Earth Day 2019

To celebrate Earth Day 2019 we wanted to share with you five things you can do to reduce your impact on the planet when it comes to buying clothing for you or your little one.

Our business was founded with the ethos that ‘no-one can do everything, but everyone can do something’ when it comes to caring for our planet, and we try to embrace this in everything that we do.

While each of the actions below might not save the planet by themselves, if we each do a little bit our efforts can go a long way collectively and make this world a better place for our children to grow up in.

When you're shopping look out for brands that exhibit strong ethical and environmental credentials. Often you can find out lots of great information on a brand’s website or social media channels. And if a brand is silent on the topic, ask them what their policies are and if, for example, they have any certifications in place to back up any claims that they might make. If more and more people buy from brands who source responsibly then other mainstream brands will be encouraged to up their game in this area.

If something seems too cheap, it probably is! Making things at a low cost can mean taking short cuts that will have a long term impact on the environment. Sometimes, you may find an item of clothing can appear expensive but if you consider the amount of wear it will provide as well as the ethical way in which it has been produced, often the cost starts to feel like very good value indeed!

Look for items that can be worn time and again and be handed down to family and friends or passed on via charity shops. In recent years the concept of 'fast fashion' has grown and has come to have a detrimental impact on our environment with items being worn only once or twice before going to landfill. We prefer the idea of 'slow fashion' where items are bought to be worn over and over, and where quality is key.

To save electricity, wash your clothes at low temperatures (we recommend 30 degrees) and line dry them rather than tumbling them. Not only is this better for the environment but it also helps your clothes to last longer and stay in shape. Also, why not have a look out for eco-friendly washing products? Some of the Kite team use laundry eggs from Ecoegg instead of regular detergents, which offer a mineral-based washing system that works without the use of harsh chemicals. You can find out more here. You can also use bags to stop micro plastics getting into the waste water during the washing process. Find out about the Guppyfriend bag here. 

Where were their clothes made? How were they made? Who made them? How did they get here?
Little ones often love finding out more about anything and everything and will be fascinated to learn more about the journey of their clothes. If they can understand the importance of their clothing’s impact on the environment at a young age they can grow up with a better appreciation of what is important when it comes to fashion and our planet, and make more informed decisions when they're eventually buying their own clothes.

We hope you’ve found this blog interesting and that it has prompted you to think about how you buy and care for clothes for yourself and your little one. You probably already do a number of things listed above, but hopefully we’ve encouraged you to do a few things differently in future.

At Kite we work as hard as we can to produce clothing as positively as possible, and to minimise our impact on the planet and the people who live on it. We’re really proud to be certified by Control Union to GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard). All the elements in our supply chain – ranging from the cotton farmer to our embroiderers – are inspected and approved each year to ensure they meet comprehensive ethical and environmental standards. And when it comes to quality, we craft each garment to provide exceptional fit, comfort and durability. This means our clothes stand the test of time and can be handed down whilst still looking great.

But we know that we mustn’t be complacent. Right now, we’re currently reviewing new packaging solutions to help reduce waste, especially our use of plastic, as we’re aware of its negative impact on our planet.

Today is a good day to reflect on all that we do already, but also to recognise how much more we can all do.

Happy Earth Day 2019!