WHY BE SUSTAINABLE?
At Farah we’re doing all we can to be more sustainable. We might not be where we want to be yet, but we’re getting there. We believe every company - and perhaps especially in the fashion industry - must play its part in minimising its environmental and social impact.
ORGANIC COTTON
The majority of our clothing is made using cotton. From 2021, our core basics will all be made with 100% organic cotton, independently certified by the Organic Content Standard or the Global Organic Textile Standard. Organic cotton production has a less harmful impact on the environment as it doesn’t use harmful chemicals to grow, so doesn’t pollute the water or soil; it also uses less energy and water. We’re committed to continue to move as many styles as possible into more sustainable fabric bases over the coming years.
PACKAGING
We’re removing all unnecessary packaging and wrapping for online orders, and the plastic packaging we do use is more environmentally-friendly. They're made from recycled poly bags and are recyclable too. At our shops we also use minimal wrapping for purchases. In 2021, we’re moving to recycled polyester garment labels and for 2022, we’ll be using FSC certified paper trims. This includes our swing tickets.
RECYCLING
We know fashion manufacturing can be extremely wasteful. We want to tackle that and we’re working to streamline our processes to greatly reduce excess production. In the meantime all our unwanted or unsaleable clothing goes to I:CO, global leaders in the collection and recycling of waste textiles. They can give these clothes a second life, so the resources that went into making them are not all lost. In the near future we’ll have collection boxes in our shops – people can drop off their unwanted clothing there and we will take care of the rest.
RECYCLED FABRICS
Our clothing is predominately made from 100% organic cotton but we have used recycled fabrics in the past, and we will do again. Where there is negligible impact on the quality of our clothing, we will use much more of it over coming seasons. Previously we have designed knitwear using materials derived from recycled plastic bottles. Wherever we do use recycled materials we ensure that they meet the Global Recycled Standard, an internationally recognised certification programme ensuring recycled materials are environmentally sound at each stage of their production.
CLEVERCARE
We’ve joined the international Clevercare campaign in labelling our clothing to help inform people about how best to launder their clothes. This is to ensure that they last longer and have minimal impact on the environment. After all, 30% of the carbon footprint of a piece of clothing comes from the way it’s laundered.
SUPPLIERS
Perry Ellis International makes its clothes in more than 20 countries around the world, of which 8 produce for the Farah Brand - from Europe to the Far East. It’s incumbent on us to ensure that every one of those factories abides by international regulations regarding employees’ age, pay, hours, working conditions, rights and safety. All the factories we work with are expected to comply with our Vendor Code of Conduct, and also be accredited by independent social compliance monitors the likes of WRAP or Sedex. On top of this, our parent company, Perry Ellis International, carries out its own thorough audits and regular spot-checks of our suppliers too. We make our people directly responsible for managing those suppliers to ensure these high standards. Every year we publish our Modern Slavery Act Statement which reports on our due diligence towards improving transparency in our supply chains.
