Organic Basics Sustainability

Every single fabric used by Organic Basics is handpicked based on its environmental footprint and lifetime durability. Each material falls into either Class A or B, which means that it’s natural, renewable, recycled, biodegradable and/or low-impact. The two main fabrics used are organic cotton (GOTS certified) and a recycled nylon that is made from pre-consumer textile waste that would otherwise go to the landfill and which uses 80% less water to make and creates 90% fewer CO2 emissions compared to virgin nylon. 91% of all fabric content used by Organic Basics is organic or recycled.

Organic Basics uses GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) to ensure organic standards throughout its supply chain, and SA8000 to ensure their products are made fairly. We have not seen any public Code of Conduct, but it is transparent about its fully certified factory partners, and explicit about labour welfare policies in factories. It lists all its manufacturing partners on its website, across Austria, Scotland, Turkey, Portugal and Italy. Certified factory partners must maintain a high, safe standard of working conditions and all staff members are paid a fair, living wage. Employees benefit from additional perks such as free childcare and free lunch. There are policies in place to protect against child labour and ensure all workers are in freely chosen employment. Organic Basics also traces its supply chain. Most parts of this chain are either independently audited or visited by the brand.

The brand uses renewable energy in its supply chain, and also uses eco-friendly materials and limits the amount of chemicals, water and wastewater used in each production process. When the time comes to dye products, Organic Basics uses a company in Turkey which has a strong environmental ethos. The company has adopted water-efficient practices reducing usage by 40% and uses co-generated steam energy, reducing its energy footprint by 60%.