Our impact
A typical woman in Europe owns at least a dozen different bras but uses only a handful of them. The other poor bras are hiding in a drawer and never see the daylight. They’re not comfy. They look sad after washing. Or they’re simply not cool.
Stuff that stays in the drawer is waste. We focus on making products you want to wear all the time and use amazing materials to ensure this.
”If you start a new brand today, make sure you’re part of the solution. Not part of the problem.”
a transparent carbon footprint has been a core element when shaping Closely from idea to an actual business.
Here’s how we work.
We make carbon footprint calculations and estimations on our assortment and make it public (you’ll find those numbers on the product pages). The approach is called “from cradle to gate” and covers all emissions, from the raw material extraction stage all way up to the moment they arrive in our warehouse in Sweden. It’s a complicated process and we use an independent consultancy to guarantee a trustworthy result. These calculations are important because it helps us measure our progress over time. And it will make it easier for you to make an informed decision when buying our products.
reducing emissions takes times, even if we try hard.
That’s why, in the meantime, we’ve decided to compensate for the emissions we cause by using carbon credits. This is a system that is sometimes criticised, but most experts agree it’s better than doing nothing. We offset our CO2 emissions in serious climate compensation projects, that are close to our supplier in Sri Lanka and thoroughly monitored.
For example, we have supported two small scale hydropower projects in the Central and Sabaragamuwa provinces. The credits are purchased through Natural Capital Partners in London and the project is verified in accordance with The Clean Development Mechanism, which aims to reduce reliance on fossil fuel and replace with renewable energy in developing countries. The two projects reduce CO2 emissions with approximately 50.000 tons/year.
since the start we’ve worked hard to analyse our supply chain and our material choices.
A concentrated, and totally transparent supply chain is key for us. We work with a long-term manufacturing partner who shares our ambitions. We mainly use two factories, both in the same region in Sri Lanka. We produce as many fabrics as possible in Sri Lanka to avoid transportation, but we also source some materials from selected producers in China.
Our analysis has shown that the use of recycled materials creates immediate effect on the carbon footprint of our products. It’s a powerful tool and that’s why we have a very high share of recycled materials in our products. These fibres are 20-40% more expensive than standard qualities but we think it’s worth the cost. You can see exactly how much recycled material there is in each garment on the product pages (usually 40-80%).
About 70% of our fabrics and elastics are Bluesign approved. This is a global standard that combines air and water emissions, the use of chemicals and human rights under one umbrella.