“The most effective way to reduce waste is to not create it in the first place.”

- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

 

Fashion is the 2nd most polluting industry in the world, accounting for 10% of total carbon emissions, 7% of global landfill and 20% of global water pollution.

 

Mass manufacturing is the problem

Clothing production hasn't changed much in the last 100 years. Nearly every factory generates staggering amounts of waste with Henry Ford-like assembly lines. Nearly every brand outsources production to these factories, in effect also outsourcing environmental responsibility and ethics. Many brands publish codes of conduct and impact reports that suggest a lot through future "targets" or 3rd party certificates, but guarantee very little if anything at all.

- U.S. Public Interest Research Group

Under the current model, brands create factory orders using seasonal demand estimates, which drives massive overproduction. Every year, 30% of clothes produced are never sold; overstock that many retailers destroy, landfill or incinerate. 

The mass production system also results in significant material waste. Large purchase orders with unpredictable fabric yields cause factories to produce 5-10% more fabric than is needed. After production, this excess fabric is considered waste, or deadstock, as the quantities are too small for future orders produced with mass production methods.

 

Made-to-order as a solution

Clean Tee's made-to-order production system produces zero inventory waste. Our clothes are made on-demand when customer orders are received, meaning we only make what you order.

Made-to-order is also a highly nimble system suitable for small fabric lots. This enables Clean Tee to integrate fabric overages from other factories and put this unwanted material back into circulation. Unlike organic or other sustainable fabrics, reclaiming fabric overages doesn't require new resources or energy, making this among the most sustainable fabric types in the industry. At Clean Tee, we're not only eliminating waste in our own production, but helping clean up the waste from other factories as well.

 

Continuous improvement is part of the process

We believe the Clean Tee model is best-in-class and is superior to the current industry's mass production model. But of course one factory can't single-handedly clean up the fashion industry, and we don't claim to have all the answers. We can always do better. In addition to our current efforts, we are comitted to constantly improving our model to deliver quality products while reducing waste and increasing the wages of the people who make our clothes.