'We need to be looking at the lifespan of an item of clothing, as well as the production and materials. As a conscious consumer you don’t want clothes that lose their fit after one wash, you want to invest in stylish wardrobe staples that are good to the planet and will last for years without a huge price tag.’
– Pip, Founder of With Nothing Underneath
SUSTAINABILITY STATEMENT
THE ATTITUDE:
From the very start, we made a promise to ensure the shirts we give you are truly as good for our planet as they can be. WNU is still a small brand, but we are aiming to lead the way for a more sustainable fashion system.
As of 2020, true to our promise, all of the WNU shirts are made from 100% GOTS certified organic or recycled materials, which are sourced and woven to order locally in Portugal. We use the highest quality cotton for our Poplin, Brushed, Oxford and Weave shirts, as well as natural fibres derived from the flax plant for our Linen and Weave shirts.
Our new fabric, the Silk, is made from 100% GOTS certified organic Mulberry silk, which is woven and finished in Italy. The Silk shirts come wrapped in tissue paper which is acid free.
You can have a closer look at all our materials linked here !
In 2021 we launched The Cabana, a short sleeve shirt made of organic linen and organic cotton. We used shell buttons for the first time, which are sustainable because they are made using a natural material that is otherwise wasted by-product of the food manufacturing process, and they are biodegradable. We loved those so much that we also replaced all the polyester buttons in the Boyfriend Linen and the Boyfriend Weave shirts with shell buttons, and launched the Boyfriend Oxford shirts and Boyfriend Silk shirts with shell buttons.
We also launched The Towel, a high summer capsule consisting of matching shirt and shorts, made from organic bamboo and recycled polyester towel fabric, and corozo nut buttons. Corozo is a sustainable material because the nuts are only ready to be processed when they naturally mature and fall from the Tagua tree, preventing the exploitation of this natural resource through deforestation. The corozo used to make our buttons is otherwise wasted by-product of the food industry.
In 2021 we also decided to replace our polyester labels for recycled polyester labels. Most importantly we decided to eliminate the plastic bags in which the shirts are sent from the factory to our warehouse, which is the industry standard, and we have replaced them by a biodegradable and home compostable bag.
THE TRAIL
The organic fabrics of all our products are sourced and woven in Portugal, while the silk collection is woven and finished in Italy before being sent to our factory to make into our beautiful shirts. The family run factory is also based in Portugal and has predominantly female staff. The factory upholds the highest standard of working ethics, including pay and rights. The stock then arrives to our warehouse in Kent where our amazing team personally package each shirt to order, before sending it to you.
WHAT'S NEXT?
As with any fashion brand we are not perfect but we are striving to constantly implement the most ethical and sustainable techniques and materials. Right now, we are in the process of resourcing the polyester buttons used in our Boyfriend Poplin shirts with a more sustainable alternative, and eliminating all plastic as well as any unnecessary materials from our packaging. We have been trialling the elimination of the plastic butterfly that holds the collar stand, the internal cardboard and tissue paper used to fold the shirt and the metal clips that keep the shirts in place. After a few trials we only felt comfortable eliminating the metal clips, but we promise to keep thinking of ways to reduce the internal packaging.
We will also keep researching better alternatives to the plastic collar stiffeners currently included in the Poplin shirts, potentially swapping them for a sustainable alternative like bamboo, that will have longevity, just like our shirts. We are also trialling recycled cotton and seaweed as a raw material, and more buttons made from corozo nuts!
'Any brand, I believe, has a social responsibility to not only educate themselves but educate their customer on where their products come from, what their impact is and what they are made from.’
– Pip, Founder of With Nothing Underneath.
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