5 ways The Good Tee addresses sustainable practices

Did you know the apparel industry accounts for 10% of global carbon emissions, thus making it the second-largest carbon polluter, as written by Forbes? Not only is the fashion industry's carbon footprint a contributor to polluting the planet from air freight and factories, but many other factors such as water wastage and our landfills are covered in textile waste. In this week’s blog, we’ll demonstrate how we can choose to do things differently to prevent further pollution from the fashion industry and protect Mother Nature. 

Check out some of our eco-conscious practices:

1. We ship all our sustainable clothing by sea to lower our carbon footprint.

Shipping by sea is significantly better for the environment in terms of releasing lesser CO2 into the atmosphere. In fact, a ship carrying 2 tonnes of freight over 5000km of distance releases only 150kg of CO2e compared to air freight, which releases 6,605kg of COe2. Huge difference, right? Sea freight ultimately uses lesser fuel to carry the same load compared to air freight. That’s why we at The Good Tee ensure that all our sustainable t-shirts are manufactured in South India are shipped over by sea. 

2. The Good Tee uses Organic Cotton and eco-friendly dyes

Organic cotton is one of the more environmentally friendly options used in the fashion industry. Not only does it use lesser energy resources to produce, but it creates lesser wastage too. The normal manufacturing process requires a significant amount of water used in dyeing, washing, and rinsing the fabric. However, organic cotton requires lesser water compared to polyester or GMO cotton. It is also grown naturally without pesticides, fertilizers, and other toxic chemicals. This makes it easier for cotton farmers' health. In addition, organic cotton is biodegradable and more durable, thus lessening textile waste in landfills.

Toxic dye pollution is also a huge issue within the textile industry. We avoid using all hazardous chemicals and use only AZO-free and low-impact dyes. The absence of chemicals means that any runoff water is cleaner and safer. The dye companies we partner with are connected to a water effluent treatment plant that recycles and reuses water.

3. The Good Tee uses recycled and biodegradable packaging

Not only do we ensure that our organic cotton tshirts are eco-friendly and sustainable, our packaging and clothing tags are too! We get our poly-mailers from Eco-enclose, a company that provides businesses with eco-friendly packaging and shipping supplies. 

Large corporations are still packing single t-shirts in one plastic bag, which is terrible for the environment. We believe in reducing the amount of waste we produce throughout the garment manufacturing process. Our products that are also shipped from India are packed in recycled boxes and with multiple items packed in biodegradable bags to deter plastic wastage.

Our tags attached to our products are also biodegradable and are made with recycled paper.

4. The Good Tee minimizes material wastage

We created our sustainable accessories with the idea of having zero fabric waste in mind. Our Fairtrade Zero-Waste scrunchies, for example, are made from upcycled materials. We used the same soft fabric from our Good T-shirts and utilized fabric from brands that canceled orders after Covid. This is one other way we support our factory and mitigate textile wastage through the materials that aren’t utilized. (Did we also mention that scrunchies are gentler on your hair?)

5. Our FairTrade certfied garment factory uses solar power

Electricity is required to power the huge machinery such as sewing and fabric machines in textile factories.

Solar panels have been growing in popularity for industries to eliminate the need for natural resources and fossil fuels as an energy source. Our factory partner, Kishor Exports, installed a 50KW solar plant to power their factories, reducing their carbon footprint as a fabric manufacturer by using more renewable energy resources instead of finite fossil fuels. In addition, they have a small tubular solar panel specifically used to boil water for the steam irons used in their factory.

Invest in Mother Nature’s wellbeing now by shopping at The Good Tee!