Sustainability

INDUSTRY CHALLENGES

The fashion industry has a huge environmental impact, especially in the production processes of supply chains. Impacts like emissions, water usage, waste water, chemicals, raw material production, soil erosion and biodiversity impact. From a global perspective 80% of all discarded textiles go to landfill or incineration. Every second, the equivalent of one truck of textiles is landfilled and only 20% are actually reused or recycled.

To achieve this we have to work together - within the industry, with new innovators and partners, and with our customers.

OUR VALUES

We promote ourselves as a slow fashion brand and are on a path towards a more sustainable future.

Nine the Label is redefining maternity wear by creating premium, timeless garments for your capsule wardrobe. We do not design for trends, therefore our styles will not date and can be worn year after year. Nine the Label create accessible, transitional and quality garments that will stand the test of time. Adapting with the female form as it evolves through the stages of pregnancy into motherhood and beyond. Our styles can be worn pre, during and post pregnancy - all designs adapt with the female form through each trimester whilst retaining it's shape postpartum and some are even nursing friendly. We promise to produce our collections with low environmental impact by designing and manufacturing in Europe to reduce our carbon footprint and keep production small to reduce waste.

OUR FACTORIES

We worked tirelessly to find the perfect partners to produce our collections and have established long standing relationships with our suppliers, Working with an independent, sustainable factory in London and small, family run knitwear factory in Italy. Working collaboratively with our communities helps drives transparency, fairness and excellent working conditions.

GIVING BACK

By 2025 we aim to have partnered with a chosen UK charity supporting women, pregnancy and postnatal health. Our goal is to partner with Ecologi and plant 5 trees for every order we receive. Ecologi also help us to reduce our carbon emissions as a company by offsetting the CO2 emissions we produce as individuals within the company.

REPAIR

As a testament to our dedication to our customers and our environmental impact by 2025 we aim to offer a repair service that aims to pre-long the life of your Nine The Label garments. With this solution for damaged clothing you will be able to make your favourite garments last longer.

CIRCULARITY

Our goal is to have a re-sale platform to our website so offer customers to be able to sell and buy preloved styles to include life span of products. A way for customers to extent the lifespan of their products. As an integrated marketplace where customers can easily sell and buy second hand. By 2025 we also aim to explore an integrated rental and subscription model reducing our carbon footprint.

RETURNS

100% of goods returned to us are quality checked and around 98% are put back in our warehouse, ready to be bought by another customer. The remaining few percentages are unfit for resale to our customers. We sell these products on as second-hand. We're committed to doing everything we can to keep our products in circulation, avoiding landfill or incineration.

PACKAGING

Our packaging is currently FSCcertified paper - which assures responsible paper sourcing and made from recycled materials and is reusable and compostable. Plastic usually breaks down slowly, but we speed up nature's own composting process by hundreds of years by adding Biodegradable Organic Polymer (BDPtm) to the plastic bags protecting each garment. BDP ensures that the plastic doesn't cause microplastics. If thrown in landfill the leftovers will eventually become the same as for organic waste -compost waste, water and biogas.

By 2025 we aim to work with reusable packaging partner RePack, enabling us to eliminate unnecessary waste from single-use packaging and reducing and CO2 emissions.

SHIPPING

On the road, on the sea, in the air. All shipment has a carbon footprint. According to the European Environmental Agency, the transport sector stands for a large share of total EU greenhouse gas emissions. The transport industry is moving towards more sustainable transports with electrification and other renewable fuels such as biodiesel, gas and hydrogen fuel cells.But these solutions are not widely implemented yet. Being an e-commerce brand, Nine The Label supports all changes towards a more sustainable transport industry, in alignment with our target of reducing our climate emissions by50% by 2030.

MATERIALS

Recycled fabrics and other more sustainable materials have a significantly lower environmental impact that conventional materials. Not only does it keep waste material from ending up in landfills, it also reduces the need for virgin materials and its production resources - saving chemicals, energy and water. Our goal is to have 70% organic, recycled or other lower impact materials in our products by 2030.

The raw material of the fabric is a crucial decision in the making of a garment from both a durability and an environmental perspective. Choosing more sustainable materials helps to reduce the environmental impact. More sustainable materials are from organic, renewable, or recyclable sources, and/or use less water, energy, and/or chemicals in their production - compared to conventional alternatives. We aim to use more sustainable materials, they have a much smaller environmental footprint than other fabric choices, and are less harmful for both humans and wildlife.

ORGANIC COTTON
The cotton plant thrives in warm climates. Since it requires a lot of water to grow, farmers often use artificial irrigation. Except for the cultivation, a large amount of water is also required for the dyeing and preparation of the textiles. According to Textile Exchange, it takes about 12,000
bottles of water to produce enough cotton for a T-shirt. The use of organic cotton cuts water use by 70% (on average) and saves on pesticides.

Polyester and Polyamide are man-made fibres. They have a durable durable qualities, and, if washed and cared for in a mindful way, will have a very long life. They do, however, derive from fossil oil, which is a non-renewable source and their microplastics can end up in the seas. That's why we are working to expand the use of recycled polyester and polyamide. This allows us to reduce the pressure on natural resources and climate impact.

For more information about our sustainable practices, if you have suggestions, please contact us by e‑mail at customerservice@ninethelabel.com.