forum, worldwide textile dyeing processes get through enough water to fill 2 million Olympic-sized swimming pools each year. Not in our supply chain. Water from the end of the dyeing process is recovered, cleaned and reutilised back at the start. It\u2019s a loop, like the water cycle, where there\u2019s no wastewater. Just water, that goes around and around. You're welcome, rivers.<\/span><\/p>

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Plastic clothes harm our oceans<\/strong><\/h2>

It is estimated by the IUCN that around half a million tonnes of plastic microfibers shed during the washing of plastic-based textiles such as polyester, nylon, or acrylic end up in the ocean every year. 60% of clothing is made with plastic, which is not a natural material. So it is not surprising that pumping mountains of synthetic waste out leads to negative effects for nature. The problem is that humans are dependent on nature's biological systems to survive, and the rapid build-up of pollution in our foodchains like carbon in our atmosphere is a threat to our future. That\u2019s why our products are made from natural, organic materials and made using renewable energy. It\u2019s a simple choice.<\/span><\/p>

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A trickle of waste leads to an ocean of trouble<\/strong><\/h2>

In the fashion economy today, resources are extracted and turned into products that are designed to be thrown away. An EMF study showed that as a result of this linear economy, a dump truck per second of textile waste ends up in landfill or incinerators every second. This is unsustainable. And it\u2019s why in response, our products are made from natural biodegradable materials including post-consumer recycled organic cotton. Reimagining materials flow as a loop instead of a line means that instead of creating waste that goes to landfill, we can create new products from it.<\/span><\/p>

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A 2017 report from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) estimated that 35% of all microplastics in the ocean came from the washing of synthetic textiles like polyester. These tiny fibres and flakes of plastics come off clothes in the washing machine and end up in our rivers, lakes, seas. Then, after being digested by wildlife, they bioaccumulate through food chains and back into human digestive systems. This is really not good. Immediate change is as simple as making clothes from plants, not plastic. It\u2019s why it\u2019s important to us to use natural materials like organic cotton. Natural materials are compatible with nature and they\u2019re a solution to pollution. The clue is in the name.<\/p>

Shop Natural Materials<\/strong><\/a><\/p>

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This is what hope feels like<\/strong><\/h2>

The value of the ethical clothing market increased by nearly 20% annually in recent years, according to Ethical Consumer Market Report. As the climate crisis escalates and nature itself begins to collapse, it turns out people notice. There are simple solutions to the problems in our economy and the biological systems support life on Earth. By using natural materials like organic cotton, material growth means plant growth and biodiversity is a consequence of doing business that way. Similarly, brands like us using renewable energy, if they grow, grow the number of solar panels or wind turbines with them. That makes our customers part of the solution, not part of the problem. Hope. This is what it feels like.<\/span><\/p>

Shop Organic<\/strong><\/a><\/p>

From the very start, Plants. Not plastic.<\/strong><\/h2>

Over a million tonnes of clothing are purchased annually in the UK according to a recent WRAP report, an increase of almost 20% tonnes compared to 5 years prior. As more people buy more stuff, this means fast fashion is getting faster still. Stopping for a moment though, if 60% of that is made from plastic and 99% of it is never recycled, that means tonnes of polluting waste going to landfill or incineration per second. Burying or burning plastic isn\u2019t a sensible strategy. The only way to get serious about sustainability is a redesign from the start. For us this means using natural organic materials and renewable energy to make our products, each of which is designed to be remade when it\u2019s worn out. Natural, sustainable, and never to landfill. One tonne at a time.<\/span><\/p>

Beyond recycling. This is about closing the loop<\/strong><\/h2>

In the UK, only around a third of the 650,000 tonnes of discarded clothes given to charity or other circular fashion initiatives are resold, with the rest being sent off to textile recyclers or the bin. In reality much of it ends up in landfill or incineration either way. Because while recycling leads to a little bit more use out of a material, it doesn\u2019t close the loop and stop the underlying flow of waste. Where 60% of this material flow is made of plastic, that\u2019s tonnes per second of plastic being burned or buried in the name of fashion. Not cool. That\u2019s why our products are made from natural materials, including Remill, which contains post-consumer remanufactured organic cotton. Natural, biodegradable, and instead of creating waste, we can create new products from it.<\/span><\/p>

Shop Made to Be Remade<\/strong><\/a><\/p>

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Waste is expensive. Sustainability works out cheaper<\/strong><\/h2>

In the UK alone, \u00a3140m worth of clothing goes to landfill every year. Moreover, some fabrics are never worn; the Environmental Audit Committee found that 15% of clothing fabric is wasted at the cut-off stage of production, before it even reaches stores. The cost of waste makes clothing expensive. Our products are made from natural materials, including post consumer recycled organic cotton, and they\u2019re printed in real time, one at a time, to order. By only making what people need when they need it, it saves waste. And this saves money, which makes it possible to afford things like packaging made from plants not plastic. Or renewable energy. We can look at waste as a problem, it\u2019s also the solution.<\/span><\/p>

Why our products are made differently<\/strong><\/h2>

This way people utilise our clothes has dropped by 36% compared to how much they wore each item 15 years ago. This wastefulness is literal, as studies by EMF have shown that 3 out of 5 new items of clothing are thrown away, then either landfilled or incinerated, within one year of purchase. Encouraging people to spend more and buy less slows things down and buys time, but doesnt change the final outcome. And as 60% of clothing is made from plastic, getting to mountains of plastic waste slightly slower doesn\u2019t solve the problem. That\u2019s why it\u2019s important to us to make products from natural materials, including post-consumer recycled organic cotton. Instead of creating waste, we can create new products from it.<\/span><\/p>

An estimated 14% of all plastic pollution comes from the apparel industry and 81% of that waste comes from synthetic clothing fibres specifically. These clothes shed microplastics during washing as well as drying, wearing and disposal, leaking plastic fibres into nature, where they don't belong. The answer? Making clothing from natural fibres instead, and designing them to be circular. This means that at the end of their life, they go back to be remanufactured into new products rather than going to landfill. By using circular organic cotton in our shop, we bypass all the issues with microplastic pollution from clothing. And by shopping with us, you are supporting a better way forward for fashion.<\/span><\/p>

Because our products are made using organic cotton, the process involves no chemicals or methods that are harmful to the people, animals and places in the supply chain. A nice side effect is that our products feel as soft and comfy as wearing PJs all day. Good for you, good for the planet.<\/span><\/p>

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