London-based fashion brand House of Baukjen is a family-run business made up of two brands: Bauken and its maternity brand. Isabella Oliver. Designing its clothes for good, the brand’s core focus is to support an environmentally, ethically, and socially conscious future for fashion. By taking conscious business decisions, the brand’s mission is to put people at the heart of its business operations, in order to practice ethical supply chain activity. The brand strives to put impoverished female workers first and foremost and to craft designs that empower them. Whether it be sustainable practices, recycling of clothes and fabrics, or dedication lower carbon emissions, House of Baukjen is putting its best foot forward. It was recently recognized as ‘Best For The World™’ B Corp, and proudly scores the highest as a UK fashion brand, and scores second-highest in Europe. The brand even comes in at the top 5% of all B Corps in the world.d In 2021, the brand has been recognized as a Carbon Neutral leader in the United Nations Global Climate Action Awards. Ethically Made Apparel House of Baukjen makes apparel that comes from factories that have signed its code of conduct, making sure that the highest ethical standards are met. In terms of certifications, the brand’s “Eco-Cashmere” consists of 50% pre-consumer recycled and 50% post-consumer recycled cashmere wool which is made in Italy and GRS certified (Global Recycling Standard). Their ECOTEC® yarn which is also manufactured in Italy produced by a traceable and certified production process that transforms pre and post-consumer textile waste into 100% cotton yarn, and is GRS and Oeko-Tex certified House of Baukjen also uses FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified viscose, ensuring that the wood fibers used to make our viscose clothing is sustainably-harvested and doesn’t contribute to deforestation. In addition, it uses Lenzing™ Ecovero™ viscose that’s made from the natural and renewable raw material of wood from sustainable forests. To align with brand values surrounding the ethical treatment of animals, House of Baukjen’s sheep wool is certified by the RSW (Responsible Wool Standard).
Baukjen de Swaan Arons, Founder House of Baukjen Signs The Fashion Pact The Fashion Pact is a global coalition of fashion and textile companies with a common commitment to key environmental goals for the climate, biodiversity, and the oceans: stop global warming, restore biodiversity and protect the oceans. The Fashion Pact was presented last year at the G7 summit in Biarritz, Spain, and signed today by more than 67 companies from 14 countries, including six Spanish fashion companies (Inditex, Carrefour, Desigual, El Corte Inglés, Mango, and Tendam). It published its first annual progress report on 12 October 2020, which sets out seven strategic objectives to protect the climate, biodiversity, and oceans. In the framework of climate protection, the principles of the UN Fashion Charter adopted in 2018 will be applied and the aim is to achieve a 25% supply of low-polluting materials by 2025and to use 50% renewable energy by 2025 and 100% by 2030. They are also committed to achieving a zero-carbon footprint by 2050. In the area of biodiversity, the signatories of the Fashion Pact have committed to protecting key species and to protect and restore vital natural ecosystems. An action plan was developed for the next two years, creating a partnership with global experts and institutions to ensure that two main targets are met: the development of individual biodiversity plans by the end of 2020 and support for zero deforestation and sustainable forest management by 2025. In relation to ocean protection, the initiative has set the elimination of "unnecessary" plastics used as packaging material, such as polythene bags, coat hangers, consumer packaging, and shopping bags, as its main objective. The signatories have committed to work towards the elimination by 2025 of consumer packaging and by 2030 of packaging for the B2B sector. Another objective is to ensure that at least half of all other plastic consumer packaging is 100% recycled by 2025 and by 2030 for B2B packaging. Other signatories of the Fashion Pact include Adidas, Burberry, Chanel, El Corte Ingles, H&M, Nike, Stella McCartney, Prada and many more. It remains to be seen whether the fashion industry will actually implement the goals set out in the Fashion Pact for sustainability or whether they will just be good intentions with empty promises.