Girlfriend Collective's sustainability

We expect the brands we choose in our collection to meet our sustainability criteria. Our criteria consist of actions that take the environment, social conditions and climate into consideration. Here’s how Girlfriend Collective meets our criteria:

Environment:

Brand uses environmentally preferred raw materials for more than 70% of its volume.

  • Girlfriend uses mostly recycled polyester which is made from plastic bottles. For example, their popular Compressive Leggings and Bras are made from 79% recycled polyester (or RPET) and 21% elastane. 25 plastic bottles are used to make the leggings and 11 bottles are used to make the bras. For some products, Girlfriend also uses recycled fishing nets and other waste to make ECONYL® yarn. 

Brand reports on the implementation of its environmental policy related to the ‘wet processes’ within the production cycle, like bleaching and dyeing of raw materials

  • Girlfriend's fabrics are dyed with environmentally friendly OEKO-certified dyes. After the dyeing process, the wastewater is carefully cleaned and cooled before being released. All water used for dyeing is then sent to a wastewater treatment station located 100 metres away. There, the OEKO-certified dye and stray fibres are separated from the water. Before the water is released, it is tested and approved by the Taiwanese EPA and then safely released into a healthy stream.

Brand has eliminated at least three suspect chemical group, such as Phthalates or Perfluorinated chemicals from its entire production

  • More information coming soon

Brand reports what percentage of its consumer packaging materials are renewable or made from recycled materials, and the brand implements concrete policies which have reduced the environmental impact of their packaging materials

  • Girlfriend’s packaging is 100% recycled and recyclable.

Brand encourages the longevity of products by offering a lifetime guarantee, repair services or supporting the return or re-use of garments

  • Girlfriend has a ReGirlfriend Recycling Program where you can send your old Girlfriend products back to them and they will make new products out of them. ReGirlfriend is currently only available in the U.S.

Brand supports environmental NGO's or other organizations to promote environmental sustainability

  • Girlfriend Collective donates a percentage of all ECONYL sales to Healthy Seas, a non profit environmental organization aiming at reducing marine litter caused by lost fishing gear through cleanup, prevention, and education activities. The nets collected by Healthy Seas are subsequently reused or recycled and used by its partners for the creation of new products. They also hold campaigns that donate a percentage of sales to environmental causes. Past organizations have included One Tree Planted, Amazon Watch, and the Rainforest Action Network, to name a few.

Social conditions:

Manufacturing of more than 70% of product volumes happens in low-risk countries

Origin of the materials, design and the manufacturing is shared openly

  • Yes, Girlfriend has openly explained its whole manufacturing process. Their main raw material is recycled plastic bottles and fishing nets collected from the seas in Taiwan.

Brand is following buying practices that enable living wages and good labour conditions, such as long-term relations with factories, and concentrating production at a limited number of factories

  • The GF team visits their SA8000 certified factory regularly. An SA8000 certification guarantees a slew of really important stuff, including no forced or child labor, safe working conditions, and the right to unionize. While healthcare is often deducted from wages, Girlfriend decided to also provide free health checkups every 6 months at the factory for every employee, as well as health insurance.

Open list of direct suppliers that have collectively contributed to more than 90% of the purchase volume

  • More information coming soon

Brand publicly commits to a living wage benchmark with defined wages per production region or factory

  • Yes, Girlfriend ensures all workers are paid fair wages.The Girlfriend factory is owned and operated by a Danish family who have been in the textile industry since 1931, and their SA8000 certified factories are dedicated to their workers. This includes ensuring that every worker is treated with respect and paid a fair and living wage.

Brand supports social NGOs or other organizations to promote social sustainability

  • Girlfriend Collective holds campaigns at various points of the year that donate a percentage of sales to social causes. Past campaigns have supported The Loveland Foundation, The Okra Project, and the NAACP Legal & Defense Fund. 

Girlfriend Collective don't manufacture their clothes in low-risk countries. All Girlfriend textiles are manufactured in a facility in Taiwan that specialises in environmentally friendly textiles. Cutting and sewing is done by our carefully selected partners. Their core factory is located in Hanoi, Vietnam, which is SA8000 certified and guarantees fair wages, safe and healthy conditions and no forced or child labour. SA8000 is a social accountability standard and certificate developed by Social Accountability International (SAI).

Climate:

Is at least 50% of the electricity used by the brand generated from renewable resources, such as wind or solar energy?

  • Yes, at least 50% of the energy used by the Girlfriend Collective comes from renewable resources.

Girlfriend Collective hasn't disclosed the annual absolute climate footprint of its 'own operations', and hasn’t accomplished an overall absolute climate footprint reduction compared to the result of the previous reporting year.

Girlfriend Collective's history, values and sustainability

The eco-friendly brand, Girlfriend Collective, was founded in 2016.
Girlfriend Collective's first goal was to be as transparent as possible and it is still one of the most important values for them. Girlfriend Collective's factory is SA8000 certified, which promises that their operations comply with very strict regulations.
Their recycled fabrics are certified Standard 100 by Oeko-Tex, the world leader in testing fabrics for harmful substances. They ensure that the origin and content of every fabric is fully transparent, so you know exactly what you're putting against your body.

Girlfriend Collective also makes sure that each of their pieces of clothing is so beautiful and comfortable to wear that they don't sit at the bottom of the wardrobe. The brand believes in ethical manufacturing and recycled materials. Old water bottles and fishing nets are their main raw materials. They choose every part of their process with care, from raw materials to facilities of their partners.

Girlfriend Collective, it’s factories or fabrics have also met the criteria for these certifications:

  • Bluesign - Guarantee of product safety
  • SA8000 - Ethical garment manufacturing guarantee
  • Oeko-Tex - Safe textiles
  • GRS - Global Recycling Standard