FABRICATION & SUSTAINABILITY
P.E Nation began with two friends meeting for lunch, overlooking Sydney’s Bondi Beach, surrounded by the sandstone cliffs, native wildflowers and vast Pacific Ocean stretching out to forever. The conversation Pip Edwards and Claire Tregoning had that day centered around building a wardrobe solution for modern life. Not just activewear, but functional styles, reimagined cuts and strong designs that would be at once current and timeless; a reliable constant over the course of a day, yes, but more than that - made-to-last foundation blocks for everyday wear, to be enjoyed for years to come.
For any of that to hold true, sustainable practices and building a business that’s ever-focused on bettering our habits has to be at the fore. Of everything we do. It has to be. And so, it is. When we say we’re passionate about purpose over profit, what we mean is that we come to work every day fervently aware of our duty to a more considered and real approach to business and life, and the urgent need to make how we feel, how we take care of ourselves, our people and our planet the underpinning of everything that we do. We’re making noticeable changes - in the 2019-20 financial year, 34% of our products were sustainable; in the 2020-21 financial year, 72% of our SKUs are sustainable.
The urgency is real. What we do now, all of us, in the everyday, matters. Much like building sustainable patterns for our health, wellbeing and fitness, there is no short-term solution for our collective future welfare. First we protect. Then we prosper. This is the long game. It can’t just be about the big decisions and one-off efforts thrown out now and then – those are important too – but they won’t make enough of a difference if we’re not adapting our small daily habits. The two have to be a consistent priority for everything to come together; for real change to take place. And it has to be now. This is the long game. Long. Ongoing. Exciting. And we’re all in.
Regarding the urgency for change to secure a hopeful future for all, in January 2021, leading scientists and researchers from the nonprofit Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists had this call to action to impart:
“Leaders and citizens of the world. This is your wake-up call: It is 100 seconds to midnight.”
This is real. We’re not about lip service, or spewing cliché sustainability top lines for profit. P.E Nation is community. Hopeful. Realistic. On our sustainability journey, we’ve come so far. Still far from perfect, and a work in constant progress. Hyper-aware of the importance of every move we make now, endlessly passionate about continuing the ethical and environmental improvements we’ve made in our first five years as a brand, and constantly researching ways to do and be more.
We’ve named our sustainability enterprise Our Conscious Nation – an umbrella comprised of our pledge, ongoing plans and commitment to:
Responsible supply chains, ethical work standards and social responsibility
Reducing carbon footprint
Producing wardrobe solutions cut from sustainable fabrications and organic yarns
Partnering with not-for-profits that help us reach and assist communities in need
Achieving 360° circular fashion with zero waste and zero impact
Here are just some of the things, big and small, we do and have done, to date:
Sustainable fabrications.
The clothing and textiles industry is responsible for 10% of the world’s carbon emissions. One of the biggest steps we can take to truly play ball in the sustainability arena comes down to the fabrics and detailing we use throughout our collections. One hundred percent of the cotton we use is organic, and we are also incorporating recycled fibres into our jackets (currently on track to reach 40-50% by the end of 2021). While 90% of our Active fabrics are made using recycled or regenerated fibers, our goal is to become 100% sustainable across all collections. We're also proud to have released our Made in Australia capsule in early 2021, helping support local manufacturing.
Improved packaging.
When you shop at pe-nation.com, our garments will be delivered to you in compostable outer packaging. We partner with the Better Packaging Co, and each bag is durable and reusable. The packaging is made from plants and compostable resin, making it compatible with food and garden waste, and worm-friendly too. All poly bags our products are shipped in are compostable, while our swing tags and labelling are cut from recycled paper and recycled RPET polyester.
Commitment to community.
P.E Nation is a partner of Thread Together, who deliver good quality clothing and shoes as a solution to fashion waste and to assist people in the community who are doing it tough. To date, Thread Together has helped more than 300,000 people and delivered 1.2 million items of clothing to men, women and children in need. P.E Nation regularly sends brand-new clothes to Thread Together to share with the community, and makes donations to their programs through i=Change.
Protecting our people and supply chain.
We're proud members of Sedex, a global organisation dedicated to providing safe work environments and the protection of human rights; in partnership with the Australian Trusted Trader to streamline legitimate trade; and a foundation member of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI). P.E Nation is committed to protecting human rights across our supply chain and upholding the core conventions of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), and the International Labour Organization (ILO).
Supporting the environment.
P.E Nation is a proud partner of i=Change. With 30% of the world's population still living on $1 a day, i=Change helps brands like us give back to selected NGOs across the globe. For every sale made through pe-nation.com, our customers (that’s you!) get to donate $1 of their purchase to an i=Change program. It's a one-click step with 100% transparency that creates a real-time impact for a range of community and climate initiatives.
CIRCLE BACK (aka WATCH THIS SPACE)
We’re steadily and progressively looking for new ways to improve our sustainability practices. Our garment technicians are genuinely passionate and unbending about a circular approach. They work tirelessly on searching for recycled materials, gentle yarns, kinder threads, hardware, trims, elastics and tags, and are currently researching the potential for high-performing biodegradable fabrications. As hard as we’ve worked so far (90% of our active fabrics are made using recycled or regenerated fibers), it’s our priority to produce all collections using 100% sustainable fabrications. Keep checking back for updates on what we’re doing.
