Our
sustainability
journey
At Orlebar Brown, we believe holidays are the very best time with family and friends. You create memories and see wonderful places. Expand the mind. Relax the body. Release the soul.
We know that to enjoy our products, we all contribute to climate change. From sourcing, manufacturing, to distribution and our operations… To the holidaying itself. All of these factors impact the environment We have made a commitment to be a better company with a rigorous approach to MEASURE our impact on the environment, then REDUCE where we can; this includes introducing more sustainable fabric bases into our products. Further details on our fabric roadmap are below. And then finally, following the close of each year, we analyse and then REBALANCE our carbon output towards becoming a carbon neutral company - a goal we have achieved since 2021 You can see the carbon, and equivalent greenhouse gases, emitted through the production of every product we offer by clicking the link ‘CARBON BALANCED PRODUCT’ for details.
RECYCLED
POLYESTER
We design our products to be worn
in and around the water where significant amounts of
plastic waste accumulate. We are beginning
to change the synthetic fabrics used for our
swim shorts and outerwear by utilising recycled
plastic waste instead, some of which is sourced
from plastic waste in the oceans.
ORGANIC
COTTON
The environmental benefits of using organic cotton
include a reduction in water and energy usage
as well as lower greenhouse gas emissions. Organic
cotton is also grown without the
use of synthetic pesticides, reducing the environmental
impact on both people and the planet.
WOOL
We aim to use mulesing* free Merino to guarantee
that the animals in our supply chain
do not suffer. Our goal is to use
only certified wool that focuses on
good animal welfare through traceability back to the farms.
* Mulesing is a procedure that removes strips
of wool-bearing skin from around the breech
of a sheep to prevent the parasitic infection flystrike.
We believe this a painful and unnecessary process.
DOWN
As with wool, we care about animal welfare
and are committed to only using certified down.
| CATEGORY | TARGET | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
| POLYESTER/ POLYAMIDE | PRE OR POST CONSUMER RECYCLED YARNS | 68% | 80% | 90% | 95% |
| COTTON | ORGANIC OR RECYCLED YARNS | 67% | 80% | 90% | 95% |
| WOOL (MERINO) | NON-MULESED, AND FROM MORE SUSTAINABLE SOURCE (RESPONSIBLE STANDARD, RECYCLED) | 88% | 100% | - | - |
| WOOL (CASHMERE) | FROM MORE SUSTAINABLE SOURCE (RESPONSIBLE STANDARD, RECYCLED) | 57% | 70% | 80% | 95% |
| DOWN | ALL DOWN TO COME FROM FARMS WITHOUT LIVE PLUCKING AND FORCED FEEDING | 100% | - | - | - |
| LINEN | EU FLAX, REEL LINEN, ORGANIC LINEN | - | 80% | 90% | 95% |
| MAN-MADE CELLULOSIC FIBRES | FSC OR PEFC CERTFIIED, RECYCLED FIBRES | - | 80% | 90% | 95% |
| SILK | RECYCLED OR OCS | - | 80% | 90% | 95% |
PRE OR POST CONSUMER RECYCLED YARNS
| 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
| 68% | 80% | 90% | 95% |
ORGANIC OR RECYCLED YARNS
| 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
| 67% | 80% | 90% | 95% |
NON-MULESED, AND FROM MORE SUSTAINABLE SOURCE (RESPONSIBLE STANDARD, RECYCLED)
| 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
| 88% | 100% | - | - |
FROM MORE SUSTAINABLE SOURCE (RESPONSIBLE STANDARD, RECYCLED)
| 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
| 57% | 70% | 80% | 95% |
ALL DOWN TO COME FROM FARMS WITHOUT LIVE PLUCKING AND FORCED FEEDING
| 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
| 100% | - | - | - |
EU FLAX, REEL LINEN, ORGANIC LINEN
| 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
| - | 80% | 90% | 95% |
FSC OR PEFC CERTFIIED, RECYCLED FIBRE
| 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
| - | 80% | 90% | 95% |
RECYCLED OR OCS
| 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
| - | 80% | 90% | 95% |
OUR
FACTORIES
We choose factories that are experts in their field and that create high quality, long-lasting products. In 2019, over 80% of our products were made in Portugal and 100% of our knitwear was made in Italy due to the expertise in these regions. Keeping our production within Europe (and close to our UK Operation) also enables us to minimise our inbound freight carbon footprint. We also currently work with three factories in Asia, which we have selected due to their specialisms in premium technical product and footwear. We are firm believers in the importance of responsible sourcing and the promotion of fair and safe working conditions within our supply chain. We are committed to ensuring that all workers involved in the production of any Orlebar Brown products are treated with humanity and dignity, and all are entitled to their basic human rights. We request all suppliers to work to the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) Base Code.
In addition to the ETI Base Code, we also audit all our factories, either through a third-party or we carry out internally to ensure their operations are socially and ethically compliant. We are also a member of Sedex, an online platform that allows us to share our factories audits with our business partners for full transparency We are also looking at the impact the factories we work with have on the environment. Our primary factory partners, who made 49% of our product in 2019, are leaders in environmental improvements. Some of their initiatives include:
- recycling most of the waste from their manufacturing plants, ensuring minimal waste goes to landfill,
- solar energy creation and 100% biomass energy usage for heating systems,
- electrical cars used for local deliveries,
- and a rainwater collection/recycling system
OUR
PACKAGING
In 2019, we set a goal of creating more sustainable packaging. From 2021, our boxes and swing tickets will be made from recyclable FSC certified card. In 2020, we assessed the plastic bags we use to protect our products during transportation between our factories, warehouses and stores. We then eliminated single-use plastic from our supply chain by introducing reusable fabric bags and replaced polybags with 100% recycled and recyclable plastic.
OUR
PRODUCT
LIFESPAN
We design our products with longevity in mind, meaning that we trial and test our products before trading. As a result, we are confident in our products and want our customers to continue enjoying them year after year. We have a 5-Year Guarantee in place for our swim shorts and repair or replace them if a customer is unsatisfied with their purchase.
