It will come as no surprise that fabric is the cornerstone of our business. Without it we would not exist. It comes in many forms, some of it sustainable, some not.
So our goal is two-fold: make product as sustainable as possible, and ensure that product is affordable and accessible for our customers, so they can make a sustainable choice without compromise. Our garments should not only function properly and look good; but do so with minimal negative impact on the environment.
Our customers and employees told us that delivering a greater percentage of recycled and organic fabrics matters to them, and this continues to be a priority for us. In 2020 we set ourselves a goal of reaching 30% certified product by 2022, and we have achieved this! We have done a lot of work to bring genuine certified product to market and are now focussed on our next goal of 60% by 2025.
Fashion production makes up 10 per cent of humanity's carbon emissions, dries up water sources, and pollutes rivers and streams. Washing some types of synthetic clothes sends thousands of microfibres into the ocean. However, there are solutions and alternatives to mitigate these problems.
Conventional cotton farming involves the application of substantial fertilizers and pesticides. Pesticides threaten the quality of soil and water, as well as the health of biodiversity in and downstream from the fields.
WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT?
Synthetic fibres are manmade fibres using petroleum, the process is the not the best on the planet, we are aware of this and are working towards replacement options.
WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT?
When washed, synthetic clothing sheds tiny plastic fragments known as microfibers. Microfibers are the most prevalent type of microplastic (plastic pieces less than 5 mm in diameter) found in the environment.
With every wash, tiny plastic fibres from our textiles find their way from washing machines into the wastewater, polluting rivers, lakes, oceans, and soils.
WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT?
As consumers, we can reduce our own individual carbon footprint by making changes to how we wash our clothes.
WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT?
Textile waste is a well-known global issue within the apparel industry, as a business we have taken this very seriously over the last 5 years. We have reduced our textile waste by improving quality control, and internal processes.
WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT?
For HGH, product stewardship is an approach to managing the environmental impacts of different products and materials throughout all stages of the products' life cycle, including end of life management.
Our ultimate goal is no textile waste, which is difficult to achieve, but we are reusing and recycling an increasing amount, as much as we possibly can.
We have collaborated with several organisations to help find solutions for all our end-of-life products.
These organisations include:
