There is no denying that the fashion industry is producing high plastic fabric content (look out for polyester, acrylic, nylon, elastane…) which is harmful for the environment because they are non-biodegradable and end up in landfill all over the world..
What can we do?
Slow Down. Choose Quality.
Wearing a t-shirt or any other piece of clothing should feel great and make you want to wear it over and over again.
Fantastic if we can mix and match a few items. In my mind as long as the piece (secondhand or new) feels good, this feeling stays with you and you enjoy wearing it on many many occasions for years. T-shirts are a daily staple for me. I love summers when you can show off your unique designs but definitely in winter they keep me warm as a baselayer.
Whilst more and more brands are offering recycled polyester, the issue with recycled polyester is that like virgin polyester, it also releases microplastics during washing. It can also give you a deceptive feeling that it’s not that bad, at least it’s recycled.
But “a dump truck of textile waste is burned or buried every second [1]. And less than 1% of all clothing is turned back into new clothing at the end of its life [2].”
Whilst cotton is also gentler to the skin and biodegradable compared with fabrics made out of plastic, producing this material still requires a high water consumption.
Organic cotton farming methods are better for producers and the ecosystem around the farms. Instead of more toxic pesticides and fertilisers, co-planting and insect traps are used along with the special ingredient – cow poo. It encourages biodiversity and leads to the extra soft feel of our organic cotton clothing.
Fewer inputs also means less water, but even organic cotton is still a thirsty crop. So where you grow it matters. [3]
The fields that Teemill’s organic cotton is grown is in the North of India, where the monsoons fill reservoirs that supply almost all the water needed. [3]
Products like T-shirts, tops and hoodies are made from certified by OEKO-TEX organic cotton with the prints made with non-toxic, water-based inks.
Their factories are on the Isle of Wight, UK, in India and in Europe. “The working environment is clean, light, modern and positive as would be expected from any 21st century manufacturer.” [3]
Teemill’s T-shirts are made in printing factories powered by renewable energy and they’ve built the world’s first open-access circular supply chain for clothing.
I also find the owner story super interesting: Mart and Rob Drake-Knight set up Teemill in a garden shed. From tinkering with Epson printers to building factory robots from old eBay parts, this is how the pair built the first open access circular fashion supply chain from scratch. [4]
That’s why I’ve chosen to work with Teemill to produce my designed products. Greenpeace, BBC Earth, Surfers Against Sewage and Cats Protection are trusting Teemill too.
Behind the scenes at the Isle of Wight factory – Made by humans, with love
Our products are made by some incredible humans, like Amelia here. Working alongside advanced technology that makes sustainability possible means that instead of trying to replace people with robots, a little automation is sprinkled on conscientiously in the right place so the repetitive and boring parts of working in production are gone – leaving more time to work on making things that last, and that don’t cost the Earth.
Teemill is encouraging their customers to send back their old Teemill products to be remade through their REMILL programme. They’ve then extended this to taking back 100% cotton clothing from any brand, in any condition, and will make sure that it’s recycled back into new clothing.
Dig out any worn-out 100% cotton items from your household’s wardrobes, just make sure the care label is still clearly readable. P.S. Please don't include denim or underwear as we can't accept these at the moment.
Teemills Process Chart of their circular clothing model
Send back your 100% cotton items of clothing to Teemill (where labels are intact).
All Teemill products have a QR code in the care label to identify them, which will take you to a webpage where you can start the returns process. For products which are not Teemill-made, simply head to teemill.com/threadnotdead and enter your details to get your Freepost shipping label.
Get store credit to be spent on any products from participating Teemill stores.
Teemill is turning the worn-out clothing into new products.
