{"id":26832,"title":"Clothes for a Plastic-Free Ocean","description":"Did you know that the clothes you buy can reduce plastic pollution in the ocean? This blog explains how broken the textile industry is and how Rowan Fox is doing things differently to reduce waste and protect our planet.","content":"<blockquote><p>Did you know that the clothes you buy can reduce plastic pollution in the ocean?<\/p><\/blockquote><p><img src=\"https:\/\/images.teemill.com\/ik1ehtb3rpjaqjv6xxqkodwifdx3j7kb9bzhgfdurpksfrld.jpg.jpg?w=1140&amp;v=2\" alt=\"Boy wearing an orca whale hoodie points out to sea\" title=\"Boy wearing an orca whale hoodie points out to sea\" \/><\/p><h2>The Plastic Problem<\/h2><p>Only 9% of plastic is currently recycled. 8 Million pieces of plastic find their way to our seas every day. The composition of plastic means that it doesn\u2019t fully biodegrade, which means that plastic pollution builds up over time. Large pieces entangle wildlife and microplastics get into our water, into the food chain and have been found in nature from the highest mountains to the deepest ocean trenches and even in our bodies. Eurgh.<\/p><p><img src=\"https:\/\/images.teemill.com\/vsrt5xa5iy8k381vjjeq5rhxhyrsa92az595et1hw5fxwdu3.jpg.jpg?w=1140&amp;v=2\" alt=\"Woman collects plastic from a shoreline littered with plastic\" title=\"Woman collects plastic from a shoreline littered with plastic\" \/><\/p><h2>What have Clothes got to do with Pollution?<\/h2><ul><li><p>The textile industry is responsible for 10% of global carbon emissions<\/p><\/li><li><p>100 billion garments are produced a year<\/p><\/li><li><p>Almost 40% of textiles are never used<\/p><\/li><li><p>Less than 1% of clothing is recycled<\/p><\/li><li><p>87% of clothes (some 40 million tons of textiles) end up in landfill or incinerated<\/p><\/li><li><p>60% of all clothes are made from polyester, a type of plastic fibre<\/p><\/li><li><p>Washing synthetic fibres releases microplastics into the water, accounting for 35% of ocean microplastics<\/p><\/li><\/ul><p>Basically, it\u2019s a big mess.<\/p><h2>So what makes Rowan Fox clothes any different?<\/h2><p>After all of that, your scepticism about anyone trying to sell you clothes is justified.<\/p><p>But we are using a supply chain that aims to revolutionise the fashion industry. Every step of production has been optimised to reduce waste and protect the environment.<\/p><p><img src=\"https:\/\/images.teemill.com\/50kb2ljfwacsxnqah9bizcc9x8kamv7t1gz2sjg4zhc0ysak.jpg.jpg?w=1140&amp;v=2\" alt=\"Boy wearing a hoodie with an orca whale on it smiles in front of the ocean\" title=\"Boy wearing a hoodie with an orca whale on it smiles in front of the ocean\" \/><\/p><h3>Microplastics<\/h3><p>Our clothes won\u2019t shed microplastics when you wash them because they aren\u2019t made of plastic fibres that won\u2019t decompose. We use 100% Organic GOTS-certified cotton. They are dyed using a system that recovers 95% of the water used, which is filtered clean enough to drink before being reused. They are made in renewable-powered factories and printed on demand with GOTS-approved vegan inks.<\/p><p><img src=\"https:\/\/images.teemill.com\/jsAe7eHsCYhkbfzNeYZq05frCZ0ky2sftHznkibXBlq0liPL.jpeg.jpeg?w=1140&amp;v=2\" alt=\"Smiling Indian woman collects cotton\" title=\"Smiling Indian woman collects cotton\" \/><\/p><h3>Plastic-Free Packaging<\/h3><p>We send out your order in plant-based packaging that can be recycled or can biodegrade quickly.<\/p><p><img src=\"https:\/\/images.teemill.com\/kpvu7gexjdn0p7iz7rnrfkt9ygpo3wtja3fqhu9jmbvcimht.jpg.jpg?w=1140&amp;v=2\" alt=\"Woman holds up paper packaging by the coast\" title=\"Woman holds up paper packaging by the coast\" \/><\/p><h3>1KG Plastic Recovery Weekends<\/h3><p>As well as reducing the impact of our clothes we want to go one step further and help plastic that already exists from ending up in the ocean. Our suppliers help us run regular promotions where each order funds the recovery of 1kg of ocean-bound plastic (the equivalent of around 50 plastic bottles) through <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/plasticbank.com\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><u>Plastic Bank<\/u><\/a>.