Sustainability Roadmap
There is no one road to a more sustainable and circular planet.
Today
2022
2025
Raw Materials
- Recycled Yarns: All of our garments are made with 100% GRS certified recycled yarns (Global Recycled Standard).
- Recycled Components: All of our zippers, threads, elastics, and drawcords are made from recycled materials.
- Recycled Packaging: All of our packaging (including packing boxes and bags shipped to and from our warehouse) are made from 100% recycled materials; we also avoid using individual garment polybags and hangtags.
- Physical Tracers: All of our recycled polyester yarns contain a physical tracer.
Energy and Co2
- Commitment to Carbon Neutral: While we primarily aim to reduce our emissions footprint at the materials and manufacturing stages, we are progressing towards offsetting the remaining emissions that are circumstantially unavoidable due to financial, technological, and Covid-19 related constraints.
- Lifecycle Impact Analysis: We engaged GreenStep Solutions to help us prepare a report to help us quantify our environmental footprint as it relates to emissions, waste, and water usage. This will (a) serve an initial basis of which we can use to reduce our future impact and (b) help us quantify the impact we’ve made so that we can offset it accurately.
Water Pollution
- Water Neutral: While we primarily aim to reduce the water use within our existing supply chain, we are progressing towards offsetting the water usage that is circumstantially unavoidable due to financial, technological, and Covid-19 related constraints.
- Avoided Pollutants: We do not use PFC (perfluorinated chemicals) chemistries, PVC (polyvinyl chloride), Bisphenol A (BPA), or phthalates.
- Microfiber Fragmentation: (a) avoid using short length spun synthetic fibers, (b) develop textiles made of yarns that have a denier per filament greater than 1, (c) minimize mechanical abrasion of fabric surfaces using techniques such as brushing, sanding, and peaching, which intentionally break fibres and promote earlier fragmentation.
- Solution-dyed Yarns: Half of our recycled polyester yarns are solution-dyed.
- Digital Dyeing: 25% of all recycled polyester yarns are digitally dyed. We are currently working on an impact assessment to accurately measure our water savings vs. traditional jet dyeing.
Waste Reduction
- Plastic Neutral: While we primarily aim to reduce the use of synthetics/plastic within our existing supply chain, we are progressing towards offsetting the synthetic/plastic waste that may potentially be caused by our garments and packaging.
- Recycled Yarns: All of our garments are made with 100% GRS certified recycled yarns (Global Recycled Standard).
- Recycled Components: All of our zippers, threads, elastics, and drawcords are made from recycled materials.
- Recycled Packaging: All of our packaging (including packing boxes and bags shipped to and from our warehouse) are made from 100% recycled materials; we also avoid using individual garment polybags and hangtags.
Resource Depletion
- Traceability: All of our paper and cardboard is sourced from FSC® CoC (Chain of Custody) certified suppliers.
- Solution-dyed Yarns: Half of our recycled polyester yarns are solution-dyed.
- Digital Dyeing: 25% of all recycled polyester yarns are digitally dyed. We are currently working on an impact assessment to accurately measure our water savings vs. traditional jet dyeing.
Chemicals
- Avoided Pollutants: We do not use PFC (perfluorinated chemicals) chemistries, PVC (polyvinyl chloride), Bisphenol A (BPA), or phthalates.
- ZDHC MRSL 2.0 Compliant: All chemistries used in our supply chain are compliance with the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals’ (ZDHC) Manufacturing Restricted Substances List (MRSL 2.0).
- bluesign® System Partners: All of our suppliers are approved bluesign® system partners.
- End-of-Life: All chemistries used in our supply chain do not inhibit textile recycling at the garment’s end-of-life.
Environmental & Social Justice
- Partnership with Eden Reforestation Projects: Eden is an environmental and humanitarian organization whose mission is to provide fair wage employment to impoverished villagers as agents of global forest restoration. We donate a portion of our proceeds to Eden to provide villagers with fair wages who plant trees to help offset our carbon emissions.
- Partnership with 1% for the Planet: 1% for the Planet is an environmental organization that believes that since companies profit from the resources they take from the earth, they should protect those resources. We donate a portion of our proceeds to 1 % for the Planet and a number of their affiliate organizations with similar missions.
