Sustainability

PRINCIPLES

Dr. Denim thinks the best way to approach environmental impact is to use science-based targets and measure based on the best available data according to the principles below:

1: ”Kaizen” The path towards less environmental impact must build on a principle of continuous improvement step by step. ‘Sustainability’ is a broad area that applies not only the fibers used but also the use of water, chemicals, transportation and packaging.

2: “Long life over fast fashion” Dr. Denim develops quality products that last longer and don’t go out of fashion. When you are done with your jeans or your t-shirt, you should be able to give them to a friend or sell them second hand. Garments don't belong in landfills. 

3: “Volume over greenwashing” Sustainability is not about how many ‘options’ there are that are sustainable; it’s about the total quantity delivered, so we put the greatest effort into our volume products because that's what makes the biggest difference. We do not make exaggerated or made-up individual product claims.

GOALS

To ship more than half of the goods, calculated by mass, with at least one environmental attribute by 2024. Detailed specific criteria may change over time based on the best available data.

To maintain our previous goal (achieved) from 2022 of using at least 80% of OEKO-TEX® fabrics in our collections including NOOS. In this case, we are not measuring mass, but the number of fabrics, due to the way the product design process works. All main fabrics considered for a new collection are required to be compliant with this goal, and there is an allowance of 20% to give new (so-called infants) suppliers the chance to get in the know, gather documentation and to become compliant.

HOW?

There's a lot to love about cotton. It has great properties, cotton fields are pretty and, of course, cotton is what jeans are generally made of.

We source the best cotton we can. Sometimes we work with pure organic cotton, other times we work with blended organic cotton. Regardless, the organic cotton we use gets certified as OCS and it can be OCS 100 or OCS blended 

https://certifications.controlunion.com/en/certification-programs/certification-programs/ocs-blended-organic-content-standard.

A tag indicating ”organic cotton” is affixed to all garments with certified organic cotton, both blended and grade 100. We don't yet have this in all our cotton products but we're working on it.

Dr. Denim is a member of the Swedish chemical’s group (Kemikaliegruppen). we use Kemikaliegruppen's chemicals guideline as a basis for our our chemical policy which makes our policy stricter than both the EU directive 1907/2006 “REACH” and California Prop. 65. 

Sometimes we use Lyocell, Tencel®, modal and polyester and mix these with cotton to make garments more durable or to gain a lower HIGG MSI score. The HIGG index is a score that rates the entire footprint of the product. You can read more about HIGG here https://apparelcoalition.org/the-higg-index/. It's worth having a look because this will show you that different materials have different footprints than you'd expect. If you have a HIGG id. please do not hesitate to send us a holler on the platform – we’d love to share necessary and relevant data with you on the platform!

TRIMS

Dr. Denim’s woven logo labels, metal buttons on jeans and metal rivets are made by https://rudholmgroup.com/we-care/

ANIMALS

Dr. Denim does not use any of the following materials for reasons relating to animal welfare:

  • Feathers and down
  • Bone, horn and shell
  • Angora wool
  • Fur
  • Leather (since 2019)
  • Silk

TRANSPORTATION

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT - TRANSPORTATION

At Dr. Denim we believe it's important to address the total impact on human health and the planet based on data. 

MODE OF TRANSPORTATION

The table below shows that from an emissions perspective, sea freight is by far the least harmful mode of transport, and it is the primary mode of transport we use at Dr. Denim. 

By shipping full containers on large bulk container ships, the environmental impact of transporting one pair of Dr. Denim jeans is minimized compared with small scale transport.

A small share of the Dr. Denim volume is transported by truck, from Turkey to Sweden.

It does happen that we have to use air freight. We do everything we can to minimize this. 

It's not as simple as saying that local made is better. Sea freight from Asia to Europe scores pretty well in terms of atmospheric pollutants if you compare to  truck from countries closer by.

Source: OECD –The Environmental Effects of Freight –Table 18
http://www.oecd.org/environment/envtrade/2386636.pdf

 

PLASTIC BAGS

Dr. Denim strives to minimize the use of packaging material wherever possible, but there is a sweet spot between reducing packaging material and the quantity of damaged goods. The environmental consequence of a damaged product is greater than the addition of a plastic bag that is recycled.

Dr. Denim uses low-density polythene plastic bags and with recycling symbol PE-LD and which are BHT-free as well as free of polyvinylchloride to protect products during transportation.

These polybags are biodegradable, but it takes time. Therefore, they should never be littered openly. Please always dispose of plastic in appropriate recycling bins. Compostable bags currently decompose too quickly – even before the product may be sold, which spoils the product. Therefore, it's currently not viable for us to change into such plastic bags, because the footprint of spoiled garments is worse using a low-density polythene bag and recycling the bag after use.

Dr. Denim uses acrylic based low-density polyethylene tape to seal cartons.
Cartons used for inbound shipping are re-used for export purposes to further minimize the use of packaging material.