Experts say that our greatest environmental challenge – when it comes to environmental crises like climate change, habitat destruction, and species extinction – is our consumption. One of the worst offenders is fast fashion: lower prices encourage consumers to buy clothes more frequently, which drives companies to make low quality clothes with a short lifespan.

It is said that “if something is too cheap, somebody else is paying”. Cheap products reflect how little they and the lives they touch are valued, because their price doesn’t pay for fair wages, healthy working conditions, or environment-protecting practices.

Sustainable products cost more than unsustainable products because they are more expensive to make – “quality doesn’t come cheap” – and they are not yet popular enough to enjoy the “economies of scale” that would enable producers to pass cost savings on to consumers.

We believe that you should pay for sustainable products when you can afford the investment because:

1. You will be able to buy products less often, which reduces over-consumption.

2. You will save money in the long run, because you are paying more for higher quality, which provides better value.

3. You are voting with your dollar for socially and environmentally conscious business practices, which incentivizes businesses to do things differently and better. Fewer, better clothes that sell for higher prices slows down shopping and enables manufacturers to provide living wages, healthy working conditions, and improved environmental standards.

Affordability is one of our values, which is why we offer affordable sustainable products at different price points. If you cannot afford the investment right now, know that we are continuously working to diversify our product offerings and make them even more accessible. In the meantime, you can help to boost demand for sustainable products by engaging with our social media pages and sharing our content and art with your friends!

Knowledge is power and shopping informed is important. Many businesses use words like “conscious”, “sustainable”, and “green” to hide or “greenwash” their unsustainable practices and products. Unfortunately, there is no universal definition or symbol for “sustainable product” and the number of different definitions and symbols creates a lot of confusion for consumers. Since we value transparency, we believe it is important to tell you what we mean. 

Our sustainable products meet at least 1 of these 2 criteria:

1. Sustainably processed - how it's made (farms/forests, mills, factories, and printers)

2. Sustainably made - what it's made of (materials)

In addition to meeting our definition of a sustainable product, some of our products are “certified”, meaning they have a label that proves they meet third party sustainability standards. These certifications are referenced in our product descriptions, and we link to the product certificates that are available to us.

Note that our labels are based on information that is provided to us by third parties (e.g., our partner suppliers), which we are unable to independently verify.

Learn more about our sustainable products.

Sustainable processing covers two stages of the supply chain: sourcing and manufacturing. At the sourcing stage, raw materials, both natural and human-made ("synthetic"), are grown, extracted, or created. This includes farms, forests, and mills. At the manufacturing stage, materials are made into products. This includes factories that make blank products like clothing and canvases, and printers that add designs.

The sustainability features of our sustainably processed products are:

1. Stewardship: Responsible planning and management of natural resources (e.g., regenerative farming and forestry) and animal welfare standards. Certification labels and memberships exist, such as: Forest Stewardship Council (FSC®) and PETA-approved VEGAN.

2. Responsible Methods: Responsible sourcing, manufacturing, and printing methods with reduced environmental and social impact, such as less energy use, resource use, carbon dioxide emissions and other pollution, and waste. Certification labels and memberships exist, such as: Oeko-Tex® and bluesign®, focused on chemical usage, and Global Recycled Standard (GRS).

3. Fair Trade: Fair price for products, living wage for workers, fair, safe and healthy work conditions, and economic empowerment of small-scale producers from marginalized groups or communities. Certification labels and memberships exist, such as: Fairtrade (global), Fair Trade Certified™ (US), Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production (WRAP), and Fair Wear Foundation (FWF).

4. Made to Order: Products are made to order, one at a time, or in small batches.  Certification labels and memberships exists, such as: Nest Seal of Ethical Handcraft.

The sustainability features of our sustainably made products are:

1. High Quality Materials: High quality materials and construction, so products are durable and long-lasting. Buying these products means reducing new purchases.

2. Natural, Renewable Materials: Natural, renewable materials with low environmental impact. Certification labels and memberships exist, such as: Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), Organic Content Standard (OCS), Responsible Wool Standard (RWS), The Good Cashmere Standard, The Sustainable Fibre Alliance (SFA), Advanced Global Traceable Down Standard (Advanced Global TDS), Responsible Down Standard (RDS), and Leather Working Group (LWG).

3. Recycled Materials: Recycled natural or synthetic materials. The higher the percentage, the more sustainable the product. These materials use waste, thereby reducing the need for virgin materials, including virgin plastic (e.g., virgin polyester, spandex, nylon, acrylic, polyamide, polypropylene, and PVC) which is made from fossil fuels and thus has high environmental impact. Certification labels and memberships exist, such as: Global Recycled Standard (GRS).

4. Water/Plant-Based Inks or Non-Toxic Dyes: No ink is 100% free from chemicals or non-renewable resources. The best inks are either water-based or plant-based and emit as few volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as possible. What ink type is used depends on the printing method and printing substrate. Certification labels and memberships exist, such as: GREENGUARD and GREENGUARD Gold Certification.

5. Recyclable or Biodegradable/Compostable Materials: Recyclable materials can be processed and used again, either as fresh supply of the same material or to produce a different material. Biodegradable/compostable materials can break down into natural elements biologically by microorganisms (e.g., bacteria or fungi), in the right environmental conditions (e.g., temperature, UV light, oxygen, etc.). The fact that a product is made from recyclable or biodegradable/compostable materials does not guarantee that it will be accepted by your local recycling or composting centre. Certification labels and memberships exist, such as: Cradle to Cradle.

