Full disclosure
So let’s be honest/full disclosure. Sustainable or environmentally friendly cycling apparel does not exist. How much we keep our production process local, use eco-friendly packaging and avoid single use plastic, we are still creating a new product. A new product that the world actually doesn’t need.
Cycling apparel intrinsically comes with an even greater challenge to the environment, namely the material it is made of: elastane and polyester. Contradictory to cotton (cotton is not all good either though), these fibres are not natural but synthetic. Or in other words, plastic (PET). And plastic is made out of fossil fuels (oil). Sooo, not great.
When washing our clothes, tiny synthetic microfibers end up in the water system and pollute the sea and its whole eco-system (sea animals included). And this is just one of the harmful consequences of this material. Recycled polyester, for ex. made out of PET bottles, releases the same harmful microfibers and – although a great start – isn’t the holy grail.
- TIP: cotton washing bags help but don’t solve the problem entirely.
- TIP: wash at low temperature
So what can we do?
As a brand that sells clothes, we hope to sell as little as possible. This may sound ridiculous, but it makes sense to us. If you buy a garment from us, we want you to be able to wear it ànd want to wear it for many years to come. To make this happen, the quality of our fabrics should be of the highest level. They are resistant, long lasting and, there for, durable. For the moment, the fabrics we chose to work with are not recycled. Because we believe the fabric is the best quality we can get, made by a Belgian company in Belgium that shares our values and invests highly in sustainable business development.
Still, enormous amounts of clothes in good condition are thrown away. Because the colour is no longer in fashion, because you are bored with the design, or, just because you have too many other jerseys. We hope to challenge this by offering clothing with timeless designs, by resisting the countless fashion trends and by not following the seasonal collections that fast-pacing one another.
We are cyclists. We fall. Very expensive but very delicate clothing rips far too often, which means more waste. That is why we are working on a repair service. Taking into account the cost and CO2 impact of transportation, it’s a bit of a brain wrecker. But we hope we can set it up soon.
We know we are not the only cycling brand who has voiced this opinion, and we are very grateful for that. Let’s make a change in the way we think about clothing, consumption and the impact it has on our planet. That can only begin when we are conscious about the issues.
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