econsciousness blog

“Agriculture contributes to increased warming—farming and deforestation account for a quarter of global greenhouse emissions—but is affected by it, too, as more severe and more unpredictable weather poses a threat to food safety and production. When it comes to impacting climate change, not all farming practices are created equal. By contrast, in nearly 40 years of comparing the effects of conventional vs. organic agriculture side by side, our Farming Systems Trial has found that organic systems use 45% less energy, release 40% fewer carbon emissions, improve the health and quantity of soil over time, and actually have the potential to produce yields up to 40% higher in times of drought...

Workplace Conditions Our factory partners participate in social audits designed to ensure safe and healthy workplace conditions while creating a framework for continuous improvement.  Several audit systems are in place depending on the factory: SMETA Sedex’s social auditing methodology which is designed to enable us to assess, understand, and improve working conditions in our supply chain.  https://www.sedex.com/our-services/smeta-audit/ BSCI, short for amfori Business Social Compliance Initiative, provides a recognized methodology for identifying and remediating risks in global supply chains.   https://www.amfori.org/en/solutions/social/amfori-bsci WRAP, short for Worldwide Responsible Apparel Production, is the only independent global organization of its kind, advances safe, lawful, humane, and...

We love screen printers!  The ones we know are artists, renegades and visionaries.  No suits and ties (or the female equivalent where applicable) for them---ever.  So it’s not surprising that we have had plenty discussions with our artist friends about things such as what makes the best “blank canvas”, the craziest thing they ever screen printed or what temperature to use when screen printing a non-woven tote (answer: the lowest temperature possible). We created the econscious line with screen-printers in mind.  We think of our tees as works of art waiting to happen.  And when our conversations invariably roll around...

Our choices impact the health of this place we call home. Organic farming practices: Keep millions of pounds of chemicals out of the environment Create healthier working conditions for farmers and agricultural workers Do not depend on chemical pesticides (poisons), synthetic fertilizers, or genetically engineered ingredients Reduce global warming.  Organic farms pull CO2 out of the atmosphere as much as three times the rate of conventional farming practices and releases less CO2 into the atmosphere because it does not rely on chemical fertilizers and herbicides (Rodale Institute, 2008) Promote bio-diversity.  Insect and bird life has been found to be as much...

Certification is done by independent, third party certifiers accredited to the standards being certified against (Source: Organic Trade Association, 2008).