In honour of today being "Earth Day", we reflect on the significance of preserving our big beautiful world and take steps to ensure we are following responsible business practices.
Boom Shankar is committed to being the most responsible brand we can be, for the environment, for our team, and for you - our wonderful customers. While we’re not perfect, we are moving forward with sustainability in front of our minds and big in our hearts. We are continually improving our processes and introducing new initiatives to reduce our environmental impact as part of the fashion industry.
This year's official Earth Day theme is Planet Vs. Plastics and we are taking this theme seriously. Part of our sustainability choices, address five key areas;
- Preferred fibres selection.
- A better choice of packaging.
- A responsible approach to manufacturing.
- Using off-cuts of excess material in our Charity Bags.
- An ethical solution to excess stock.
1. Preferred Fibres selection - kinder to the environment and kinder to the body
Our Preferred Fibres selection allows us to create garments that have the health of the environment and YOU in mind. When selecting our preferred fibres, we choose fabrications that will help to improve our environmental impact and create quality garments that you can love year after year. Fibres like cotton, lyocell, modal and rayon are selected for their water-saving and environmentally friendly qualities while remaining soft to the touch and amazing to wear.
Cotton
100% cotton fibres are natural, softer and stronger. 100% cotton is biodegradable making it kinder on our planet. Not only is cotton easier on the environment, but it is also ultra-wearable. It’s our number one fibre choice due to its breathability, durability and soft-to-the-touch feel – essential for our warm Australian summers!
Other preferred fibres
Lyocell, Modal and Rayon are made from regenerated cellulose fibres originally sourced from birch trees. These fibres typically require less water in the production process–which can also be recycled and reused in subsequent productions–to create fibres that are strong, sturdy and will last you years.
Lyocell is our preferred denim fibre as it is breathable, lightweight, durable and most importantly super soft.
2. A better choice of packaging - Mailer bag
Our garments are made from preferred fabrics, so why not our mailer bags too?
Our mailer bags are made from Australian Standard compostable materials AS5810 and AS4736, which means they can be composted in your home compost with a breakdown period of 90 days.
Boom Shankar swing tags are also made from recyclable paper-based materials, so you can just remove these from the thread and pop them into the recycling bin.
How to compost your mailer bag?
1. Remove any adhesive or stickers from your Boom Shankar mailer bag.
2. Compost it! If you have a home compost in your garden, you can put your compostable mailer straight on the heap and leave it to do its thing. It's as easy as that!
3. A responsible approach to manufacturing
In an effort to reduce dead stock fabric waste in our factories, we have implemented a made-to-order fabric purchasing policy. What this means is, we only purchase the amount of fabric needed to create the products we have forecasted for our wholesalers, retail and online stores.
Occasionally, when the math ain’t mathing, we may end up with more fabric than we need. If this happens, we have a few creative ways to make use of these fabrics, such as adding a new style to the collection in the print with excess fabric or repurposing this fabric to create other products like our charity shopper bags.
4. Charity Bags - We use our excess material for good!
All proceeds from the sale of our charity bags are donated to our charity partner Forget Me Not. You can read about the amazing work they do to reunite children with their families in Nepal, India and Uganda HERE.
Our charity shopper bags are made using dead stock or fabric offcuts in a patchwork design. This means no two bags are the same, and no excess fabric goes unused.
Did you know? If just one person used a sustainable bag option over their lifetime, they would be removing 22,000 plastic bags from the environment. Our charity bags are a great reusable shopping bag solution!
5. An ethical solution to excess stock
While all efforts are made to minimise the amount of end-of-line stock remaining in our warehouse, we don’t always get it right, and sometimes we have leftovers. We will never send this stock to landfill. Instead, we donate this product to those in need, as a way to not only help others but to prolong the meaningful life of our bright and colourful garments.
Over the years, we have donated thousands of pieces to the Thread Together, Uniforms 4 Kids and Beyond DV. These charities redistribute clothing to those who need it most.
Thread Together - “from those who have too much, to those who have too little”
Thread Together is an Australian-based charity that redistributes brand-new but end-of-line clothing items from fashion retailers to people in need.
In 2022 we donated 2,411 pieces of clothing to Thread Together. By collaborating with Thread Together, we are working to empower people through fashion and reduce our environmental impact.
Beyond DV - empowering women through fashion
Beyond DV empowers women and children to rebuild their lives after experiencing family and domestic violence, through recovery programs and services.
In March 2024, we partnered with Beyond DV for International Women's Day and donated over 1,400 garments to women recovering from DV situations, rebuilding their lives, reclaiming their self-confidence, and rediscovering their sense of style and identity. Close to 100 women were able to choose three beautiful new outfits to take home. Beyond DV will offer the remaining clothes to women who participate in their future Skilling Queenslanders for Work training programs. Read the full story here.
Uniforms 4 Kids is an initiative that repurposes pre-loved clothing for children in need. It is a local charity based in Cooroy so very close to home for us!
We work with Uniform 4 Kids on an ongoing basis and donate faulty stock and old sample items which are then re-sewn into children’s clothing by a group of passionate volunteers. This is another way for our brand to help those in need and reduce our impact on the environment.
Another great way that you can help our earth, is by caring for your clothing so that they last longer and also participating in used clothing swap meets, online or in person. It's always best to re-wear, up-cycle, swap or donate your clothing instead of throwing it away. Always read the care instructions on your garments, this will ensure they stay good. You can join the Official Boom Shankar Buy, Swap, Sell Facebook group HERE.
We are taking steps to be a more responsible business in an effort to make sure that our earth stays healthy enough to support the next generations.
xx
BIG LOVE Dui and the entire Boom Shankar Team.