Coastwear made the sustainable way

The fashion industry is a large polluter and often made with limited regard for workers’ rights. Coast Radar has an aim to promote the coast but we are well aware we need to do this in a sustainable way to keep the beauty available for generations to come.

So when we wanted to launch a clothing side to our business this created a dilemma, how do we offer coastwear in a sustainable way?

We searched sources and finally settled on Teemill, a UK T-shirt printer which is providing print-to-order textile products that meet our expectations, see details about how the products are printed here.

Teemill’s printer on the Isle of Wight has the OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certification. This verifies the practices used at the production site including that the printing inks and final products are free from hazardous chemicals.

Teemill is also certified by GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard ) the global accreditation standard for the supply of organic cotton in the textile industry. It defines environmental criteria throughout the entire organic textiles supply chain and requires compliance with social criteria as well.

Organic cotton is grown in the North of India where monsoon rains provide the water needed to grow the crop. Organic farms also have the advantage of maintaining a soil quality high enough to grow other crops, including food, during the dry season which reduces pressure on the water table when it is most needed.  

In the factories where fabrics are washed, dyed and printed, the water is recovered, cleaned and used again. All wastewater is filtered until it is completely clean and no wastewater is discharged into local waterways. 

Additionally, T-shirts are digitally printed to order in the UK, so there’s no waste from over-stocked designs and sizes. Teemill’s packaging is 100% plastic-free, and at the end of your T-shirt’s life, Teemill will give you an incentive to send it back for reuse, recycling or remanufacturing.

Throughout the supply chain, renewable energy, wind and solar are used. In the UK, Teemill owns a solar farm and power manufacturing operations with renewables. In India, the factory owns two wind farms and a 150kw PV array.

This is the crucial first step towards a more circular economy that is good for people, oceans and the planet as a whole.

We plan to also help our overall carbon footprint and regularly run a Buy One, Get One Tree where for every order on Coast Radar Clothing through the weekend, Friday – Sunday we will plant a tree. We also have weekends where we clear ocean-bound plastic one kg at a time, where every order on Coast Radar Clothing will fund the recovery of a kilogram of ocean-bound plastic rubbish.

Not only is our clothing plastic-free, made from organic materials, but you’ll be helping to plant trees and reduce plastic pollution at the same time.

Now all that is needed to be mentioned is we hope you enjoy our designs!

Do you want to know a little more about how Teemill tries to answer some of the problems in the fast fashion industry, then check out this TED Talk: