2020-2021 Q1 sustainability report
What you buy makes a difference and together we are creating change in the fashion industry, by choosing to protect and honour mother earth, and all living beings.In the first quarter of this financial year we’ve made positive environmental changes by switching wholly to sea freight to further reduce our carbon emission, focusing our zero-waste initiatives on creating alternatives to single-use plastics, and making our collections from 99% sustainable fibres. With a spotlight on people we are incredibly excited to have welcomed two new makers to our family, including a Turkish mill and maker who are pioneers in the sustainable denim industry. And thanks to you, we made huge progress with our social sustainability program by giving back $52,388.32 to The Great Koala National Park.
With sustainability at the forefront of every decision we make, read on to find out how we’ve performed in the first quarter of 2020/21.
The Great Koala National Park – For Our Future printed tee campaign
The Great Koala National Park is a proposal by the National Parks Association (a non-government community conservation organisation), to protect and conserve remaining koala habitat slated for logging despite the devastation and destruction of the recent wildfires. State forests represent incredibly important wildlife habitats and refuges. Almost 1000 wildlife and plant species in NSW are formally listed as being threatened with extinction. This staggering number of unique species includes Australia’s beloved koala, which at current rate of habitat loss, is doomed to be extinct in NSW before 2050.
| We raised an incredible $52,388.32 with the sale of our “for our future” koala tee. |
Our donation will support the following projects and actions for the proposed Great Koala National Park:
- GKNP will develop a series of short positive and compelling films about the importance of the Great Koala National Park. These films will be used as a TV advertising campaign in the lead up to the next election. They will also be used on the new website and in the visitor centre. The focus will be Cultural heritage, Conservation, Recreation and Tourism, and Economic.
- Brochures about the GKNP for distribution as part of a broad promotion campaign for the GKNP. These materials will to be sent to stakeholders and supporters.
- Lobbying parliamentary targets in the NSW Government and State Opposition. A group of representatives will travel to Sydney for a series of meetings in the NSW parliament in 2021.
- Help conduct citizen science koala and other key species surveys in priority forest areas so that data can be added to the Bionet atlas.
- Develop a Gumbaynggirr cultural component to the Visitor Centre’s information displays. Including the Koala Story.
- Make a financial contribution to the Gumbaynggirr Cultural Heritage study.
Thank you to all who supported this amazing cause! For more information read this post on our blog.
- GKNP will develop a series of short positive and compelling films about the importance of the Great Koala National Park. These films will be used as a TV advertising campaign in the lead up to the next election. They will also be used on the new website and in the visitor centre. The focus will be Cultural heritage, Conservation, Recreation and Tourism, and Economic.
- Brochures about the GKNP for distribution as part of a broad promotion campaign for the GKNP. These materials will to be sent to stakeholders and supporters.
- Lobbying parliamentary targets in the NSW Government and State Opposition. A group of representatives will travel to Sydney for a series of meetings in the NSW parliament in 2021.
- Help conduct citizen science koala and other key species surveys in priority forest areas so that data can be added to the Bionet atlas.
- Develop a Gumbaynggirr cultural component to the Visitor Centre’s information displays. Including the Koala Story.
- Make a financial contribution to the Gumbaynggirr Cultural Heritage study.
Thank you to all who supported this amazing cause! For more information read this post on our blog.
| Plastic Free July |
On average Australians use 130kg of plastic per person each year and only 12% of that is recycled.
Up to 130,000 tonnes of plastic finds its way into our waterways and oceans, harming marine wildlife, polluting the food chain and changing the oceans chemistry, slowing its ability to uptake CO2.
Zero waste living is a core value at Arnhem, we wanted to develop a range of products to offer accessible and sustainable solutions for Plastic Free July to empower our customers to make conscious choices to minimise plastic consumption and waste. We used fabric off-cuts to create a range of Revive products. We believe strongly in supporting local businesses where possible and in this quarter, we partnered with a number of new Australian brands we love and value to help our customers shop locally and eliminate plastic in our day to day lives.
Up to 130,000 tonnes of plastic finds its way into our waterways and oceans, harming marine wildlife, polluting the food chain and changing the oceans chemistry, slowing its ability to uptake CO2.
