Sustainability
Sustainability means
responsible innovation.
We chose our partners by their values, transparency and geographical closeness, because sustainability is also in shipping and the importance of cutting down CO2 emissions in order to protect the environment from increasing pollution.
We are truly convinced that also the small things can better change our world.
1. Supply Chain
The Englishman Mike Berners-Lee, in the book How bad are bananas, calculated that an apple has zero emissions if it is produced in our garden, but generates 150 grams of Co2 if it arrives from the other side of the world.
It would have made no sense to use the materials with the lowest environmental impact available on the market to then produce our garments in Asia, contributing to the production of tons of Co2 due to the movement of our collections.
The production plans we rely are all at a geographical distance of less than 300 km from our headquarter. Sure, they won’t be in the garden, but we get close enough.
2. Materials
Our men’s trunks are made of 100% polyester recycled from post-consumer waste and plastic debris recovered from the seabed.
In fact, we use SEAQUAL™ polyester.
SEAQUAL™ is an initiative to challenge plastic pollution and clean the oceans from marine litter. SEAQUAL™ collaborative model involves NGO’s, fishermen, researchers, scientists, authorities and private stakeholders. SEAQUAL™ revalues post-consumer waste lost in the environment promoting and supporting cleaning initiatives, engaging industries and consumers.
SEAQUAL™ is one of the most certified, earth friendly fibers in the world. It’s high quality recycled polyester yarn made from recycled materials including post consumer plastic bottles and plastic captured from the sea, that’s why it contributes to preserving natural resources and reducing the waste in the planet’s water.
The swim pieces of the women’s line are produced using 65% ECONYL® regenerated thread that comes from nylon waste such as fishing nets and 35% Lycra.
ECONYL® regenerated nylon is a product that is made from waste and it is infinitely recyclable. It’s all part of the ECONYL® brand vision to make the world a better place by pioneering closed loop regeneration processes and delivering sustainable products.
For every 10,000 tons of ECONYL® raw material, it is possible to:
• Save 70,000 barrels of crude oil
• Avoid 57,100 tonnes of CO2 eq. emissions
Using ECONYL® nylon, it is possible to reduce the global warming impact of nylon by up to 80% compared with the material from oil.
For our cotton products we only use organic cotton. Organic cotton is a type of cotton grown from non-genetically modified plants and without the use of synthetic agricultural chemicals such as fertilizers or pesticides. Its production helps to promote and improve biodiversity and biological cycles.
Part of the collection is produced with recycled organic cotton which guarantees compliance with the rules of a closed circuit production.
Whenever it is not possible to use recycled organic cotton, we use GOTS certified organic cotton. The GOTS certification (Global Organic Textile Standard) is a guarantee of excellence as regards the world of fabrics made with organic fibers. This certification defines compliance with top-level environmental criteria for the entire supply chain of textile fibers and at the same time requires compliance with important social criteria.
3. Shipping & Packaging
Thanks to the logistic partner we selected, for each ton of Co2 produced by the shipments to end customers of our garments, an equivalent amount of Co2 is reduced through a certified project (Natural Capital Partners) to reduce emissions in businesses in which it is possible to reduce the Co2 emission.
Our shipping bags are biodegradable and compostable and therefore they becomes organic compost following a natural degradation process.
They are certified by TUV AUSTRIA according to European regulation EN-13432 for composting.
Estimated time to degrade a traditional shipping-bag: 10-1,000 years (depending on the material with which it is produced)
Estimated time to degrade a SEAY shipping-bag: approx. 3 months (if in contact with water)
For the shipment of the items purchased on our e-commerce portal soseaty.com, we have equipped with recycled cardboard packaging.
So if you have planned to buy a certain number of items on our website, expect to receive them in this beautiful ecological box.
Made with a minimum of 90% recycled material and 100% recyclable.
4. Trade Furniture
Utmost attention was paid to the development of the trade furniture with the goal to offer the most sustainable option that can be produced. The shelves are panels made from recycled fiberglass and expanded thermosetting materials. Waterproof like plastic, flexible like multilayer, workable like MDF, stable like glass, formaldehyde free and, most important, 100% recycled and recyclable.
The structure is 100% bamboo made. The growth of an oak takes on average 80 years while for bamboo the average growth and regrowth time is about 5 years. A substantial difference that puts it in first place among the plants with the fastest growth, making it literally renewable especially if taken from areas subject to guaranteed reforestation. Another important fact: bamboo can produce up to 20 times more wood than the number of trees in the same area; bamboo has such a rapid growth that in some cases it becomes a weed, hence the fact that being used can be considered a benefit.
The surfboard side panel is in FSC certified ash. FSC certification is an international, independent and third-party certification, specific for the forestry sector and products – woody and non-woody – deriving from forests. This certification ensures that a forest or a forest plantation is managed in compliance with strict environmental, social and economic standards. These standards are based on 10 principles and 70 responsible forest management criteria defined and kept up to date by FSC with the participation of all interested parties.