Sustainable Index

Our clothing and accessories are created using entirely sustainable, biodegradable, organic and Fair Trade fabrics. All of the materials we use to make our items have been thoroughly sourced to guarantee that neither the production of the fabric, nor the any third party companies we may purchase  from, cause detrimental harm to the enviroment in their production. We refuse to work with materials featuring plastics or synthetics, including 'sustainable blend' fabrics which often feature a small percentage of sustainable fibres along with non-sustainable fibres such as polyester and viscose. This is a principle we hold dear and will never compromise on.

For further transparency, here is a guide to the materials and production techniques we utilise to make Zenzero Clothing a truly ethical and sustainable brand;

Fabrics

Linen

Linen comes from the Flax Plant and is reknowned for it's versatility and strength. It is estimated that linen fibres are up to 30% stronger than cotton, increasing a linen garments lifespan and allowing for longer wear. Every part of Flax can be used to make other products, therefore promoting for zero wastage and it's both recyclable and fully biodegradable when treated using natural dyes. Linen production is also famously cost effective as Flax is super resilient and can grow even in the poorest of soil conditions. This means it uses far less water to produce than cotton as it requires only rainwater to grow (it's estimated that across it's life cycle, a linen shirt uses 6.4 litres of water in comparison to a cotton shirt which uses 2,700 litres!)

Hemp

Made from the industrial hemp plant, or Cannabis Sativa, this durable fibre is often looked at as the OG of sustainable fabrics, and for good reason. Hemp grows prolifically using little water, using around 50% less water per season than cotton. It also uses no pesticides in it's growth, takes up relatively little space whilst growing, replenishes the soil around it with nutrients (returning 60-70% of the nutrients it takes to grow back to the earth), absorbs carbon dioxide at the rate of 22 tonnes per hectare, generates more pulp per acre than trees plus virtually all of the plant can be used to produce a range of items from paper to fuel. On top of this exhaustive list of benefits it's also biodegradable. Truly a sustainability superhero!

Tencel

Like cotton and hemp, Tencel, also known as Lyocell, is made from plant materials. However, manufacturing Tencel requires less energy and water than cotton and is biodegradable. Tencel has incredible absorption characteristics (it is said to be 50% more absorbent than cotton making it perfect for wear in hot weather).

Tencel is a cellulose fibre created by dissolving wood pulp and drying by using a special technique called spinning. Before drying, wood chips are mixed with a solvent to form a wet mixture which is then pushed through small holes to form threads. The solvent treatment includes the chemical N-Methylmorpholine N-oxide which, thanks to a closed loop production process, can be recycled continuously and used to make new fibres, minimising harmful waste. The recovery rate of this solvent is currently said to be 99%. After this process is complete the lengths of fibre created are then spun into yarn and woven to form cloth.

Organic Cotton

Organic cotton doesn't use environmentally harmful chemicals in it's production (conventional cotton production accounts for about 16% of the world's insecticides and 7%  of pesticides usage). Cultivation of organic cotton is also environmentally positive as it also doesn't damage the soil it's grown in, has less impact on air pollution, uses 62% less energy in it's processing and uses 88% less water than regular cotton to produce as it's 80% rain-fed. This is also beneficial to the local communities where cotton is grown as it is often produced in water-scarce areas using irrigation techniques. The absence of unsafe chemicals means that water sources in the surrounding areas is cleaner and safer for the local population.

Production Techniques

Made To Order 

We create items on a Made to Order basis only. This production model allows us to buy fabric in very small batches, resulting in less material wastage. Any left over fabric we do incur is repurposed into new designs and accessories to avoid sending any remnant fabric to landfill.  

Bespoke Service

Our Bespoke tailoring service allows you to personalise garments to meet your specific requirements. This benefits sustainability by encouraging increased wear, and care, of clothing because you're far more likely to cherish quality items that make you feel incredible than ones that don't. Beautifully cut and fitted garments enhance the aesthetic of a look by streamlining the silhouette and creating balanced proportions which will in turn elevate a garment from 'good' to 'staple piece'.

Fabric Repurposing

Also known as the Zero-Waste or Circular method, repurposed pieces are made from left over remnant fabrics of previous designs. For example, if a fabric is discontinued and our last remaining piece is not enough to make the design it had originally been used for, we will redesign and construct a smaller item, such as accessories, to insure that the fabric doesn't go to waste.

Deadstock

Deadstock is the name retailers give to stock and material that has failed to sell and sadly, due to the huge amounts of garments sold by fast fashion outlets, huge amounts of deadstock is sent to landfills every year. To avoid this practice, we only create sample pieces for photography and marketing purposes (that will then be sold at a later date) and all other pieces are created on a 'Made to Order' basis, radically reducing our deadstock level to basically zero. 

Fair Trade

Any out sourced materials we use are carefully vetted and must come from Fair Trade vendors. This insures better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability, and equitable terms of trade are given to any workers and manufacturers that have been involved at any stage of production from start to finish.

To meet the required level to ascertain the Fair Trade label companies must pay for their goods at a level which must never fall lower than the market trading price. This insures potentially vulnerable economies are not taken advantage of, that workers are paid fairly for their skill and enables communities to improve their position and have more control over their lives. 

GOTS 

The Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) is the leading textile standard for validating organic fibres and is judged on both ecological and social factors. Certification can only be granted once all stages of production have passed testing, this includes the initial handling, spinning, weaving/knitting, wet processing, manufacturing and trading of the finished item.

Having a common standard means textile manufacturers can export their fabrics and garments with a trusted certification that is accepted in all major markets. This transparency also gives the consumer the power to choose authentically organic products sourced from environmentally sound supply chains.

OKEO-TEX

An OKEO-TEX 100 label on fabric certifies that every component (fibres, dye etc) has been tested for harmful substances and has qualified as harmless for human health. Testing is conducted by independent OKEO-TEX partner institutes who examine numerous regulated and non-regulated substances which may be harmful to human health, in many cases exceeding national and international requirements.