Environmentally Friendly Clothing Brands We Carry and Stand Behind

August 31, 2018

In today’s world, many of us are not only becoming more environmentally conscious, we are practicing it. Our practices are stretching beyond just our own actions but we are looking at the actions of corporations. The environmental effects of corporations are coming to light and many of us want to stand behind those limiting their carbon footprint.

Here at MarkIt Merchandise, we are proud to carry many brands that are standing with this initiative to reduce carbon emissions and improve working conditions. These 4 environmentally friendly clothing brands are taking strides to do just that and we couldn’t be happier to tell you about them.

Bella + Canvas is a company that is surpassing the industry through their sustainable and eco-friendly practices. At MarkIt Merchandise, Bella is brand we recommend and print on very frequently. We recommend their apparel due to the quality and the variety of  garments and colors. On top of that, finding out how eco-friendly and sustainable they are? Well, they couldn’t get quite better.

How are they environmentally friendly?

• Sweat-shop free warehouse in Los Angeles, California
• All dyeing of shirts is done in house
• Bella + Canvas dyeing process uses 7x less water than a normal clothing manufacturers
• 3 gallons of water is used per pound of fabric, compared to most manufacturers that use 9-20 gallons
• Through an in house water filtration system, they are able to recycle water and save 24 million gallons per week
• Sewing and cutting facilities are run on 100% solar energy
• Paper free warehouse
• All extra and excess fabric is recycled and repurposed
• Focusing on durability and longevity so their apparel doesn’t end up in landfills

Alternative Apparel

Alternative Apparel is another clothing company we offer and support at MarkIt Merchandise. They are striving to improve their impact on the planet and for the people that support and work for them. Based in California, here is how they are reducing their carbon footprint and looking into the future.

• Approximately 88K lbs of organic cotton used annually in place of conventional cotton
• Approximately 120K plastic bottles recycled annually used in the Alternative-Eco^™ fabrics
• 2,100 trees, 400 cubic yards of landfill, 860k gallons of water and 120 tons of CO2 conserved annually
• Low-impact dyes, biodegradable fabric softeners and washes with reclaimed water
• Using oxo-biodegradable mailer bags

Even Toporek, CEO of Alternative Apparel, commented on their sustainability saying, “In 2004, long before sustainability was a buzzword in the fashion industry, we launched Alternative Earth, our eco-friendly line. That sub-brand dissolved when we simply took its elements (organic cotton, recycled polyester, low impact dyes) and applied it across our entire range including packaging (100% recycled boxes and biodegradable bags).  But to us, sustainability stands for more than just eco-friendly manufacturing. We ensure the highest standards of social compliance as well. For example, over 90% of our production, and growing, flows through WRAP certified factories. We have also joined the Fashion Revolution movement bringing transparency to our factories and their social compliance.”

To read more, click here. 

American Apparel

American Apparel has been one of the leaders in sustainable and environmentally conscious clothing for many years. Although, I do not suggest scrolling their website at work, but their ethical and environment practices I highly suggest reading! Based in Los Angeles (seeing a trend?) they are founded on a sweat-shop free practice and ethical treatment of all employees. Here’s how they’re positively impacting the environment and the industry:

• Use of Biotop filtration systems in Honduran and Dominican Republic facilities to treat and use wastewater for production
• Organic cotton forapparel
• Employees in all countries are paid significantly higher wages than the minimum wage
• Employees in all countries are have access to 24 on site medical care, free transportation, subsidized meals, and access to financial aid programs

To read more, click here. 

Wrangler

Wrangler is a company that takes every action to leave the earth a better place. Founded in 1897, their long standing industry history has supplied them the opportunity to see the effects of industry practices. How are they making a difference?

• Use of natural dyes such as natural indigo vs synthetic dyes
• From 2009-2015 12% reduction of greenhouse gases
• This reduction was based on 13.6 kWH energy saved, equivalent to the annual energy consumption of 1,253 US homes
• Wrangler recently announced committing to 100% renewable energy in all owned and operated facilities by 2025
• 3 billion liters of water saved since 2007, equivalent to the annual household water needs for 21,000 US homes

To read more about their practices, click here.

To view products from these great brands, see our catalog.

If you have any questions or would like to get started printing your design on one of these brands apparel, contact us.