Our sustainable products are ranked and filtered according to the number of sustainability features they have, into “Gold Star”, “Silver Star”, and “Bronze Star”:

Gold Star products have 7+ sustainability features.

Silver Star products have 5-6 sustainability features.

Bronze Star products have 1-4 sustainability features.

You can find the sustainability rating of each product in its title (e.g., “Gold Star Hoodie”, “Silver Star Hoodie”, or “Bronze Star Hoodie”), and find details about its sustainability features under “product description”. Please note that our Gold Star products often have a higher price tag than our Silver or Bronze Star products because they have more sustainability features. This means we pay a premium for them, since they cost more to manufacture.

Polyester, technically polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic, is a synthetic material derived from petroleum. It does not biodegrade, generally cannot be recycled using today’s technology, enables fast fashion because it is easier and cheaper to produce than natural materials, and fluffy types of polyester fabric (e.g., fleece) shed a lot of toxic microfibers. However, polyester has some benefits, including that blending it with natural materials can increase the lifespan of a product.

We believe it is important to decrease our dependence on virgin petroleum as a source of raw materials, so we would love to see a dramatic increase in the replacement of polyester with natural materials or, at least, in the use of recycled polyester instead of virgin polyester.

For now, since we do our best to provide sustainable products with the maximum number of sustainability features, we avoid polyester when a natural fiber alternative is available, and we avoid virgin polyester when recycled polyester is available.

Information about the size and fit of our sustainable products is provided in the product description on each product page. Size information can be found under "Size Guide," which notes when we show European (EU) sizes. These sizes correspond to a smaller size in the North American market, so our North American customers should order a size up. For example, if you usually buy a North American size extra small (XS) then you should buy a European size small (S), and if you usually buy a North American size medium (M) then you should buy a European size large (L).

Please choose your size carefully before placing your order. As soon as we receive your order, we start working on it. This means that after your order is placed, it cannot be changed or cancelled, and we do not offer returns, refunds, or exchanges if you picked the wrong size.

We know that our customers care a lot about the sustainability of their packaging, so our products are “sustainably packaged” whenever possible.

Our sustainable packaging meets at least 1 of these 3 criteria:

1. Sustainably sourced

2. Sustainably made

3. Sustainably disposable.

For example, to package our artwear, we’ve started using post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastics. Most of our PCR plastics are made from shopping bags and wrapping films. The amount of PCR plastic packaging differs, but it is at least 50% for the outside (white or grey) poly mailer bags, and at least 30% for the inside (clear) bags used in multi-item shipments. The poly bags used in our packaging are recyclable, low-density polyethylene, and some packages have recycling instructions on them. We are also looking for more sustainable ways to replace plastic packaging. To package our artdécor posters, we’ve started using triangular boxes to replace tubes with plastic end caps. Ideally, we aim for our packaging to be “zero waste”, meaning made from materials that are 100% used, reused, or recycled.

Whether or not our packaging is sustainable, we try to reduce its environmental footprint. We “right size” our packaging by eliminating excess materials that do not help to ensure the product’s safety during shipping. For example, single item artwear orders are packaged in only one poly mailer bag. We also ship efficiently, doing our best to ensure that orders are delivered in the same region they are printed, which enables faster shipping times, lower shipping costs, and reduced carbon dioxide emissions.

The supply chain for artwear and artdécor is part of the broader supply chain for the clothing and home décor industries, which has 5 stages:

1. Design: products are designed

2. Sourcing: raw materials, both natural and synthetic, are grown, extracted, or created.

3. Manufacturing: raw materials are made into products.

4. Distribution and Retail: products are delivered to consumers.

5. Consumer: consumers use products until their use ends ("end-of-life").

Where do we fit in the supply chain?

We are a brand and retailer of sustainable artwear and artdécor that is primarily made to order. We work with carefully chosen manufacturer suppliers of sustainable high-quality clothing and home décor, who provide the blank products we design in collaboration with independent artists. We also work with print-on-demand suppliers so that your product is printed with our design specifically for you, when the order is placed, which avoids material waste from overproduction. Our printing partners' high-quality printing technology creates almost no waste-waters and uses less energy than standard industry printers, and they are continuously working to make their production process more sustainable.

Our artwear is printed using the direct to garment (DTG) method, using Kornit water-based and NeoPigment inks that are Oeko-Tex™ certified. With DTG, ink is sprayed onto the product, which helps it soak in better and makes the print less prone to fading. We donate damaged and returned artwear to local charities, like the RedCross and Goodwill.

Our artdécor is printed with an Epson printer and Epson UltraChrome series water-based inks. For posters, we use Epson UltraChrome GS3 ink, which is GREENGUARD Gold certified. Ink cartridges are returned to Epson and recycled.

We are proud to sell sustainable artwear and artdécor designed in collaboration with independent artists and printed by our partner print-on-demand suppliers on blank products made by our partner manufacturer suppliers. They share our vision for a sustainable future.

Stanley/Stella & SOL'S are the manufacturers of our Gold Star sustainable artwear. Stanley/Stella has been ranked among the top 16 leading brands in sourcing sustainable materials by the Textile Exchange, and it is the only B2B brand to appear on the list. It has also been awarded "Leader" status by the Fair Wear Foundation. Bella + Canvas is the manufacturer of our Silver Star sustainable artwear.