Zero waste living is a core value at Arnhem, we wanted to develop a range of products to offer accessible and sustainable solutions for Plastic Free July to empower our customers to make conscious choices to minimise plastic consumption and waste. We used fabric off-cuts to create a range of Revive products. We believe strongly in supporting local businesses where possible and in this quarter, we partnered with a number of new Australian brands we love and value to help our customers shop locally and eliminate plastic in our day to day lives.
| Meet Our Collaborators: |
Zero Waste Kulture
Byron Hinterland NSW
Zero Waste Kulture is an award winning, globally focused, sustainable brand and online community. Their focus is to provide education, connection and opportunities for the environment. Their products reflect this ethos, made from recycled materials produced ethically and sustainably. For Plastic free July we collaborated with Jodee again to create more of our Revive Everyday Household Wipes and Face Wipes.
Byron Hinterland NSW
Zero Waste Kulture is an award winning, globally focused, sustainable brand and online community. Their focus is to provide education, connection and opportunities for the environment. Their products reflect this ethos, made from recycled materials produced ethically and sustainably. For Plastic free July we collaborated with Jodee again to create more of our Revive Everyday Household Wipes and Face Wipes.
Brooke Clunie
Byron Hinterland NSW
It is estimated that Australians use 1 billion disposable coffee cups every year, only 1 in every 400 cups is recycled. Hand crafted and individually decorated and glazed, Brooke’s ceramic vessels celebrate space, vitality and imagination. Having collaborated already with Brooke on Keep-Cups and Mugs, we decided to create limited-edition 8oz Ceramic Tumblers for espresso and negroni lovers alike.
Byron Hinterland NSW
It is estimated that Australians use 1 billion disposable coffee cups every year, only 1 in every 400 cups is recycled. Hand crafted and individually decorated and glazed, Brooke’s ceramic vessels celebrate space, vitality and imagination. Having collaborated already with Brooke on Keep-Cups and Mugs, we decided to create limited-edition 8oz Ceramic Tumblers for espresso and negroni lovers alike.
Bee Folk
Byron Hinterland
Crafted from locally sourced beeswax. Formulated as a personal desire to find a natural alternative to plastic wraps. We love collaborating with Marianni rescuing our fabrics scraps from landfill and reviving them into beautiful, eco-friendly alternatives to cling wrap to create Pre-made & DIY Beeswax Wraps.
Byron Hinterland
Crafted from locally sourced beeswax. Formulated as a personal desire to find a natural alternative to plastic wraps. We love collaborating with Marianni rescuing our fabrics scraps from landfill and reviving them into beautiful, eco-friendly alternatives to cling wrap to create Pre-made & DIY Beeswax Wraps.
Kappi
Melbourne VIC
Created by a husband and wife duo with a vision to end plastic pollution by developing beautifully designed, incredibly functional and fairly priced reusable alternatives to single-use plastic. Having collaborated on Re-Useable Straws that sold out in minutes, we chose to use our revived fabric to create zero-waste Cutlery Sets and another round of reusable gold stainless steel Straws, each with their own carry pouch for day to day plastic free living.
Melbourne VIC
Created by a husband and wife duo with a vision to end plastic pollution by developing beautifully designed, incredibly functional and fairly priced reusable alternatives to single-use plastic. Having collaborated on Re-Useable Straws that sold out in minutes, we chose to use our revived fabric to create zero-waste Cutlery Sets and another round of reusable gold stainless steel Straws, each with their own carry pouch for day to day plastic free living.
Byron Bay Candles
Byron Bay
Hand poured with natural soy wax and cotton wicks infused with pure essential oils. Their candles invoke the spirit of Byron Bay through the senses and induce holistic benefits of ambient light and aromas. Always in search of minimum waste solutions we launched two new, eco-friendly, non-toxic candles for PFJ, Golden Hours and Tahiti, together with refills so your jars never go to waste.
Byron Bay
Hand poured with natural soy wax and cotton wicks infused with pure essential oils. Their candles invoke the spirit of Byron Bay through the senses and induce holistic benefits of ambient light and aromas. Always in search of minimum waste solutions we launched two new, eco-friendly, non-toxic candles for PFJ, Golden Hours and Tahiti, together with refills so your jars never go to waste.
