Our factory has been investing in clean technologies for years, and through our partnership with Jeanologia, the world leader in sustainable eco-tech equipment, we stay on top of the innovations available to the industry.
We wash our denim using E-Flow technology, which converts water into nanobubbles, essentially washing with a vapor, and saving over a thousand gallons of water in every load. We lighten through a combination of laser technology and Ozone, which leaves behind no residual chemicals and requires very little water as well.
Through our partnership with ASUTEX, we exclusively use Bluesign™ certified low impact chemicals in our wash house. These include plant and mineral-derived dyes and softeners, as well as safe, alternative lightening agents, which allow us to avoid the harsh chemicals typically involved in denim production.
As you can imagine, we are well-equipped with the most efficient technology possible. In addition to all this, we use high efficiency hanging dryers which recycle the steam created in the drying process for energy.
At ÉTICA, we strive for continuous improvement. To that end, we use Jeanologia’s Environmental Impact Measurement (EIM) software to track the water, chemical and energy consumption of every pair of jeans we produce, as we challenge ourselves to further reduce our impact every season.
THE DETAILS ARE IMPORTANT. Around the world, consumer goods generate around 207 million tons of packaging waste every year, and packaging makes up over 30% of landfill waste. We consider every aspect of impact, and we do our best to ensure our product doesn't contribute to this issue. Our brand labels are woven from 100% recycled material. Our hang tags are printed with soy-based ink on 100% recycled paper, and plantable seed paper. Our merchandise ships in biodegradable poly bags, which break down within one year, as opposed to traditional bags which would take a century to break down. In addition, we do not use leather or other animal products in or on our clothing.
Our R&D team is always looking for better packaging solutions, and we plan to be plastic free at both our headquarters and factories by 2022.