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The fashion industry is a key player in the global market with annual worldwide revenue of over £1 trillion. This major role provides millions of people around the world with jobs however the success comes at a high environmental cost:
Fashion facts
- 350,000 tonnes of textiles go in to landfill in the UK every year; this is the equivalent of 50 lorries’ worth of clothing per day. On a global scale, this equates to one lorry load of clothes every second.[1]
- Less than 1% of clothing is recycled. [2] (publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmenvaud/1952/report-files/195203.htm)
- It takes 2,700 litres of water to make one cotton shirt – that’s what one person drinks in 2.5 years! [3] (gradesfixer.com/blog/the-impact-of-a-cotton-t-shirt/)
- The average person buys 60% more items of clothing and keeps them for about half as long as 15 years ago. [4]
- Cotton farming uses 22.5% of the world’s insecticides and 10% of all pesticides. [5]
- On average a person consumes 11.4kg of apparel each year. [6]
- 30% of clothing in the average UK wardrobe has not been worn in the past year or so. This equates to around 1.7 billion items of clothing not been worn for at least a year. [7] (www.wrap.ngo/)
- The average British woman has £285 worth of clothes they will never wear. That’s £30 billion of unworn clothes [8] (earthtimesupproject.co.uk/swishing)
- Clothing consumption produces 1.5 tonnes of CO2 per household per year. The equivalent of 6000 cars. [9] (globalbiotechrevolution.com/blog/posts/dont-let-clothes-become-just-consumables/)
How is Royce sustainable?
At Royce Lingerie we pride ourselves on making products which are high quality and long lasting. We only source the best quality fabrics to ensure design excellence, quality and comfort. Royce Lingerie is a ‘slow fashion’ brand; our products are essentials, not fashion led. Organisations of ‘fast fashion’ across the supply chain could cut up to 3% of their carbon, water and waste impact by making clothes that last just three months longer.
We value all our people and create a working environment which ensures long lasting relationships. We are proud to have some members of staff who have been with the company from the very beginning. We treat our employees with respect and encourage everyone to share ideas and make their voices heard with regards to the direction of the business. Investing in our people is vital and we strive to see our employees continuously developing and improving in their working practices.
Recycling:
We have been recycling in the office and warehouse for a long time, making sure the appropriate bins are available throughout the premises. Food caddies will also be put in the kitchens to collect food scraps to avoid compostable items ending up in landfill.
Cleaning Products:
We have made the switch to using Ocean Save Cleaning Pods. Ocean Pods are a range of concentrated, water-soluble cleaning pods that transform into liquid cleaner when added to water. Reusing plastic cleaning product bottles to keep plastic under the sink and not under the sea!
Toilet Roll:
We have made the switch to using Who Gives A Crap toilet paper. Who Gives A Crap makes all their paper with environmentally friendly materials, and they donate 50% of their profits to help build toilets for those in need. To date they have donated over £100,000,000 to charity and saved a lot of trees, water and energy.
Gas:
Our gas is now supplied by Green Energy which is 100% green gas made from organic material.
Electric:
Our electric is now supplied by Ecotricity whose green electricity is made from the wind, the sun and the sea – no fossil fuels, and no animal by-products are used.
To reduce the amount of energy we use all computers are shut down and lights are turned off at the end of every day. We are introducing sensor lights in 2019 to further reduce the energy we use in our offices and will be investing in solar panels before 2025.
Recycle Fabrics:
All our products are designed by our dedicated and gifted team here in the UK. Sample garments are then made and quality tested in house. All fabric that can not be used or off-cuts are donated to a local nursery to be reused for arts and crafts. All samples are donated to Against Breast Cancer bra bin.
Trips Abroad:
We have to make annual trips to our factories who are based worldwide. To minimise our carbon footprint we efficiently plan the trips to ensure we are meeting with multiple factories in order to reduce the number of flights required. When possible, we will use trains over planes.
In 2017 we completely overhauled our warehouse process moving to a fully digitised paperless warehouse system. Orders are sent to handheld barcode scanners meaning items are picked and despatched within a fraction of the time the previous paper based system took. The result is that customers get their order quicker, using less paper. The new system ultimately reduces the carbon footprint of each bra by being able to manage stock more efficiently.
This means more efficient systems for Royce, less paper and speedier deliveries for customers worldwide.
In 2012 Royce Lingerie teamed up with Against Breast Cancer to offer its customers the chance to recycle old bras; helping the environment and raising money for charity at the same time.
