conforms to the most uncompromising ethical standards and all business and production processes are conducted with complete transparency. It is our aim to supply you with beautiful, eco-friendly lingerie and bedroom accessories.
Jenny White, founder of Eco-Boudoir studied an MA in Textile Futures at Central Saint Martins after leaving her successful career as an Art Director in the London fashion industry. Her dream was to design and create in a world of opulence, yet she quickly learnt that beauty often comes at the expense of people and the environment. Unable to contribute to poverty and pollution, she set about finding a solution to realise her dream whilst sticking to her principles. Inspired by tutors passionate about style and sustainability, she went ahead and set up her own textile business that specialises in luxury products, but this luxury comes with a conscience.
There are many different ways to produce sustainable textiles. Some companies use bio-degradable fabrics, some companies are 'fair trade', some companies use fabrics that last forever, some people produce everything locally. In an ideal world our whole collection would be certified 100% organic, be 100% bio-degradable, produced in large quantities in our local community, look amazing and be affordable to the consumer! We're working on it!
As technologies develop and consumer choice encourages markets to change, this aim becomes more realistic everyday. Eco-Boudoir is at the forefront of the movement to make it happen and leads by example in terms of 'People, Planet and Profit'.
Eco-Boudoir uses fabrics that are highly renewable and which do not bring pollution to people or the environment in their processing. We challenge the Eco-market in terms of design and branding and challenge the luxury market in terms of sustainability. We have made eco 'sexy'.
PRODUCTION PROCESSES:
The textiles we use everyday have been through highly polluting production processes. The worst offenders are: leather, cotton, wool, pvcs, plastics and polyesters and they go through the following environmentally unsound procedures: chromium tanning, discharge printing, devoré, chlorine bleaching, oil based dying, foiling, flocking and formaldehyde finishing processes.
All of these processes use harmful chemicals, glues and/or heavy metals, making the production of these fabrics harmful to the people producing them, harmful to the environment if the waste is not managed properly and potentially harmful to the people wearing the garments.
Eco-Boudoir believes in supporting sustainable production practice in all countries around the world.
ECO-LINGERIE
THE FABRICS WE USE ARE:
VEGETABLE TANNED LEATHER: Eco-Boudoir is not vegetarian. We are conscious of the sustainability issues associated with the intensive agricultural practices of rearing animals for meat. Our leather comes from goats and deer farmed in a free-range natural environment in Germany. All of our leather is vegetable tanned and is a bi-product of the food industry. This tanning process uses the bark of the oak tree instead of the heavy metal chromium (almost all leather worldwide is tanned with chromium 3 or 6 which is highly polluting and carcinogenic). Vegetable tanning minimises pollution to the local water or to the people working within its production.
100% NATURAL SILK: There are no organic standards as yet for silk. Our silks are produced in India by a British company. Our supplier's silk is produced naturally using organic compost, resins, berries. The sericin (a natural protein bi-product) is removed by boiling the thread in lye, the main ingredient of traditional hand-made Indian soap. They make their own lye by running water through ashes collected from outdoor cooking and dying fires. This silk could be called 'Defacto Organic' because it is cultivated using traditional natural methods. The whole process involves two small groups which have been set up by our supplier and which she visits every three-four months. NO PESTICIDES. NO METHODENE. NO BLEACH. NO BONDED CHILD LABOUR.
BAMBOO: Hand (and increasingly, machine) spun, a light, silky natural fibre with an ivory glow, bamboo is grown without the need for agro-chemical interference. Bamboo fibre has natural anti-bacterial properties; it is biodegradable, breathable, cool and offers superior water retention properties. Our bamboo is woven in Italy and France.
There are two ways of producing bamboo fibre.
1. mechancial spinning which creates a linen style fabric - this is not soft enough for lingerie
2. solvent process
We love the feel of bamboo and as it is in the early stages of development as a fabric are not ready to dismiss it.
