Sustainability

OUR GOAL

Our goal is to uplift and empower a community while contributing towards our personal values of environmental awareness. Through Āina Collective we want to advocate sustainable practices by encouraging our community to be more consumer conscious. Through education and collaboration we hope to realize this goal in the coming years.

WHAT DOES SUSTAINABILITY MEAN TO US?

To us sustainability isn't a buzzword, it's a lifestyle we have chosen to live by. We believe that in the eyes of customers too, being as transparent as possible with our operations is synonymous with being ethical. We want to create a brand that our customers can trust and align their believes with ours.

WHY INDONESIA?

A lot of the greatest manufacturers for high-performance fabrics are located overseas. We know it – AND WE HAVE LOOKED. There are a lot of manufacturers for basic wear locally, however for our premium sustainable activewear, the only manufacturer up to our standards in the closest proximity was in Indonesia. Quality is of utmost importance to us, and the manufacturer we knew was a match, in terms of standards of ethical operational practices, quality of material and proximity. We can happily confirm that the team is incredibly passionate about the health and safety working conditions for those in our manufacturing facilities in Indonesia. All employees are paid above the minimum wage, with air-conditioned facilities, and provided with employee benefits including medical insurance for their spouse and children.

WHAT ARE OUR RECYCLED MATERIALS MADE OF?

Our fabric is made of 77% Recycled Nylon + 23% Elastane, produced from post-consumer waste, such as plastic bottles and ghost nets, with OEKO-TEX® Standard 100 and Global Recycle Standard (GRS) certifications.

WHAT IS THE OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100?

It is the world’s leader in testing fabrics to regulate harmful substances to guarantees maximum customer safety.

Read about it here - www.oeko-tex.com.

WHAT IS THE GLOBAL RECYCLE STANDARD?

The Global Recycle Standard also known as "GRS" is an international, voluntary, full product standard that sets requirements for third-party certification of recycled content, chain of custody, social and environmental practices and chemical restrictions.

WHAT ARE OUR SEED TAGS MADE OF?

Our plantable seed tags are made from a biodegradable eco-paper (made from post-consumer materials) with flower seeds embedded within. When the paper is planted in a bed of soil, the seeds grow and the paper composts away. All that is left behind is flowers and no waste! Our seed tags come with a natural string and work just as well as regular tags, only they don’t leave a little piece of plastic behind to pollute the planet.

WHAT ARE OUR BRA PADS MADE OF?

All of our sports bras are designed with removable pads which are sourced locally in Malaysia. We are continuously placing efforts to source for recycled material bra pads in the future.

WHAT ARE OUR "THANK-YOU CARDS" MADE OF?

We design and sourced our "Thank-You Cards" from a local printing company here in Malaysia. They are made with The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC®) certified recycled paper and printed with soy-based ink. The FSC^® label offers a credible link between responsible production and consumption, enabling consumers to make socially and environmentally responsible purchasing decisions.

WHAT IS THE FOREST STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL® (FSC®)?

The Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) is an international non-governmental organization that promotes environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial, and economically viable management of the world’s forests.

Learn more about it here: www.fsc.org.

WHAT ARE OUR DRAWSTRINGS MADE OF?

With every Āina Collective purchase, we gift our customers a reusable linen drawstring bag. A well-made reusable bag can last for several years and never have to toss they away! If they become dirty, you simply throw them in the washing machine and keep on using them.

WHAT ARE OUR MAILERS MADE OF?

Our custom printed mailers are 100% compostable, made from corn starch and can decompose in an ideal 45-day composting environment. These mailers, including the ink used, are certified and compostable to global standards.

WHAT ARE MICROPLASTICS AND HOW DOES IT AFFECT THE PLANET?

Producing activewear from regenerated ocean plastic means our pieces run the risk of releasing tiny micro-fibres into the water system when they are washed. This is because when we wash our clothes, the friction causes tiny plastic fibers to flake off and since they are too small for regular filtering systems to catch, these microplastics run straight into our waterways. To combat this issue, we can either:

1) Hand wash your items and use eco-friendly laundry detergent.

2) But if you reeeeaaaaaally have to machine wash cold, we encourage our customers to wash their pieces in filters like Cora Ball & GuppyFriend. These filters can capture the micro-plastics and therefore can be disposed responsibly.

We will be continuing our efforts in creating locally made filter bags.