Sow n Sow
Manley QLD
Sow n Sow combines a love of gardening and design. We teamed-up for PFJ to create two products crafted in Australia from recycled paper, making the perfect gift for novice gardeners and green thumbs alike, with the hope of inspiring a grow-your-own community, mindfulness and keeping buying local. Discover our Culinary Flower Seeds and Marigolds online.
Manley QLD
Sow n Sow combines a love of gardening and design. We teamed-up for PFJ to create two products crafted in Australia from recycled paper, making the perfect gift for novice gardeners and green thumbs alike, with the hope of inspiring a grow-your-own community, mindfulness and keeping buying local. Discover our Culinary Flower Seeds and Marigolds online.
Rainbow Chai
Bonville NSW
Hand crafted from Fair trade ethically sourced ingredients. Established for 31 years Chai Tea operate on renewable resources and use recycled plastic free packaging - conventional tea bags are often sealed with polypropylene (aka plastic). As a connoisseur of Chai Tea and as a zero-waste warrior it was an obvious collaboration for Arnhem when she thought about ways to inspire people to reduce single use plastics.
Bonville NSW
Hand crafted from Fair trade ethically sourced ingredients. Established for 31 years Chai Tea operate on renewable resources and use recycled plastic free packaging - conventional tea bags are often sealed with polypropylene (aka plastic). As a connoisseur of Chai Tea and as a zero-waste warrior it was an obvious collaboration for Arnhem when she thought about ways to inspire people to reduce single use plastics.
Studium Essentials
Newcastle NSW
Drawing on ancient plant wisdom and pure botanical sources with an emphasis on high quality sustainable ingredients, we were excited to collaborate on our Serenity Face Mist with Studium Essentials.
Newcastle NSW
Drawing on ancient plant wisdom and pure botanical sources with an emphasis on high quality sustainable ingredients, we were excited to collaborate on our Serenity Face Mist with Studium Essentials.
Yalu Natural Perfume
Melbourne VIC
Yalu natural perfumes are crafted with ancient methods and therapeutic botanicals from the finest 100% naturally derived absolutes and essential oils that are ethically and sustainable sourced. This quarter we collaborated on our Flora Bohemia natural perfume.
Melbourne VIC
Yalu natural perfumes are crafted with ancient methods and therapeutic botanicals from the finest 100% naturally derived absolutes and essential oils that are ethically and sustainable sourced. This quarter we collaborated on our Flora Bohemia natural perfume.
| Plastic Free July at Arnhem HQ |
We’re all committed to the zero-waste journey here at Arnhem, here are some of our personal achievements for PFJ:
Office Garden Revamp
We did some spring planting in our office garden including our Sow n Sow edible flowers and marigolds. We also installed a new composting system closing the loop on our kitchen waste.
Globally 5 trillion plastic bags are produced annually, 160,000 every second.
The use of poly bags to package garments is a very serious issue contributing to this. It is estimated that 180 billion poly bags are used in the fashion industry annually. These single use bags end up in landfill where they can take up to 1000 years to degrade leaching toxic chemicals into the soil. Or worse still they end up in waterways and eventually the ocean. By switching to a compostable alternative we have saved...
The use of poly bags to package garments is a very serious issue contributing to this. It is estimated that 180 billion poly bags are used in the fashion industry annually. These single use bags end up in landfill where they can take up to 1000 years to degrade leaching toxic chemicals into the soil. Or worse still they end up in waterways and eventually the ocean. By switching to a compostable alternative we have saved...
We are committed to reducing our freight carbon emissions by 45% by 2025 in line with the Paris Agreement.
Sea Freight by comparison to Air Freight is thought to create around 44x less CO2, which is why moving to sea freight is an important climate action goal. Carbon Intelligence Pty Limited have produced our independent greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions verification statement for this quarter. We are able to report the following emissions for the past quarter:
| International | |
| Sea freight | 0.32 tonnes of C02 |
| Road freight | 0.39 tonnes of C02 |
| Total | 0.71 tonnes of C02 |
| Domestic | |
| Total | 61.71 tonnes of C02 |
| Total C02 Emissions Q1 2020/21 = 62.42 tonnes of C02 |
The next step is for us to review road freight options for our domestic freight and hope to achieve this in the next quarter to further minimise our carbon emissions and meet our target of a 45% reduction by 2025.
