SUSTAINABILTY

  

Design focused, locally made and environmentally conscious… 

  Our long-term goal is to provide products of the highest quality while having as little impact on the environment as possible. We are committed to continually assessing and improving our practices, and with each season we are refining our processes, building relationships with local makers and creating a more sustainable supply chain

We are proudly made in Australia with the exception of our fully-fashioned knitwear styles. Our focus on local production substantially reduces our carbon footprint and gives us greater control over the production to help ensure it is as sustainable as possible.  Each and every Van Der Kooij garment is hand finished in our studio and a record of its limited production is inscribed inside each garment. This not only reduces excess stock and wastage but highlights the exclusivity of our products.

We have also implemented a Plant-a-Tree program through Carbon Neutral Australia.  For every purchase made online & at a retail level, a tree is planted in the Yarra Yarra Biodiversity Corridor, to help reduce our carbon emissions. 

This program plants native Australian trees and shrubs, that are helping to join small patches of remnant vegetation.  Besides the all-important role of sequestering carbon from the atmosphere, the trees and shrubs help to reduce salinity, water and soil erosion, and provide habitat for the endangered Carnaby’s Black-Cockatoo, Malleefowl and other threatened flora and fauna.

This reforestation project more than removes carbon from the atmosphere now and every day, it has positive social, environmental and economic benefits.

We consider the environmental impacts of all aspects and inputs of our product and packaging, including: using compostable satchels and packaging for all e-comm and wholesale orders, including recycled card boxes for larger shipments, a plastic alternative packing tape and all our DHL shipments are sent "Go Green" which offsets the emissions of the freight process. Every piece is packaged in a cotton tote to eliminate plastic packaging. We only print limited look books and materials when required and these are created by a Melbourne based company that has a focus on sustainability, using recycled papers and environmentally friendly dyed and inks. We use a biodegradable hemp cord for our swing tags, our buttons are made in Melbourne and our care labels are printed locally as we try to support as many local businesses as possible.

We are constantly aiming to improve and make the best choices we can as a business, it is crucial that we design with a conscience, with the commitment to improve with every season. 

 

 

For every product created we a Plant-a-Tree program through Carbon Neutral Australia.These tree's are planted in the Yarra Yarra Biodiversity Corridor, in Western Australia to help reduce our carbon emissions.

We work with some of the best local pattern makers, machinists and manufacturers in Australia. At Van Der Kooij we value everyone who handles our product, working collaboratively on the design, fit and process ensuring that we are only offering our Van Der Kooij customers the highest quality product.

 

We only produce limited production runs, each and every garment created is numbered with its production quantity, date and where it is made. This not only reduces excess stock and wastage but highlights the exclusivity of our products. 

 

Made to order garments ensure we don’t mass produce. There is enough fast fashion out there and we don’t want to add to this over consumption. Our made to order pieces are created one by one especially for our customer once ordered. This allows us to have a more personal and interactive relationship with our client and we can make these adjustments to ensure our garments fit you best.

 

At Van Der Kooij we support as many local businesses as possible sourcing our trims, buttons and printing in Melbourne. We have fabric suppliers based in New Zealand and Australia and are currently manufacturing 90-95% of our products in Melbourne. Supporting local businesses and the local rag trade is imperative to our company ethos ensuring our products are ethically produced to the highest quality.

 

Repurposed, high quality fabric has been used in this garment, we are choosing to recycle these high end fabrications from being discarded and repurposing into new garments.

Organic fibres have been chosen and used in this garment. Where possible these are fabrics certified through the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), who is the worldwide leading textile processing standard for organic fibres, including ecological and social criteria.

 

Our chromium free leather has been naturally tanned with vegetable extracts, neutralizing agents and finishing agents. This process ensures that our leather products are free of toxic chemical production or negative environmental impact.

 

There is no plastic or superfluous packaging used when sending parcels, instead each garment is packaged in a cotton tote bag and each shipment is packaged in either compostable satchels or recycled card boxes. Even our tape is compostable.

 

All Van Der Kooij swing tickets & note cards on this garment (as well as our publications) are printed on recycled  materials  through an environmentally friendly local printing company based in Melbourne.