SOME OF THE PROBLEMS:
An equivalent of 1 Garbage Truck of clothes is dumped into landfill every second. More than 85% of textiles go to dump every year.
The fashion industry is responsible for 8-10% of carbon emissions.
About 93 billion cubic meters of water is used by the fashion industry, enough to meet the requirements of about 5 million people.
Single use plastics and synthetic fibers have become a major issue worldwide. When plastics and synthetic fibers break down, many times they end up in the ocean, where aquatic life feed on it eventually sometimes that same plastic ends up in the seafood we eat.
There are millions of scavenger birds around the world that sometimes end up consuming plastic fragments that have been broken down, eventually leading to death or serious illness.
It is no surprise that plastics and plastic bags are reaking havoc on the planet especially the oceans and organisms that live in it. At Generation Strong we have discouraged the use of plastics & single use plastics. If we do use plastic we have made sure that they are used for storage purposes and reused again and again and again.
Even the plastic hooks we use on bags are made from recycled plastic bottles or metal.
In the recent times the world has taken notice of the use of sustainable fabrics such as recycled polyester (which are made with plastic bottles) and bamboo fabrics which use less water than other fabrics to produce.
By the year 2022 our goal at Generation Strong is to ensure that at least 70% of all our clothing are sustainable and eco-friendly, by the end of 2023 all clothing will be sustainable.
Traditionally a lot of prints for clothing were done with non environment friendly cheap plastic based inks, which are both toxic to nature and aquatic life. At Gen. Strong we have started using 100% non toxic, water and plant based colors and ingredients in our inks. Supporting businesses that help us achieve our goal of being 100% sustainable is another one of our prime objectives.
A big step towards sustainability is to reduce the use of single use plastics and create an environment for reusability. Since 2018, we at Generation Strong have ensured that 95% of all our products are sent out in resusable cool packaging that our customers can carry with pride and use for years to come. Another step we took was requesting all our suppliers to send their materials without any plastic bags to help reduce wastage.
Air Freight & Travel is definitely a big one on the list of environmental damage. With the recent boost in e-commerce, travel & worldwide shipping options, the carbon footprint from emissions is something we all need to worry about.
About 50% of our raw materials, fabrics and apparel are bought and finished from businesses in the UAE. Supporting local businesses is a huge way to reduce our carbon footprint from fuel emissions due to air freight.
Ensuring that clothes and products don’t get thrown in the garbage after a short period of time has been one of the prime focuses at Gen. Strong. We design and develop products that are tested by athletes, don’t degrade after a few uses, durable and stand the test of time. Not to mention our designs are timeless.
JOIN US ON OUR JOURNEY TO MAKE THE WORLD A SAFER, SUSTAINABLE & STRONGER PLACE TO LIFT.
‘Ray’ Aaraf Lilani
Founder & CEO
Credits
https://www.azom.com/news.aspx?newsID=57535
https://friendsoftheearth.uk/plastics
https://qdcqatar.org/projects/project_details/Environmental-Impact-Assessment-Study-for-Paints-Manufacturing-Facility