Sustainable fashion company Tentree has set itself the ambitious goal of becoming the world's most environmentally friendly brand. Many of the fabrics used to make clothes, such as polyester, nylon or acrylic, release particles called microplastics when they are washed. Microplastics often end up in our seas and oceans. Clothing factories are among the most polluting industries on the planet. For example, to manufacture one type of jeans, 3781 litres of water are needed. Tentree is a Canadian brand that presents a new ecological concept in fashion. For every piece of clothing it sells, it plants ten trees. Another example is that many of the fabrics used to make clothes, such as polyester, nylon or acrylic, release particles called microplastics when they are washed. Microplastics often end up in our seas and oceans. Tentree also uses organic cotton, as well as using Tencel wood pulp fiber for its linen blends.
As a certified B Corporation company, Tentree wants to show that it is the opposite of the conventional fashion industry. It uses sustainable materials for its designs; for example, coconut shells for buttons, cork for patches, natural dyes, hemp, organic cotton or linen. In addition, they use recycled polyester as well as recycled wool. Wool is not used even though it is considered an ecological fabric because it is a painful process for sheep. It also has a negative environmental impact by contributing to the degradation of natural resources.
Consumers Get to Choose Where the Trees are Planted The shop's conservation policy extends to the purchase of the product. For every piece of Ten Tree purchased, it promises to plant ten trees. Tentree’s CEO, Derrick Emsley, believes that it’s well on it’s way to planting a billion trees by 2030. To date, the company has planted 25 million trees. The planting is done through a reforestation company set up by Emsley and his brother Kalen. And this is how the fashion world can benefit the environment. Each piece of clothing has a tree code, and consumers can see where the new tree will be planted by logging on to the website (www.tentree.com). Consumers get to decide whether the tree will be planted in Madagascar, Senegal, Haiti, Nepal, Cambodia, Indonesia, USA or Canada.