We’re trying to avoid single-use plastics as much as possible! Plastic bottles, bags and disposable coffee cups are some of the largest plastic offenders, but clothing packaging is also a major contributor to the global plastic issue.
Fashion relies on plastic and paper throughout the supply chain – from polybags in factories to plastic packages for online orders, and carrier bags in store. Single-use plastic weighing the equivalent of 80,000 elephants is thrown away by the fashion industry each year in the form of polybags alone (Common Objective), and most of these bags are not recycled. This means it goes to landfill, gets incinerated or finds its way into the oceans. According to a report from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, current trends mean that there may be more plastic in the oceans than fish by 2050.
It’s estimated that over 90 billion plastic bags and garment covers are used annually by the fashion industry, and in the natural environment they can cause many issues, such as threatening marine life and contributing to microplastic contamination.
So what are we doing about this?
We use biodegradable mailing bags...which we've turned into beautiful recycled plastic earrings!
We're so excited to have partnered with YagoEco to create a collection of recycled plastic earrings from our returned packaging and old plastic bottle tops. All the plastic is melted down and mixed together before being formed into the lovely shapes we have on offer - raindrop dangly earrings and circle studs. All the earrings are handmade in London - we wanted to find a way to reduce our waste and collaborate with other small businesses, so we’ve turned our plastic waste into jewellery!
Wearing our green recycled plastic earrings helps you to express your environmentalist ways and increase public awareness about the plastic problem around you. It is a great conversation starter and can help you to bring positive changes in your environment.
You can read more about the making of our recycled plastic earrings on YagoEco's blog here.
What Does 'Biodegradable' really mean?
Our mailing bags are made from 100% recycled material with biodegradable additives. ‘Biodegradable’ has a subtly different meaning from ‘compostable’.
- Compostable packaging is designed to break down in the specific compost conditions and return nutrients to the soil.
- Biodegradable packaging can be broken down by microorganisms in the natural environment, but unlike compostable packaging its component parts won’t be of any particular benefit to the soil. But because it can be naturally broken down, it won’t hang around for hundreds of years in landfill or the sea!
Y.O.U underwear comes packaged in our exclusive, re-usable organic cotton bag
We package our undies in a beautiful organic cotton bag, that has a long life ahead of it! Our organic bags with a cord fastening are the perfect place to store cables, period products, toiletries, makeup and more! And they come printed with a motivational message – Y.O.U Make A Difference!
I love these pants! They are very comfy and look so good. Loved the reusable cotton bag they came in and is great to know that they are sourced sustainably and ethically. Will definitely be buying for Christmas presents this year! – Ellie
We use organic cotton in all our products because it’s much better for the environment! As well as being full biodegradable, organic cotton has a much lower water and carbon footprint when compared to conventional cotton, and it also helps to avoid the use of harmful chemicals.
We package our re-usable, organic cotton face masks in paper bags made from 60gsm kraft paper, which are 100% recyclable and naturally biodegradable.
Sometimes we have to use plastic – but it’s always recycled and recyclable
It's hard to completely avoid plastic in some parts of our supply chain, but we do avoid it wherever possible. For instance, it’s important to protect our underwear on its journey from our ethical manufacturer in India to the UK. As well as working with our manufacturer to reduce the amount used where possible, this plastic is recycled and recyclable – and we’re always careful to re-use it where possible!
