the fashion industry’s contribution to global warming is increasingly well-documented. it’s not something that’s going to be solved easily or by one brand, but we are committed to engaging with this difficult subject and taking steps to lessen our impact.

through local production we’re able to reduce our carbon footprint significantly. we produce over 90% of total bassike products, and 100% of our jersey garments in australia. these short supply chains mean the product doesn’t travel far from our makers to our warehouse.

bassike cotton jersey is produced in a solar powered garment factory. our australian fabric mill partners are also part of the australian government’s greenhouse challenge program to improve emissions.

we use energy efficient led lighting in all stores opened since 2014, and all stores opened prior are being upgraded to led lighting during refurbishment. for deliveries to and from our makers and stores, we work with the not-for-profit organisation greenfleet to offset our carbon emissions.

fashion has a waste problem. globally, less than 1 per cent of used clothing is currently recycled into new clothing, while fast fashion often ends up in landfill after just a few wears. the production process is also wasteful, with excess, offcut and oversupplied fabrics typically destroyed.

in contrast, our jersey production is zero-waste. in 2018, 97% of the jersey fabric we purchased was used to make bassike garments. of the small remainder, 2% was cut into rags and donated to local mechanics, while 1% was held in stock for future garment production. 

we donate past season samples to an australian company that turns them into cleaning rags. we’ve also partnered with a local university to donate excess fashion fabric for students to use. these initiatives prevent our textile waste ending up in landfill.

our paper and cardboard packaging is made from recycled content, and is also 100% recyclable and biodegradable. in 2019, we will introduce biodegradable plastic garment bags. this new generation material is made from cassava starch, and dissolves in water.

we re-use our clothes hangers as many times as possible. they are made from a mixture of regrind and recycled content.

for inter-store deliveries, we’ve switched plastic for reusable cloth garment bags made from our fabric offcuts.

we also have a centralised recycling program for our retail stores.

in our mission to be ethically, socially and environmentally responsible, we expect our business partners to do the same. beyond compliance and legal obligations required by fashion companies, bassike partners must also adhere to a sustainability commitment which outlines the minimum standards which must be met within their organisations for us to work together – this covers, ethical trade, ethical raw material sourcing, waste, re-use and recycling, animal welfare, climate change, energy efficiency and the use of chemicals.