<\/p><p><img src=\"https:\/\/images.teemill.com\/czkxdvawtqtlzgauz54rovuxqsufqaos3j4dqtj1zi5zdfyg.jpg.jpg?w=1140&amp;v=2\" alt=\"People stand on a crate of plastic bottles with the sign\" title=\"People stand on a crate of plastic bottles with the sign\" \/><\/p><p>Plastic Bank projects pay collectors to remove waste from coastal communities in places like Haiti, the Philippines, Indonesia and Brazil. Their collectors gather plastic waste from streets, households, and informal dump sites, properly disposing of plastic waste before it ends up in the ocean. The plastic is recycled and reborn as Social Plastic to be remade into new products as part of a closed-loop supply chain.<\/p><p><\/p><h3>Made to be Remade<\/h3><p>Even once our clothes are worn out, we\u2019re not done. Inside the care label is a QR code which you can scan for information and free postage to return the worn-out item to our supplier in return for store credit. This material is processed and made into new clothes. <\/p><p><img src=\"https:\/\/images.teemill.com\/iuropb9nqmeqthw1ewh7vxyhqhawpd8712krmlgru8qhfil8.jpeg.jpeg?w=1140&amp;v=2\" alt=\"QR code in garment label\" title=\"QR code in garment label\" \/><\/p><h2>How you can take part<\/h2><p>Sign up for our emails, or stay in touch with us on social media so you know when one of our 1kg Plastic Recovery Weekends is taking place. <\/p><p>You don\u2019t need to type in a code, simply place your order during the promotion period. Our supplier counts up all the orders over the weekend promotion and funds the recovery of that amount of plastic through Plastic Bank.<\/p><p>Which design will you choose? <\/p><p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/collection\/t-shirts-9288\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><u><img src=\"https:\/\/images.teemill.com\/de8trngwvykrskbn9udiznphzskzbgemueqczybn8z3ptaaa.jpg.jpg?w=1140&amp;v=2\" alt=\"Clothing rail of children's t-shirts in different colours, front t-shirt is white featuring a badger design\" title=\"Clothing rail of children's t-shirts in different colours, front t-shirt is white featuring a badger design\" \/><\/u><\/a><\/p><p><\/p>","urlTitle":"clothes-for-a-plastic-free-ocean","url":"\/blog\/clothes-for-a-plastic-free-ocean\/","editListUrl":"\/my-blogs","editUrl":"\/my-blogs\/edit\/clothes-for-a-plastic-free-ocean\/","fullUrl":"https:\/\/rowanfox.com\/blog\/clothes-for-a-plastic-free-ocean\/","featured":false,"published":true,"showOnSitemap":true,"hidden":false,"visibility":null,"createdAt":1682187308,"updatedAt":1682189812,"publishedAt":1682189812,"lastReadAt":null,"division":{"id":9288,"name":"Rowan Fox"},"tags":[],"metaImage":{"original":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/2r37xczjehcwnfxyhp3ky7n4omv32ucf5iizldvhxefvksvh.jpeg","thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/2r37xczjehcwnfxyhp3ky7n4omv32ucf5iizldvhxefvksvh.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/2r37xczjehcwnfxyhp3ky7n4omv32ucf5iizldvhxefvksvh.jpeg.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"metaTitle":"","metaDescription":"","keyPhraseCampaignId":null,"series":[],"similarReads":[{"id":23884,"title":"Clothes that Plant Trees","url":"\/blog\/clothes-that-plant-trees\/","urlTitle":"clothes-that-plant-trees","division":9288,"description":"How we can plant more trees together to create a greener future for our kids","published":true,"metaImage":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/9inc4lbcx6hytqa3rmvi6ljfomn6koqvm9vvnqbzk4yj3vmw.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&h=855&z=1.3&fx=0.38461538461538&fy=0.40582063252832","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/9inc4lbcx6hytqa3rmvi6ljfomn6koqvm9vvnqbzk4yj3vmw.jpeg.jpg?w=1920&h=1440&z=1.3&fx=0.38461538461538&fy=0.40582063252832"},"hidden":0}],"labels":[]}