Post Consumer Wool
The yarn we have chosen to work with is produced from post consumer wool materials in Mumbai, India.
Our factory works with global strategic partners around the world to collect and buy unserviceable used clothing —clothing that cannot be sold in the second-hand clothing market.
The used clothing is baled and shipped in containers which otherwise would have to be shipped back to India empty because shipping companies are required to maintain balanced container inventory at major ports worldwide.
Their trained workforce sorts the used clothing bales according to fiber composition on a long conveyor belt where we separate cotton from wool, acrylic and other synthetic garments. Once each fiber type is separated the garments are sorted by color and then sent through our cleaning process.
Benefits of Recycled Wool vs Virgin Wool
Our material partner has been offering up-cycled products made from 100% post-consumer textile waste for 40 years. Their yarns, fabrics and throws are made using very little water with no dyes or chemicals in the manufacturing process. The entire plant and production process is certified to the Global Recycled Standard (GRS).
Social Impact
The entire sorting and cleaning process is done manually by women from the factories neighboring local villages who would not otherwise be able to work because they cannot read or write. They employs 300 women at any given time. These women are the primary source of support of their families. By employing these women our factory partner empowers them and provides an opportunity to earn sufficient income to send their children to school, plant gardens for fresh food and afford modern amenities such as cooking stoves, televisions and phones.
Our Materials
We use the most responsible products possible, and invest in new solutions as they arise to reduce our impact that much further. Every material we use is the best there currently is—but we’d be sugarcoating things if we said they were all perfect. Here’s an overview of what we currently use.