SUSTAINABILITY
OFFSETTING OUR IMPACT AND REDUCING OUR FOOTPRINT
Sustainable apparel is really important to us, especially being based in Stockholm – the first city to be awarded European Green Capital by the EU. We completely understand that producing new items in its essence is not 100% sustainable, and we do not pretend that it is. However, we are taking steps to a) offset our impact and b) reduce our footprint.
We do not have the perfect solution, and we are not going to pretend that we do but we have already made remarkable progress since we started Ninepine in late 2019. There is always room for improvement and we're perpetually exploring new opportunities.
ONE TREE PLANTED FOR EVERY ORDER IN PARTNERSHIP WITH EDEN PROJECTS
For every order placed, a tree is planted on behalf of you, our customer, in Kenya's Great Rift Valley and the Northern Coast in partnership with Eden Reforestation Projects and local communities. Specifically, the reforestation efforts involves planting afromontane species within the Kijabe Forest and mangrove and coastal forest species in the Northern Coast. Kenya only has 7% of their land covered in forrest and 42% of the population live below the poverty line.
The reforestation project in Kenya commenced in 2019 and aims to produce positive environmental and human impact:
- Reduce carbon levels in the atmosphere
- Restore biodiversity
- Restore rainfall patterns
- Improve water quality
- Minimise soil erosion
- Increase local crop yields and local economies
- Reduce poverty by providing work in local communities
CLIMATE POSITIVE WORKFORCE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH ECOLOGI
Together with Ecologi, each month we offset 1.8 tonnes of CO2 through investing in wind energy in Andhra Pradesh, India and reforestation efforts in Brazil. This is equivalent of 4m2 of sea ice saved each month or 4600km of driving each month.
We strive to reduce our environmental footprint by working from home, avoiding commute/travels, cycling when possible and using renewable energy sources.
OUR PRODUCT PHILOSOPHY IN ACCORDANCE TO BRISMAR (2019) MODEL OF SUSTAINABLE APPAREL
At Ninepine, we make garments that are high-quality and timeless, with a minimalist design inspired by Scandinavia. We invest more time and effort into ensuring that our seams, fabric, and finishings are of the highest quality possible. Even though our clothes are hand-sewn, we strive to maintain a low defect rate.
Working with the Bismar model of textile sustainability (2019), we believe that sustainability starts with developing garments that are long-lasting and versatile, which is why we don't focus on seasonal trends or patterns. Instead, we offer a small catalogue of timeless pieces that you can wear over and over again.
Sustainability is a complex issue that includes things like energy use, waste, emissions, deforestation - the list goes on. We make sure our garments are made with durable, recycled and high-quality fabrics to reduce the amount of waste and energy used in production.
We've made great strides in becoming more sustainable by using recycled post-consumer yarn, organic cotton, and recycled cotton in our clothes. But we know there's still work to be done, and we're always looking for ways to improve.
ETHICAL SA8000 PRODUCTION
Our main fabric and sewing suppliers are located in Vietnam and southern China, which is also where one of our founders has family. We care a lot about being responsible and ethical in our production, which is why we've committed to primarily working with SA8000®, Fairwear, and GRS-certified factories.
If you haven't heard of SA8000® before, it's basically like the Fairtrade certification but for factories. The standards are really important to us - fair pay, fair working hours, no use of child or forced labour, safe working environments, collective bargaining, no discrimination, and no inhumane disciplinary practices. These are all things we believe in and we're proud to be making progress towards having over 90% of our items produced in SA8000 or equivalent certified facilities by 2025.
BETTER PACKAGING & TRANSPORTATION
We proudly use 100% biodegradable corn-starch and recycled PE mailers and garment bags.
We are also proud that our main transportation partners primarily use renewable diesel or electricity. These deliveries are made using electricity, human muscle power and HVO100 (renewable diesel).
