Environmental Impact

We are painfully aware of the impact the fashion industry has on the planet. As people we walk a thin line, trying to travel the world whilst preserving the beautiful destinations we visit. You'll find no greenwashing here - it is our constant endeavour to continue our education and implementation of sustainable practises. Here's what we currently do, our why's, and future goals...

MATERIALS

For our core collection of Shades, we use a beautifully soft 80% Recycled Nylon 20% Spandex fabric, which is GSR (Global Recycling Standard) Certified. Produced and sourced in Indonesia, this also reduces our carbon footprint in reducing global movements.

Currently for our Prints, we are using a raw 80% Polyester 20% Spandex fabric also produced in Indonesia, with plans already in place for this to transition to a recycled nylon from the very first re-stock. Printing on Nylon is not as simple as it seems, and in order to create beautiful, lasting prints in the least impactful way possible, we opted to do this locally with a process that has zero water wastage. Going forward, our fabric will be sourced and printed in China, where a similar eco-friendly and nylon-compatible printing process is utilised. We believe that the additional movement is justified for the superior, recycled material. This transition allows us to maintain our high standards of quality while still being environmentally responsible.

PACKAGING & STORAGE

We have opted for 99% plastic free packaging to ship your TAO TUI pieces to you. Our pieces are carefully wrapped in tissue paper, sealed with a paper sticker and posted in a strong, kraft paper mailer. We considered the use of 'compostable' satchels, however after further research studies show that these a) have an extremely high carbon footprint to produce and can only be made from raw materials and b) often don't actually compost, even in the right environment. After some team discussions, we also found we don't know many people who do compost, so to make it easier we've selected materials that are easy to recycle instead - just pop them into your cardboard recycling bin. The only piece of plastic you'll receive from us is the tiny clip used to connect the hang tag string, which once removed, can also be recycled.

From our manufacturer, garments are packaged according to their style, colour and sizes into bulk bags so as to refrain from using individual, single-use plastic garment bags. At our warehouse, they are then safely stored in re-usable garment bags for efficient picking and elimination of waste.

A CIRCULAR FUTURE

Our number one goal is become as circular as possible, lots of thought often goes into the sustainable creation of a garment, but what about the end? We hope you cherish your TAO TUI pieces for many years to come, but we are working on a trade-in service so they may be responsibly recycled. Until then, here are our suggestions for responsibly recycling garments:

Resell: There are numerous re-sale sites out there, what you may no longer fit/reach for, someone else may love. Some of our favourites include Depop, Ebay, or Poshmark.
Give to charity: In Australia you can find your local charity clothing drop-off's by clicking here.
For unsaleable or damaged garments, consider using a textile-appropriate organisation to recycle such as Upparel or Textile Recyclers Australia.