We partner with Osomtex, a textile recycling company focused on transforming post-consumer and post-industrial textile waste into new fibers.

For every shirt purchased, we recycle two.

That means, in net terms, we remove more textile waste from the system than we introduce.

Why this matters:

• The U.S. sends millions of tons of textiles to landfills every year.
  
• Most synthetic garments take decades (or longer) to break down.
  
• Recycling textiles reduces landfill load and decreases demand for virgin raw materials.
  

But we went a step further, we designed this system so that any brand (or even individual) that want's to be sustainable can too. The program is called Circular Futures.

We do not release seasonal “drops.”
We do not chase micro-trends.
We do not overproduce.

Instead:

• We build core products (like the ONE Shirt, ALL Shirt, FLEX Tank).
• We refine them year after year.
• We incorporate real customer feedback.
• We improve fit, durability, and performance over time.
• We order inventory when we run out.
  

This is slow fashion in practice.

The most sustainable garment is the one you wear for years. Designing for longevity reduces replacement frequency, reduces resource extraction, and lowers lifetime carbon impact per wear.

Our goal is to create category leaders, not disposable collections.

We use bamboo-based fabrics because simply put, they are the best and most versatile fabric for the job. They perform well for outdoor, active, sun-protective wear, but we believe in full transparency about tradeoffs.

Bamboo (Viscose/Rayon from Bamboo)

Benefits

• Fast-growing renewable crop.
  
• Requires less irrigation than many conventional crops.
  
• Naturally soft and breathable.
  
• Excellent moisture-wicking and temperature regulation.
  
• Ideal for sensitive skin and long sun-exposure wear.
  

Environmental Reality

• Most bamboo fabric is processed into viscose/rayon.
  
• Traditional viscose processing can use chemical solvents.
  
• Environmental impact depends heavily on factory standards and wastewater management.
  

Bamboo is not impact-free, no fabric is, but for performance-to-impact ratio in active outdoor family wear, it is one of the most balanced options available to us at our current scale.

Where materials actually rank, based on lifecycle assessments (LCA), water use, carbon intensity, chemical load, and end-of-life impact.

No textile is impact-free. The real question is relative impact across production, use phase, and disposal.

Below is a simplified ranking from highest environmental burden → lowest (in general terms) based on widely cited LCAs from Textile Exchange, Higg MSI, and peer-reviewed lifecycle studies.

🔴 Highest Impact (Worst Offenders)

1. Conventional Polyester (Virgin PET)

• Fossil fuel–derived.
• High energy and carbon intensity during production.
• Persistent microplastic shedding.
• Non-biodegradable.
  

Strength: Extremely durable.
Weakness: Petroleum dependency + microplastics.
Overall Rank: One of the highest carbon-impact mass fabrics.

2. Conventional Cotton

• Extremely water-intensive (especially in arid regions).
• Heavy pesticide and insecticide use.
• Soil degradation in conventional farming systems.
  

Strength: Biodegradable.
Weakness: Water + chemical load.
Overall Rank: High environmental burden, especially water.

🟠 Moderate–High Impact

3. Nylon (Virgin)

• Petroleum-based.
• Very energy-intensive.
• Microplastic shedding.
• Often higher carbon footprint than polyester per kg.
  

Overall Rank: Similar or slightly worse than polyester in carbon intensity.

4. Viscose (Generic Rayon from Wood Pulp)

• Renewable feedstock.
• Chemical solvent processing (if unmanaged, can be harmful).
• Wastewater concerns in poorly regulated factories.
  

Impact depends heavily on factory standards.

🟡 Moderate Impact

5. Bamboo Viscose

This is where we fit in.

Positives

• Rapidly renewable crop.
• Lower water input during growth compared to cotton.
• No need for replanting after harvest.
• Strong performance-to-wear ratio.
  

Tradeoffs

• Usually processed into viscose using chemical solvents.
• Environmental impact depends heavily on wastewater controls.
  

Relative Rank:

Generally lower agricultural impact than cotton, but chemical-processing dependent.

Lower fossil dependency than polyester.

Middle-tier overall, better than conventional cotton and virgin synthetics in many impact categories, but not the lowest-impact fiber available.

🟢 Lower Impact Options (When Done Properly)

6. Recycled Polyester

• Reduces virgin petroleum extraction.
• Lower carbon footprint than virgin polyester.
• Still sheds microplastics.
• Not biodegradable.
  

Improves resource circularity but does not solve end-of-life issues.

One reason we don't use recycled polyester as a base layer is it can still trigger skin sensitivity issues.

7. Organic Cotton

• No synthetic pesticides.
• Lower chemical load.
• Still high water use.
• Biodegradable.
  

Improves agriculture impact but not water intensity.

8. Lyocell (TENCEL™ Type Closed-Loop Fiber)

• Closed-loop solvent recovery.
• Lower chemical loss.
• Renewable wood pulp.
• Good biodegradability.
  

Among the lowest-impact semi-synthetics when responsibly sourced.

Why We Still Use Bamboo

For outdoor active wear, we evaluate:

• Moisture management
• Temperature regulation
• Skin sensitivity
• Longevity per wear
• Sun protection compatibility
• Resource intensity
  

Bamboo viscose offers:

• High performance per gram.
• Strong durability when blended correctly.
• Comfortable enough for all-day wear (reducing wardrobe turnover).
• Renewable crop base.
  

It is not the absolute lowest-impact textile in existence, but within performance outdoor wear, it sits in a balanced middle ground with strong renewable inputs and lower agricultural burden than many mainstream options.

Lifecycle assessments repeatedly show: The more times a garment is worn, the lower its impact per wear.

We are not a multinational corporation with a sustainability department.

We are a small, founder-led company building slowly and intentionally.

That means:

• We make decisions carefully.
• We test before scaling.
• We admit when something isn’t working.
• We fix it.
  

If we discover a better material, a better partner, or a better way to reduce impact — we adapt.

Sustainability is not a static badge. It is a long-term operational discipline.