SUSTAINABLE
Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do. With the fashion industry continuing to grow exponentially, its carbon impact grows as it churns out high volume, low quality, seasonal trend clothing that’s readily discarded. Paul & Paulie follows the ethos of slow fashion.
Using ethical, responsible, and sustainable practices, I take inspiration for my sketches from the natural beauty of New Zealand. I design clothing made from 100% organic Indian cotton for babies and young children whilst being mindful of looking after the planet and our future.
Small Batch Production
The term 'sustainable' is used to describe a more ethical approach to the clothing industry that promotes slower, more sustainable methods by producing quality garments, in smaller quantities - batch production. These will last longer and hopefully be handed down through family and friends or on sold pre-loved.
Fabric wastage is also a concern in the industry as with large scale commercial clothing production there is often considerable wastage. Small batch production of our garments minimizes waste and leftover fabric and offcuts are used to make face cloths, which are given as complimentary gifts to mums at expos and local markets.
Packaging
Our garments are shipped from India in FSC-certified Recycled Cardboard Cartons and certified 100% Compostable Polybags. No plastic is used as both India and New Zealand governments have officially banned the use of plastic, which ties in with our sustainability practices.
We have consciously chosen 100% compostable plant-based packaging (courier satchels and FSC certified gift boxes) for shipping our garments to our customers, using New Zealand Post Couriers who practise carbon-neutral sustainable shipping.
We are currently reducing packaging and where required use 100% FSC-certified Recycled Paper printed with soy-based inks that are 100% compostable for example for our swing tags, stickers, thank you cards, cardboard hangers, and boxes from responsible suppliers.
At local markets and baby expos, customers are given the choice to minimise packaging by going paper-bag-free or use recycled paper bags.
We have an eco-conscious home-office, where we actively reduce, reuse/upcycle, and recycle waste.
ZLD – Zero Liquid Discharge
We purposely hand-pick smaller manufacturers who can demonstrate that they are actively engaged in improving the sustainability of their manufacturing processes through practices like ZLD (zero liquid discharge).
ZLD – Zero Liquid Discharge is a wastewater processing system that ensures there is no discharge of industrial wastewater into the environment. Our manufacturer uses the ZLD water saving technique for pollution free garment dying. The water is treated, and all contaminants are reduced to solid waste minimizing the impact on the environment.