OUR ENVIRONMENT
Can a fashion brand convincingly label itself sustainable? We don’t believe that it can. After all, the industry’s harmful effects on our planet are well-known; it’s one of the largest polluting industries in the world that accounts for roughly 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions (which is more than international flights and maritime shipping combined), heavily contributes to landfills, plus many more devastating byproducts.
Can a fashion brand convincingly label itself sustainable? We don’t believe that it can. After all, the industry’s harmful effects on our planet are well-known; it’s one of the largest polluting industries in the world that accounts for roughly 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions (which is more than international flights and maritime shipping combined), heavily contributes to landfills, plus many more devastating byproducts.
Due to the fact that we work with raw fibres that have travelled vast distances to our home in Italy – our cashmere comes from Mongolia, whilst our Merino wool comes from Australia – and produce seasonal collections which we ship to customers all over the globe, it would be dishonest for us to call ourselves a sustainable brand. We want to be fully transparent on this, as it’s crucial in this day and age of mass-consumption. With that said, we are highly conscious of our carbon footprint and we care deeply about the environment in which we make our clothes and to rectify that, we work tirelessly in all areas of the business to be as ethically, socially and environmentally responsible as possible.
From sourcing our yarns through to the final product, we take pride in our approach to garment and textile manufacturing. Overall, we use roughly 98% natural and renewable raw fibres – from noble cashmere and alpaca through to cotton and linen – which are biodegradable and recyclable, and only use man-made materials when absolutely necessary, for example, to enhance a garment's performance by giving it increased amounts of stretch.
From sourcing our yarns through to the final product, we take pride in our approach to garment and textile manufacturing. Overall, we use roughly 98% natural and renewable raw fibres – from noble cashmere and alpaca through to cotton and linen – which are biodegradable and recyclable, and only use man-made materials when absolutely necessary, for example, to enhance a garment's performance by giving it increased amounts of stretch.
The yarns we use are of the utmost importance to us as they give life to the products we make, and over the years we’ve established excellent connections with our range of
suppliers in Italy and Europe. Thanks to their geographical proximity to our workshops in Italy, we’ve reduced our carbon footprint by not shipping materials from abroad. Whilst
that is an obvious benefit, we work with them simply because they are the best at what they do – we will not settle for anything less than excellence. In addition, many of our
suppliers are accredited with important certifications from governing bodies and highly established organisations whose sole mission is to protect our planet and its inhabitants
such as the Global Organic Textiles Standard.
Practically all of our production takes place in Italy in an area between Umbria and Marche – which is known to be the heartland of Italian knitwear production. We employ a sustainable approach towards manufacturing, as it’s one that supports the entire supply chain and the local communities that are integral in producing our garments. Our network is tightly managed, and it centres around a handful of trusted manufacturers and artisans with whom we have a healthy and open dialogue. This dialogue not only helps us streamline the production process, but it enables us to inspire one another so that we can improve in all areas, from reducing greenhouse gas emissions and water consumption to education.
In terms of our designs, each garment and accessory is not trend-driven or fashion-forward but instead made with the view of bringing the consumer a lifetime of wear. This is something that we’re incredibly passionate about – our garments are designed to age gracefully and appreciate in value.
In summary, we want to make it clear that Altea can not claim to be a 100% sustainable company, but the efforts we go to in order to be environmentally responsible are considerable and ever-evolving. From our suppliers to our workshops via our design team, our creations are not transient and we want them to be loved, cherished and worn season after season.
From sourcing our yarns through to the final product, we take pride in our approach to garment and textile manufacturing. Overall, we use roughly 98% natural and renewable raw fibres – from noble cashmere and alpaca through to cotton and linen – which are biodegradable and recyclable, and only use man-made materials when absolutely necessary, for example, to enhance a garment's performance by giving it increased amounts of stretch.
Practically all of our production takes place in Italy in an area between Umbria and Marche – which is known to be the heartland of Italian knitwear production. We employ a sustainable approach towards manufacturing, as it’s one that supports the entire supply chain and the local communities that are integral in producing our garments. Our network is tightly managed, and it centres around a handful of trusted manufacturers and artisans with whom we have a healthy and open dialogue. This dialogue not only helps us streamline the production process, but it enables us to inspire one another so that we can improve in all areas, from reducing greenhouse gas emissions and water consumption to education.
In terms of our designs, each garment and accessory is not trend-driven or fashion-forward but instead made with the view of bringing the consumer a lifetime of wear. This is something that we’re incredibly passionate about – our garments are designed to age gracefully and appreciate in value.
In summary, we want to make it clear that Altea can not claim to be a 100% sustainable company, but the efforts we go to in order to be environmentally responsible are considerable and ever-evolving. From our suppliers to our workshops via our design team, our creations are not transient and we want them to be loved, cherished and worn season after season.
From sourcing our yarns through to the final product, we take pride in our approach to garment and textile manufacturing. Overall, we use roughly 98% natural and renewable raw fibres – from noble cashmere and alpaca through to cotton and linen – which are biodegradable and recyclable, and only use man-made materials when absolutely necessary, for example, to enhance a garment's performance by giving it increased amounts of stretch.
