It is estimated that around 85% of textiles go into landfills each year. Did you also know that it takes approximately 3000 liters of water to produce a single cotton t-shirt (2013)?

Our organization has made the conscious effort not to print t-shirts despite this being a cheap and popular marketing tool and instead opted for a “creative” alternative. 

Is your organization willing to stop printing t-shirts?

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Here's some more information to consider: 

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• It can take even more water to produce an organic cotton T-shirt.

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• Synthetic fibers, including recycled PET fabric, shed microplastics, which invisibly pollute our air, water and food. 

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• Growing bamboo on a commercial scale leads to the clearing of natural forestland, harming biodiversity and endangering pandas and wildlife.​

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• There are toxic chemicals associated with some of the dyes used to give our clothing color and with the inks used for screen-printing logos. ​​

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• Cotton production involves the most child labor and forced labor in the world, according to the 2014 “List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor” by the U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs.

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• According to UNCTAD, some 93 billion cubic metres of water - enough to meet the needs of five million people - is used by the clothing & textile industry annually, and around half a million tons of microfibre (microplastics), which is the equivalent of 3 million barrels of oil, is now being dumped into the ocean every year. As for carbon emissions, the industry is responsible for more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined. #climatechange

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• In spite of clothes donations, it is estimated that around 87% of discarded textiles and clothing ends up in landfill or incinerated. - Ellen MacArthur Foundation