With the aim of creating the lowest environmental impact possible, every element of our
product's journey and material content is considered. This is to ensure we come up with the
most sustainable solution possible.
transparency
Our mission is to provide our consumers with transparency. By proving a transparent supply chain and source log of the materials and human resources that have gone into the making of our products.
We believe handing over company and product data to consumers shifts the power dynamic of consumerism. Data is power and we aim to give our customers the power to make conscious decisions when shopping and are aware of their environmental impact.
Made-to-order
We make a percentage of orders on a made-to-order basis, cut in the fabric colour of your choice. By manufacturing only what's needed, we reduce dead stock left behind due to overproducing. This means that dead stock will never be discarded. It also means that resources that go into making the product will not be wasted if the product is not consumed. For example, the energy used to power the sewing machines and manufacture the fabrics will only be used if a product is ordered.
We do not stock fabrics, the fabrics will only be purchased when an order is placed. This means we do not discard any dead stock fabric if we overbuy it. Made-to-order can also prevent impulse shopping and overconsumption.
Production runs
All Bou Soie products are made in London. We make our stock in small quantities ranging from five to ten pieces per production run. This helps eliminate potential waste left from overproduction and reduces shipping emissions. By keeping manufacturing local, we are able to ensure the working conditions meet acceptable standards.
Clothing is cut one piece at a time and delivered by bike to our machinists to make at home.
Our machinists have many years of experience in the production industry and hand crafts all garments of beautiful, high-standard quality.
Bamboo raw material is organically grown on FSC certified land. The bamboo forests are annually checked by organic improvement crop associations to ensure no harmful chemical, natural pesticides or GMO are being used by the farmers. Weeds, pests and diseases are controlled by crop rotation, which is beneficial to biodiversity. Bamboo is grown without antibiotics and hormones and is given quality conditions. Growing Bamboo organically helps soil stay reusable and fertile. Soil is enriched with compost, green manure and organic amendment’s.
The manufacturing of the fabric passes OEKO Tex class 1 manufacturing standards. No harmful chemicals are used in the manufacturing of the process of the fabric. The bamboo is grown and manufactured in China. Our fabric suppliers use OEKO Tex certified dyes, these dyes do not contain harmful chemicals, they are gentle on the environment and they are gentle on your skin.
Find out more about Organic Bamboo 'Silk'
Organic Bamboo 'Silk'
European linen
Linen doesn't require as many resources as other naturally derived fibres. Europe is the perfect climate to naturally grow linen, requiring fewer pesticides and chemicals than alternative plant-based fabrics. Needing less water as the growing periods are relatively short. The entire flax plant can be woven into fibre, meaning the weaving of linen produces very little waste.
A percentage of the linen we use is dead-stock meaning the materials are saved from heading to landfill.
what's left
behind
To measure if a product is sustainable we believe it's important to consider the whole life cycle of a product from its creation to its eventual disposal. Starting with the growth to the eventual disposing of worn clothing. Products can have an environmental impact at any point. We aim to find solutions to minimise this at every point possible and not to neglect the effect the product may have after its life cycle comes to an end.
The materials we use are 100% biodegradable.
To find out how to RePlant your old Bou Soie products.
scraps to
scrunchies
All the scrap fabric left behind after cutting Bou Soie clothing is repurposed to make scrunchies, to reduce fabric waste and instead turn it into something beautiful. Any scraps that are too small to repurpose are placed in compost or cut in swatches and sent out to customers.
( Please bare in mind not all our scrunchies are made from scraps )