We expect the brands we choose in our collection to meet our sustainability criteria. Our criteria consist of actions that take the environment, social conditions and climate into consideration. Here’s how Pure Waste meets our criteria:

Environment:

Brand uses environmentally preferred raw materials for more than 70% of its volume.

• Pure Waste fabrics are made from 100% recycled materials. They are a blend of two materials: cotton collected from sewing mills or from discarded clothing, and polyester made from recycled PET bottles.

Brand reports on the implementation of its environmental policy related to the ‘wet processes’ within the production cycle, like bleaching and dyeing of raw materials

• Pure Waste does not dye their products. The cotton collected by Pure Waste comes from leftover cotton scraps from sewing factories and discarded garments, and the color of the future product is determined by the collected waste, so there is no need to use any dyes. The final fabric is washed with non-toxic enzymes and Pure Waste does not use any chemicals at any stage of production.

Brand has eliminated at least three suspect chemical group, such as Phthalates or Perfluorinated Chemicals from its entire production

• Pure Waste does not use harmful chemicals at any stage of its production. All their raw materials also come from factories that comply with REACH legislation. REACH forbids the use of, among other things, azo dye, formaldehyde, chrome, cadmium and nickel. All finished materials fulfill REACH regulation and the finished products are also PFC free.

Brand reports what percentage of its consumer packaging materials are renewable or made from recycled materials, and the brand implements concrete policies which have reduced the environmental impact of their packaging materials

• Pure Waste uses only recycled cardboard and recycled plastic in its packaging. They also don't pack their products in individual plastic bags, but use larger bags that can hold 10 to 15 products. In 2020 they also started using recycled cardboard boxes for transport which has helped them reduce their cardboard use by 70% per year.

Brand encourages the longevity of products by offering a lifetime guarantee, repair services or supporting the return or re-use of garments

• Pure Waste offers good care instructions for its products to prolong the life of the clothes. Pure Waste collects back all Pure Waste clothing that has reached the end of its life. In 2020, they collected all the returned clothes and recycled them into new fabric as part of the Telaketju II project. In 2021, these fabrics were made into test products and this development will continue in the future.

Brand supports environmental NGOs or other organizations to promote environmental sustainability

• Pure Waste supports The Finnish Association for Nature Conservation (Suomen luonnonsuojeluliitto). They are a national NGO promoting biodiversity, sustainable living, environmental protection and the preservation of cultural heritage.

Social conditions:

Fair social conditions are audited by third parties (For operations outside EU)

• The factories used by Pure Waste are audited by the BSCI (Business Social Compliance Initiative) to make sure that norms regarding working conditions, best practices and product quality are followed.

Origin of the materials, design and the manufacturing is shared openly

• Pure Waste has published a full list of their suppliers, showing the factory and exact address for each product group. Their team in Helsinki is responsible for product design.

Brand is following buying practices that enable living wages and good labour conditions, such as long-term relations with factories, and concentrating production at a limited number of factories

• Pure Waste factories comply with local laws, including the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. They also ensure that standards are exceeded and not just met. Pure Waste regularly visits their factories and support the Corporate Social Responsibility Act. Every worker in the factory is paid a fair and equal wage. Pure Waste ensures that every employee receives a fair living wage above the minimum wage. Workers have employment contracts and are paid monthly. Pure Waste also pays its workers' social security contributions and serves them food. All of the employees are offered fair working hours and a fair working environment. It is important to Pure Waste that all employees are treated fairly and that their well-being at work is taken care of.

Open list of direct suppliers that have collectively contributed to more than 90% of the purchase volume

• Pure Waste openly shares information about its factories and is also open about the volumes it produces in these countries. You can fins the full list here.

Pure Waste manufacturing happens mostly in low-risk countries India and Bangladesh, but also in Finland and Estonia. The South-India factory is BSCI (Business Social Compliance Initiative) audited and its owner is one of Pure Waste's shareholders, which has ensured a safe and reliable partnership. They have also started Pure Waste India in India to enable closer cooperation. The Bangladesh factory is also BSCI audited and the buildings have mandatory Accord and Alliance certifications.
Pure Waste doesn’t publicly commit to a living wage benchmark with defined wages per production region or factory and doesn’t support social NGOs or other organizations to promote social sustainability.

Climate:

Has the brand disclosed the annual absolute climate footprint of its 'own operations', and has it accomplished an overall absolute climate footprint reduction compared to the result of the previous reporting year?

• Pure Waste managed to reduce its overall carbon footprint from 2019 to 2020 by 10%. Their goal is to be carbon neutral by 2025 by finding the best compensating method by 2023. According to the new environmental impact calculation, they also use 99.9% less water and their carbon emissions are around 50% lower than those similar products made of virgin materials.

Is at least 50% of the electricity used by the brand generated from renewable resources, such as wind or solar energy?

• More than 50% of the energy used by Pure Waste comes from renewable sources. Wind power is one of the main sources of energy in the factory area and Pure Waste also plans to install solar panels on the roof of the factory. Pure Waste offices use 100% renewable electricity.

Pure Waste's history, values and sustainability

Pure Waste is a Helsinki-based pioneer in textile recycling. They make products from 100% recycled fabric and save at least some of the unused cotton. Pure Waste's raw material is scraps from the textile industry. The waste is mechanically recycled into high quality yarn, fabrics and garments. Pure Waste products are made from 100% recycled fibers and contain 60% recycled cotton fiber and 40% polyester fiber from recycled bottles. Their recycled textiles offer the same quality and the same comfort as comparable products made from virgin materials. 

Pure Waste does not limit the use of recycled materials to fabrics or clothing. All the raw materials they use are 99% recycled. They reuse everything possible, from cardboard boxes to bags and their aim is to keep manufactured products in use for as long as possible before recycling them into new products.

Pure Waste wants to be a pioneer by talking about emissions from the textile industry and you can find emission numbers for the water (H2O) and carbon footprint (CO2e) of each product next to the product in their online shop.They also value transparency in all their activities and encourage open discussion with everyone. It is also important for Pure Waste to maintain a culture of continuous learning and development. They say that they have already achieved a lot, but they are in no way ready.

Pure Waste, it’s factories or fabrics have also met the criteria for these certifications:

All products:

• GRS - (Global Recycled Standard) certificate
• SEDEX - global cooperation platform for ethical trade service providers dedicated to improving working conditions across global supply chains
• BSCI - (Business Social Compliance Initiative) certificate