PRODUCT & MATERIAL STRATEGIES
PRODUCT
In line with the UN Sustainable Development Goal 12 [Responsible Con- sumption & Production] Ownley has initiated a Material Strategy which will focus on the following 3 areas;
1. Analysing current production data to better understand material breakdown of each collection.
2. Reviewing our material and producing with alternative sustainable fibres.
3. Reviewing our production methods to identify key opportunities for improvement.
To better understand our process and goals, we have broken down our commitment to SDG 12 into four main areas of opportunity.
- Fibre Matrix System
- Restricted Substances List - Printing Techniques
- Sustainable Capsule
FABRIC MATRIX SYSTEM
The Fibre Matrix System is a recognised standard which identifies and grades the impact of specific materials on our environment. This index considers; human toxicity, eco-toxicity; energy, water & land usage, greenhouse emissions and waste generation — to outline a tier
system for brands and businesses. Tier 1 identifies materials brands should strive to use most often, while Tier 4 materials should be avoided as they have the biggest negative impact on our environment.
Based off the Fibre Matrix System, Last Label PTY LTD out- lined a brand-specific framework identifying 4 groupings of materials, through which we have analysed our collections to better understand our achievements & shortcomings in this product category.
| Tier 1 USE OFTEN | Tier 3 USE WITH CARE | ||
| Recycled Cotton | Organic Cotton | Modal | Cotton |
| Organic Linen | Lenzing Lyocell | Polyester | Viscose |
| Organic Hemp | (Tencel, CLY, LYO) | Acrylic | Acetate |
| Organic Silk | Lyocell | Cashmere | Polymide |
| Peace Silk | Lenzing Viscose | Elastane | |
| Recycled Polyester | Tri Acetate | Metal / Lurex | |
| Recycled Polyamide | Wool | ||
| Recycled Wool | Yak Wool | ||
| Organic Wool | Mohair Wool | ||
| Alpaca Wool | Bamboo | ||
| Recycled Cashmere | Silk Cupro | ||
| Lenzing Ecovero Viscose | Linen | ||
| Hemp | |||
| Ramie |
FUTURE STRATEGIES
Using these findings, Ownley has identified potential areas of improve- ment and set out long-term goals with regards to material composition:
- Each season, 100% of our Sustainable Capsules will be produced using Tier 1 materials.
- By 2022 — we aim to reduce our use of regular Cotton (Tier 4) and it will be swapped to organic cotton (Tier 1).
- By 2022 — 50% (1⁄2) of our current viscose usage (Tier 4) will be swapped to Lenzing Ecovero Viscose (Tier 1) and/or Lyocell (Tier 2).
- By 2024/25 — we will decrease our overall usage of Tier 3 & Tier 4 fabrics with each year, aiming to produce over 70% of our annual collections using Tier 1 & Tier 2 materials by 2025.
RESTRICTED SUBSTANCES LIST
In line with EU regulation, Last Label PTY LTD works with a Restricted Substances List, to ensure that all chemicals and substances used across all stages of our production process adhere to the European REACH standards. Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals is a European Union regulation which addresses the production & use of chemical substances and their potential impact on both human health and the environment.
PRINTING TECHNIQUES
The fashion industry is identified as the second biggest consumer & polluter of fresh water after agriculture, resulting in 20% of all industrial water waste annually and an average textile mill uses about 1.6 million litres of water per day - of which 16% of this is part of the dyeing process and 8% is printing 1. To put that into perspective, that is over half the amount of water needed to fill an Olympic-sized pool 2.
Currently our production uses an Engineered Digital Printing and we are looking into ways to better our methods, by using Water Free Digital Printing. As prints are so interwoven into our brand design, initiating immediate change in this area is difficult as we must be careful not to alter the operational structure of our collections and business. As our current printing do not have the facilities to offer Water-Free Engineered Digital Printing, our team is committed to further research & testing of new material compositions and supplier partnerships in order to shift our entire printing processes to favour more sustainable production techniques.