About the Bra Bank:
The Bra Bank system was set up by Against Breast Cancer in conjunction with BCR Global Textiles. Against Breast Cancer is a charity which works to fund ground breaking research to improve detection and increase survival after breast cancer diagnosis. BCR Global Textiles is an organisation which specialises in the re-use and recycling of textiles, giving them a new lease of life in developing countries across Africa.
How it Works:
When you make a deposit at a Bra Bank, your ill-fitting or unwanted underwear will be whisked away to start a new life on the other side of the world, where traders support their families selling textiles locally. Successful ventures like this keep many families in developing countries out of poverty, whilst also providing employment for people at home in the UK. Any bras that are genuinely beyond redemption are dismantled and disposed of properly.
BCR donates £1,000 to Against Breast Cancer for every tonne of textiles they collect, that’s only 9,000 bras and with over 30 million women in the UK this scheme could really help make a difference to people at home and overseas.
Against Breast Cancer’s Bra Bank now appears in Royce stockists across the UK, from the Shetland Islands to the Isle of Wight. To find your nearest bra bank go to our Stockist page.
If you would like to request a bra bank Visit Against Breast Cancer Charity and complete the online form: https://www.againstbreastcancer.org.uk/recycling/bra-recycling/
Royce is enrolled in a ride to work scheme with Bike 2 Work. The scheme saves you money on buying a bike and accessories. The savings start at approximately 20% and payments are made via salary sacrifices before tax every month for a set period, usually a year.
Our sustainability pledge
We are aware that so much more can be done in order to reduce our carbon footprint and to make Royce Lingerie and the fashion industry more sustainable. We have brought all our teams together in order to make a plan of action. We have goals we want to reach by 2020 and goals we aim to reach by 2025. Here is our pledge:
We make thousands of bras every year!
By 2020:
We launched Eden in June 2020. Eden is our first organic cotton bra, inspired by best-selling Comfi-bra and the debut style in our sustainable range. Organic cotton eliminates the use of toxic and persistent chemicals, improves soil health and increases water conservation. All of which is better for environment and for farmers and their communities.
By 2025:
We aim to have at least 20% of our full range made from recycled or natural and organic fabrics. Using recycled materials helps to transition into a more circular fashion economy, creating a business that is restorative and regenerative by design.
How:
Our team of designers will work with our manufacturers and fabric suppliers in order to source quality fabrics which meet our criteria to ensure they are not only sustainable but high quality and long lasting too.
By 2020:
All of our swing tags, bra boxes, postal boxes and bags are now made from either recycled materials or carbon balanced paper.
How:
Our team have been researching and have found a company called CEAE who use recycled cotton to make swing tags. CEAE works with an energy efficient, solar powered, factory in India. Almost 100% organic cotton, pre and post consumer waste is collected and, using a natural process to shred the waste and make into a pulp. It is then converted into sheets, dried naturally and then compressed to make the finished paper. Using vegetable based inks and chemical free dyes, it is made into the finest swing tags.
Our bra boxes are made from carbon balanced paper. Carbon balanced paper is achieved through the preservation of ecologically important standing forests, under real and imminent threat of clearance, locking in carbon that would otherwise be released an securing continued absorption of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Our postal boxes and bags are made from recycled materials and are also 100% recyclable.
By 2025:
We will work with our suppliers to find a sustainable solution to plastic poly bags. Poly bags protect the bras when they are shipped from the factory to our warehouse, stored in our warehouse, and then shipped on to our customers. It’s important that the bras are protected as damaged bras simply create more waste.
By 2020:
We will have sourced and have available bra wash bags to purchase on our website. Bra wash bags stop bra straps and hooks becoming tangled or snagged on other garments during the wash and spin cycle. By protecting the bras in a wash bag you not only extend the life of the bra but the other clothes which being washed.
90% of Royce staff are female. In our pledge to reduce waste wherever possible, we want to educate and encourage our female members of staff to use more sustainable sanitary products such as a menstrual cup.
Menstrual cups reduce the amount of waste to landfill and provide significant cost savings over tampons and pads.
Drapers Sustainable Fashion Awards 2020
We are proud to be shortlisted for the Drapers Sustainable Fashion Awards 2020 for Brand of the Year up to 30m.
This award recognises the wholesale women’s, men’s or kids’ fashion brand that has made the most progress towards its sustainability goals in the last 12 months.