- Partnership with DA.AI Technology: DA.AI is an environmental organization whose mission is to help resolve global environmental crises through both innovative and compassionate means. Shinkong, one of our rPET suppliers, purchases PET bottles from DA.AI, who donate 100% of their net proceeds to the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation.
- Customer Directed Donations: At checkout, customers will choose a cause they’d like Tenere to donate on their behalf representing 1% of their purchase.
Raw Materials
- Standard 100 by Oeko-Tex Certification: All of our suppliers will have current Standard 100 by Oeko-Tex certifications.
- Solution-dyed Yarns: All of our recycled polyester yarns will be solution-dyed.
- Synthetic Yarns: In an effort to move away from synthetic yarns, at least 20% of all fibers used in our supply chain will be composed of natural materials.
Energy and Co2
- Carbon Neutral Certification: We aim to be formally certified as Carbon Neutral.
Water Pollution
- Solution-dyed Yarns: All of our recycled polyester yarns will be solution-dyed.
- Synthetic Yarns: In an effort to move away from synthetic yarns, at least 20% of all fibers used in our supply chain will be composed of natural materials.
- Avoided Substances: We will move away from zinc and/or silver based antimicrobials.
Waste Reduction
- Recyclable Garments: More than half of our garments produced will be recyclable (focusing on mono-material fabrics, fabrics with less than 10% elastane content, and fabrics free of chemistries that prevent recyclability).
Resource Depletion
- Solution-dyed Yarns: All of our recycled polyester yarns will be solution-dyed, which provides significant water savings.
Chemicals
- Avoided Substances: We will move away from zinc and/or silver based antimicrobials.
- Standard 100 by Oeko-Tex Certification: All of our suppliers will have current Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certifications.
Environmental & Social Justice
- Activist Platform: We have a diverse team of individuals with influence in their communities. In partnership with these “cultural influencers”, we are developing content that will spread awareness and collaborative solutions to prevalent environmental and social justice issues such as racial and gender discrimination, ignorance of indigenous communities and their lands, etc.
- Educational Content: We have partnered (and will continue to partner) with experts in sustainability and public policy. We will use our platform to share content that will educate and provide awareness on topics that urgently need to be addressed by the masses.
- Garment Worker Wage Increases: We intend to give those garment workers in our supply chain who receive very low wages, a boost in pay over what our factory administration pays them.
Raw Materials
- Solution-dyed Yarns: All of our recycled nylon and polyester yarns will be solution-dyed.
- Synthetic Yarns: In an effort to move away from synthetic yarns, at least 35% of all fibers used in our supply chain will be composed of natural materials.
Energy and Co2
- Renewable Energy: 75% of our Tier 1 supply chain partners will run on renewable energy.
- Localized Manufacturing: Half of our garments produced will be manufactured within a local supply chain from yarn to garment (significantly reducing transport).
Water Pollution
- Solution-dyed Yarns: All of our recycled nylon and polyester yarns will be solution-dyed.
- Synthetic Yarns: In an effort to move away from synthetic yarns, at least 35% of all fibers used in our supply chain will be composed of natural materials.
- Microfiber Fragmentation: We are aiming to phase out the use of brushing, peaching, and sanding for synthetic fabrics (which exacerbates microfiber pollution in the air and ocean).
Waste Reduction
- Recyclable Garments: All of our garments produced will be designed and manufactured to meet global textile recyclability requirements or standards and be 100% recyclable.
Resource Depletion
- Solution-dyed Yarns: All of our recycled nylon and polyester yarns will be solution-dyed.
- Masterbatch Yarns: 50% of all finishes used in our supply chain will be masterbatch (yarns extruded with embedded colorants and functional finishes, eliminating the need for traditional dyeing and finishing, thus reducing water consumption).
Chemicals
- Masterbatch Yarns: 50% of all finishes used in our supply chain will be masterbatch (yarns extruded with embedded colorants and functional finishes, eliminating the need for traditional dyeing and finishing, thus reducing water consumption).
- Bio-based: We aim to have bio-based finishes represent 35%+ of the finishes we use in our supply chain.
Environmental & Social Justice
- Circularity and Regenerative Practices: We are aiming to build our supply chain holistically, such that we can adapt to more sustainable, circular, and regenerative practices as we grow rather than having to take steps back. We intend for these practices to not only have positive impacts on the environment but also restore healthy communities and systems that eliminate many of the injustices many face today.