Sustainability at Printfresh

As an eternal optimist, I fully believe that there is a way to produce products with great care. And as a creator and business owner, I know that our choices as a company (no matter how small) have an impact on the world. In an effort to provide transparency into our sustainability and ethical fashion efforts, we will continuously update this page every six months or so. 

It is our hope that by sharing our process and methods, we can make it easier for other entrepreneurs to adopt sustainability efforts in their own businesses. For our customers, we hope that you can feel confident investing in our products because you’re well-versed in the  tremendous care that went into the planning and production of our designs. 

Some things may change over time as we gain new information or different resources become available, and I also acknowledge that I don’t have all the answers. But regardless, I am very much committed to continuing to find the best way to manufacture our designs. Our pajamas are truly meant to spark joy – and what better way to do just that than knowing they were mindfully produced with sustainability best practices in mind.

– Amy, Founder

Third-party audits to push for responsible manufacturing have become a guiding force in the ethical apparel industry, and we are happy to share that the factory that makes our apparel is regularly Supplier Ethical Data Exchange (Sedex) reviewed. 

Having a 3rd party auditor routinely evaluate our factory partner's facilities helps ensure their practices are ethically and environmentally aligned with our own, and also offers them guidance as they make continuous improvements. We look for factors such as safe working conditions, work that is voluntarily chosen, fair wages, and compensation to name a few. 

We use 100% recycled ivory poly mailers made from 100% recycled content and 50% post-consumer content (ours are from EcoEnclose). Our mailers take up half the space of regular paper ones, effectively reducing our carbon footprint. Additionally, these are tear and weather-resistant, cutting down on replacement orders due to damage. And finally, these mailers feature a reusable tear strip in case you need to exchange! 

Production:

Our cutting marker (the guide used in the cutting process) allows for an effective  consumption percentage of the fabric, and our pattern master efficiently lays out our patterns before hand cutting. These efforts mean that there are very few leftover fabric scraps.  Our sewing factory partner is one of the cleanest, light filled and environmentally responsible factories we’ve seen. They recycle wastewater on site and are solar powered. Their printing facility (a different location) recycles the waste water from printing and rinsing through a private pipeline, processing and returning it to the facility for reuse. 

We transport about 50% of our inventory via cargo ship to reduce our carbon footprint. Our items travel from India to New York, then to our third party, woman-owned warehouse facility in Maryland. This requires more planning and time – so we’ve added an extra three months to our design schedule in order to receive items on time. All this planning allows us to reduce emissions by fitting an entire season in one shipping container! Here is a helpful article on the topic if you wish to read more.

As a small, independent company, we have a unique opportunity to follow an innovative  timeline and select fabrics and styles that will stay evergreen year-round. 

Consideration for our factory’s human resources and the planet are part of how we plan out our design cycle. Our pajamas are sewn in limited fibers, organic cottons and viscose. It’s not common, but there is a good reason – the fabrics we use are woven just for us and made to last. Our patterns and colors may change throughout the year, but are truly timeless so you can love them for years to come. 

We believe in paying our talented and hard working employees well and refrain from negotiating unfairly with vendors (the apparel industry is rife with this – and this is an area where a lot of ethics breakdown). Pricing our products appropriately allows us to choose vendors who are ethical, pay their workers fairly/above industry averages, and are environmentally sound. We also believe in the worthiness of our products – our designs hold their value, are made to last, and are priced as such. 

As soon as we started the line, we knew that we wanted to offer organic cotton and focus on natural breathable fibers like our popular Satin Viscose. It took us about a year to do the tremendous amount of research, ask the right questions and navigate the process to make sure it fit all of our guidelines. It’s important we use plant-based materials in our products whenever possible. We do not use fur, leather, down, exotic animal skin, exotic animal hair, angora or wool. 

For any garments that have buttons, you’ll also notice we have sewn an extra button onto the cotton loop tag at the side seam. That way, we reduced the need for a plastic or paper button tag – and made the spare button more readily available should you ever need it (who can ever find the original buttons when you actually need them?!).

Along with sustainability being at the forefront of our business, size-inclusivity has continually served as a pillar of our design process. Though representation and inclusivity has long been lacking in the fashion industry, we know how important it is to not only produce a size-extended offering, but also craft eco-friendly, sustainable products in this size range. There is always a need for more sustainable options for shoppers of all sizes. 

In 2021 we joined Pledge 1%, a global movement that is creating a new normal for companies of all sizes and stages to have a positive social impact through their business. Since then, we’ve been  committed to donating 1% of their product, profit, staff time and/or equity to any charity of their choosing.

At Printfresh, we are proud to support some wonderful organizations including Loveland Foundation,  Philadelphia Urban Creators , and the MADE Institute in Philadelphia.

We believe that giving back should not just be a financial contribution, so we are also pledging to give our time back to our community.  We pledge to participate in giving back and supporting the community and to allow employees at Printfresh to share in that effort.  We encourage our employees to donate their time to enhance and serve both the community we live in and the global community.  

If you have questions or feedback about any of our sustainability efforts, please email us at [email protected].