Through our partnerships with Rainforest Rescue and Greenfleet we are on track to sequester 7,751.12 tonnes of C02 through the trees planted because of our charitable donations to date.
Traceability
Our ultimate goal is to have full traceability of our supply chains. This means not only social compliance auditing but physically visiting each operation, building relationships and having an understanding of their working environments and processes. We only use certified fibres and fabrics which allows us visibility and assurance that they meet international standards for social compliance however we plan to map and visit our supply chains as part of our sustainability strategy. This process has unfortunately been postponed due to the outbreak of COVID-19.
We have already visited the majority of our tier 1 suppliers and many of our tier 2 however with the introduction of new suppliers this quarter we are yet to visit them all.
Our ultimate goal is to have full traceability of our supply chains. This means not only social compliance auditing but physically visiting each operation, building relationships and having an understanding of their working environments and processes. We only use certified fibres and fabrics which allows us visibility and assurance that they meet international standards for social compliance however we plan to map and visit our supply chains as part of our sustainability strategy. This process has unfortunately been postponed due to the outbreak of COVID-19.
We have already visited the majority of our tier 1 suppliers and many of our tier 2 however with the introduction of new suppliers this quarter we are yet to visit them all.
| 100% of our tier 1 suppliers have social compliance in place We have visited 63% of our tier 1 suppliers |
| TAYFUN AND NIHAT, Denim and Cord Mill and Maker |
This quarter saw the launch of our denim and corduroy collections, and a new and blossoming relationship with a Turkish sustainable denim mill and manufacturer.
Tayfun and his team are actively involved in the protection and preservation of the environment. During the denim manufacturing they capture CO2 and re-use it in the finishing process, preventing around 30,000 tons of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere every year! Responsible dyeing saves 85% of water in comparison to conventional dyeing. As cotton growing and denim production requires a lot of water, innovation in reducing water consumption is essential.
Tayfun and his team are actively involved in the protection and preservation of the environment. During the denim manufacturing they capture CO2 and re-use it in the finishing process, preventing around 30,000 tons of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere every year! Responsible dyeing saves 85% of water in comparison to conventional dyeing. As cotton growing and denim production requires a lot of water, innovation in reducing water consumption is essential.
“In order to produce a pair of jeans we use a kilo of cotton that gets transformed into 1.4 meters of denim. To grow this quantity of cotton it may request from 8,500 to 23,000 liters of water. To produce 1.40 meters of fabric we use 90 liters of water and to wash a pair of jeans we need 60 liters of water. We must find ways for saving all this.”
- Tayfun Akbay
- Tayfun Akbay
The cotton for our collections is sustainably produced by farmers who care for water, soil health & natural habitats.
Nihat and his team are the garment manufacturing partner that works closely with the sustainable denim mill. Nihat’s manufacturing company has been established for over 30 years, a family business constantly striving for sustainable innovation. They recover and reuse up to 50% of water used in the laundry and have reduced their energy consumption with the implementation of eco-friendly stitching machines with a reduction of 40% and lighting seeing a further reduction of 25%.
| Both our denim mill and maker have BSCI Social compliance auditing in place. Our denim mill is Okeo Tex 100 certified. |
| WILLIAM, Woven Makers |
William was introduced to Arnhem by Nic, our General Manager who has worked with him for many years. Established for over 30 years, 16 under the leadership of William, he offers extensive sustainable fabric sourcing and development. This small ethical operation has excellent workmanship and attention to detail, essential for our soft woven product. We're confident this is the beginning of a new and blossoming relationship and hope you're as happy with your Bijoux treasures as we are.
William's factory has Smeta social compliance auditing in place. His mill is Oeko Tex 100 certified and fabrics are crafted from Lenzing fibres.