We make sure we source our bamboo from reputable suppliers (suppliers who supply only eco fabrics) who recycle their water and the solvents they use so that minimun amount of pollution is caused. What is important to us is that bamboo is highly renewable and does not use pesticides and fertilisers and is soft and fine for lingerie. Bamboo is a huge improvement on using: polyester, nylon, acrylic, cotton, 100% lycras and polyamides (the main fabrics used in lingerie).
HEMP/SILK: Hemp, otherwise known as 'weed' because of its ability to grow rampantly without the use of chemical fertilisers and other pollutants, hemp fibre products are fully biodegradable and fast becoming a popular choice for many eco-textile consumers. Hemp requires minimal water to be cultivated. Low impact bleach (hydrogen peroxide) is used for the hemp only. No bleach is used in the silk of this fabric. Hemp silk is produced in China as this is one of the only places in the world where hemp has been allowed to grow. This fabric is produced by suppliers who recycle their water and who manage their waste correctly. This hemp silk comes through a highly reputable eco-fabric supplier: NO FORMALDEHYDE. NO METHODENE. NO CHILD LABOUR.
ORGANIC LAVENDER: Our scented pouches are filled with dried lentils and organic lavender from a small organic lavender farm in the UK.
HIDDEN ELEMENTS: The fusing which is sometimes needed for production of our garments is made from 100% viscose instead of polyester. This means it is bio-degradable. The wadding in our quilts is made from certified organic cotton. We have now sourced an organic cotton label for our washcare and size labels. Zips, elastic and cushion filling we are working on!
PRODUCTION: The patterns on our silk are printed digitally which is the greenest way to keep our designs colourfast and permanent. Completed in the UK with the latest technology, the process uses considerably less water than traditional silk-screen printing. Wherever it can be, the water is recycled. The water from the printing plant is tested weekly by officials in order to make sure no pollution is caused.
Digital printing is also the most efficient way to print smaller quantities. Ie. It is not sustainable to print 200ms of each print if we only need 80ms. We are expecting in the future to reach quantities high enough to silk screen print with vegetable dyes in India (with our silk supplier) - this is a technique which takes a lot of testing to get right. If the quantities you order from us are large enough then it can of course be produced in this way.
All dyes for all fabrics use low-impact, water based dyes. Any dyes used on organic cotton will have been certified by Skal as acceptable for organic certification.
The patterns on our leather are etched on with a laser, based in the UK this is another clean method of designing that doesn't generate chemical waste.
Our eco lingerie and loungewear is produced in either the UK so that it can be delivered to us overland and so we are supporting our local community. Our eco-friendly bedroom furnishings are produced in the UK. Larger quantities can be produced by a fair trade co-operative in India.
WASHING AND CARING FOR YOUR GARMENT:
Traditional dry-cleaning uses perchloroethylene (perc) - a chlorinated solvent. The eco-friendly option to this is a siloxane based solution rather than the harmful perc solvent. Siloxane is an abundant element found on the earth, its most common form being silica (sand).
The eco-friendly solution is not only better for the environment it is also gentler on fabrics with softer handling, no harsh chemical odours and no colour running or fading. Ask your dry cleaner what solution they use.
For machine washing and hand washing we recommend you use Ecover washing detergent and softener and wash your garment at 30*C.
BUSINESS MANAGEMENT:
We have a strict waste reduction and office recycling policy - We re-use paper. We recycle paper.
We work with a sustainability consultant.
All marketing, correspondence and packaging materials including for wholesale deliveries are either made from recycled materials or are sustainably sourced right down to the packing tape.
Energy saving measures are obligatory in the office.
Eco-Boudoir staff use public transport for business.
Air freight is avoided wherever possible.
CHARITIES WE SUPPORT: www.iracambi.com
We are always endeavouring to improve our supply chain and production processes and we want you to love our concept and collections. Please don't hesitate to contact us with any questions about any aspect of Eco-Boudoir.
