Sustainable clothing company Rapanui launches line..
You beat me to it guys ! I am always keen to promote anything ethical and green as these issues are really important to me. I was talking to Andy from Airhead about setting up an ethical surf clothing company before Christmas, just really throwing ideas around, but these guys at Rapanui have beaten me to it, and they are local, so that makes it very cool. I hope to be seeing your stuff in the shops soon - good luck ! Press release is below :
Rapanui Clothing is an organic and sustainable clothing company based on the Isle of Wight. Powered by renewable energy throughout the product life cycle and only using natural fabrics, Rapanui has a fair claim to being the greenest clothing company in the world, on its credentials alone.
Set up by surfing brothers Rob and Mart Drake-Knight, 23 and 21 respectively. The brothers were motivated to influence environmental change after becoming ill from surfing in polluted waters. Mart wears scars from a skin infection caused by pollution; Rob spent three days of a holiday in France in bed due to sickness caused by field run-off.
Added to these personal issues, Mart’s studies in the field of Renewable Energy engineering gave the brothers insight into the convergence of crisis our planet is facing. They felt they wanted to make a difference
Rapanui is the vehicle of this inspiration; garments are manufactured in Fairwear Foundation audited factories – ensuring that at every stage of the garment manufacturing process workers are guaranteed a fair deal – Rapanui is currently undergoing licence for fair trade.
In manufacture, Rapanui uses ‘green’ factories. The production is split between two units; all of their energy needs are supplied by renewable energy. All local business is run on bio diesel, whilst Rapanui use a London warehousing and distribution unit also powered solely by green energy.
For finishing, local businesses are used to support the local community and minimise transport emissions. All workers are provided with a bike, cycle rack and shower access at our HQ.
The garments themselves are made of sustainably coppiced bamboo, organic cotton or convergence cotton. All are Oeto-Tex Certified, guaranteeing that they are free from any substance harmful to the environment. Our organic products are also double-certified under the soil association standard and the global organic textile standard.
These fabrics are softer, more breathable, hypoallergenic, biodegradable and recyclable. It is a fact that 17 teaspoons of chemicals end up in the soil for each high-street cotton tee. Rapanui releases none. “We hope to inspire customers to ‘join us’; to become part of our brand; to change their lives in a way which helps them to become integrated with nature as we were in the past.”
Rapanui also pays a self-imposed ‘earth tax’. 5% of profits are donated to conservation charities such as the marine conservation society and the ‘trees for life’ project in the Caledonian forest in Scotland. “Rapanui offers consumers the opportunity to buy into an ethos, to take the first step in ‘going green’ or to continue their ‘green’ lifestyle in their fashion-wear.”
Rapanui also provide schools, colleges, universities and adult learning environments with talks on climate change, presenting the facts, not opinions. At the events education is paramount, ‘top tips’ are detailed on how to reduce carbon emissions in the home and elsewhere. “We want to use the influential power of fashion to provoke change.”
For further details please contact: Rob Drake-Knight at sales@rapanuiclothing.com or direct on 07762410094. For the office call (01983 401982)