William's factory has Smeta social compliance auditing in place. His mill is Oeko Tex 100 certified and fabrics are crafted from Lenzing fibres.
| Percentage by fibre category | |
| Heroes 0% | Lenzing Tencel, Linen, Hemp, Revive - fabric off-cuts |
| Rising Stars 99% | Lenzing Tencel Modal, Lenzing Ecovero, Organic Cotton (GOTS), Sustainable cotton (BCI), Mechanically recycled nylon, Econyl |
| Use Sparingly 0% | Leather, Silk and Wool |
| Work in Progress 1% | Elastane and Polyester. |
By using 99% sustainable fibres instead of generic fibres we may have significantly reduced our impact on our environment. The figures below show our impact compared with the impact of generic fibres:
| Comparison of our fibres and Generic Fibres | ||
| Environmental Impact | Our Fibre Impact | Generic Fibre Impact |
| Water Scarcity (gallons) | 106,059.75 | 488,179.29 |
| Abiotic Resource Depletion (MJ eq) | 174,635.41 | 436,944.96 |
| Global Warming (kg Co2) | 15,249.86 | 38,072.72 |
| Eco-toxicity (kg P04 eq) | 11.47 | 31.43 |
Reference: Sustainable Apparel Coalition, Higg Material Sustainability Index
We have not included our sustainable cotton corduroy and denim collections as BCI cotton reporting is not available on the Higg MSI tool at this stage. We will look to review this once this data is available.
Definitions:
Water Scarcity
Water is becoming increasingly scarce, due to excessive & unnecessary use and wastage.
Abiotic Resource Depletion
Abiotic depletion refers to the exhaustion of natural (non-living) resources. The main concern is the ecosystem’s health and how it is affected by the extraction of minerals and fossil fuels.
Global Warming (CO2)
Global warming is a serious environmental issue, contributing to the increase in Earth's average surface temperature due to rising levels of greenhouse gases.
Eutrophication (eco toxicity)
Eutrophication is when a body of water becomes overly enriched with minerals and nutrients due to run-off from the land, which causes a dense growth of plant life. This can eventually lead to water bodies that can't support aquatic life.
Abiotic Resource Depletion
Abiotic depletion refers to the exhaustion of natural (non-living) resources. The main concern is the ecosystem’s health and how it is affected by the extraction of minerals and fossil fuels.
We have not included our sustainable cotton corduroy and denim collections as BCI cotton reporting is not available on the Higg MSI tool at this stage. We will look to review this once this data is available.
Definitions:
Water Scarcity
Water is becoming increasingly scarce, due to excessive & unnecessary use and wastage.
Abiotic Resource Depletion
Abiotic depletion refers to the exhaustion of natural (non-living) resources. The main concern is the ecosystem’s health and how it is affected by the extraction of minerals and fossil fuels.
Global Warming (CO2)
Global warming is a serious environmental issue, contributing to the increase in Earth's average surface temperature due to rising levels of greenhouse gases.
Eutrophication (eco toxicity)
Eutrophication is when a body of water becomes overly enriched with minerals and nutrients due to run-off from the land, which causes a dense growth of plant life. This can eventually lead to water bodies that can't support aquatic life.
Abiotic Resource Depletion
Abiotic depletion refers to the exhaustion of natural (non-living) resources. The main concern is the ecosystem’s health and how it is affected by the extraction of minerals and fossil fuels.
For more detail on responsible dyeing certifications, please refer to our July 2020 Quarterly Report.
Once our makers have finished cutting our fabrics for a collection, we request a breakdown of the leftover fabric remnants. These are often in small, unusual shapes, as well as rolls of thinner, printed border sections. We then review the fabric lay-plan with our design team and allocate small, fabric efficient accessories to be made from the leftover fabric. This initiative gets us one step closer to our ultimate goal of zero-waste clothing production.
| Total fabric left after Fleetwood production = 250m |
Total of 3092 Arnhem Revive products.
We also repurpose our fabric print strike offs from each collection in a collaboration with local brand Zero Waste Kulture to craft our House and Face Wipes. For this quarter, we were able to make a total of 191 Face Wipe packs and 208 House Wipe packs from the print strike offs of our Fleetwood and Flora collections.
We also repurpose our fabric print strike offs from each collection in a collaboration with local brand Zero Waste Kulture to craft our House and Face Wipes. For this quarter, we were able to make a total of 191 Face Wipe packs and 208 House Wipe packs from the print strike offs of our Fleetwood and Flora collections.