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Sustainability
Transparency builds trust
Sustainability Criteria
How to evaluate brands
We partner with only the most environmentally and socially aware brands
In order to partner with us, brands must meet certain minimum requirements in relation to manufacturing practices and material resourcing. We carefully assess brand applications and supporting evidence as part of our thorough evaluation process.
In addition, we consider brand policies and practices in relation to the below operational areas. This includes administration, marketing, warehousing and distribution. Every part of the business model is relevant.
Ethical Consumption Loop
It’s not only brands that are responsible for adopting sustainable values.
The Fair Cottage values ethical consumption and eco-conscious brands, but lasting change relies on consumers as well. Our online shop makes it easy to find sustainable products, empowering choices that have a positive impact on the planet. We also urge you to prolong the life-cycle of your clothing and gear through repair, reuse and recycling.
Labels & Certifications
Eco labels are the shortcuts to trust
Eco Labels and Sustainability Certifications for Brands
Many outdoor brands are certified with sustainability labels which are either self-issued or a third-party allows the brand to use. These labels are often recognisable, but not always. That’s why The Fair Cottage provides detailed information on any sustainability label or certification worn by brands that we partner with. This way it’s easy to understand the processes and materials they use, their corporate social responsibilities, which other organisations endorse them and who carries out audits related to labels and certifications.
The main purpose of labels in this category is to indicate a brand’s commitment to either fair trade, working conditions, wages, workers rights or a combination of these factors. The third-party NGOs responsible for issuing the labels focus on protecting the interests of workers, promoting transparency throughout supply chains and monitoring standards via regular audits.
This type of label verifies that any brand displaying it works to protect animals and their rights. Some labels indicate a commitment not to use animal materials in their products and processes. Others indicate a pledge to protect animal welfare, in cases where a brand manufactures using animal derived materials, or a commitment to conserve wildlife populations and / or their habitats. Depending on the label, certifications can be issued based on an audit or a brand’s promise to comply with ethical standards
Brands sporting labels from this category must adhere to strict standards of good practice in order to be certified. For many labels, these standards aim specifically to promote safety, transparency and sustainability in the textile industry, while the standards of other labels focus on specialist areas of ethical importance, such as fair commerce or sustainable surf boards. All brands are audited by the issuing organisation or an independent third-party to ensure compliance with the standards.
Labels in this category are licensed by organisations whose main priority is caring for the planet and its people. Such a label demonstrates a brand’s support for a certain organisation, both conscientiously and financially. Some organisations direct financial support toward a specific aim, like ocean conservation, while those with much broader scopes apportion revenue to various good causes based on stakeholder input.
Materials
Material classifications
Sustainable Materials for Products
We provide detailed explanations of any eco material featured on our product pages. What does it mean? Who or what does it protect? Which organisation is responsible for certifying the material? These are the kinds of questions we will help you find the answers to.
Some organisations certify that a product is made from or contains a certain percentage of a material, which in most cases is verified by an independent third-party to be of a certain quality and / or from a particular source. Such labels can be used to verify if a material is sustainable, vegan, cruelty free, organic, recycled, ethically sourced or free from harmful chemicals and processes.
As well as certified materials, you can find out via our product pages which products claim to use certain sustainable materials. Such materials, in some cases, are not certified or verified by a third-party, either because no such third-party certification exists or because the brand has chosen to self-certify the use of the material.
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Basalt Fiber -
Bamboo -
Bio Plastic -
Bio Resin -
Cork -
Craft Paper -
Hemp -
Limestone
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Linen -
Natural Wax -
Natural Rubber -
Organic Cotton -
PFC Free -
Recycled ABS -
Recycled Cotton -
Recycled EPS -
Recycled Neoprene -
Recycled Nylon -
Recycled Poly -
Recycled PET -
Recycled Rubber -
Recycled Steel -
Recycled Wool -
Water Ink -
Water-based Glue
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Wool -
Wood -
Yarn
Some technical materials are not certified by a third-party because they are only used by the companies that developed them or by their licenced partners. These tend to be high performance materials with customised properties and complicated processing methods that are patented by the parent companies.
