FAR AFIELD | Contemporary British menswear with a global inspiration.

Where we manufacture?

We go further, and we are dedicated to sustainable sourcing. We take time and consideration when choosing our suppliers, always visiting and building a relationship before we agree to do any production. We have built honest and trustworthy relationships with our suppliers over the years, so we know exactly who makes them and the conditions they are made under.

When looking at a new supplier our concerns are; ethical production, adult only labour, fair working conditions and practices, adequate social care for workers and fair remuneration. We require industry standard accreditation and audits where available and insist on practices which go further than fair trade.

Where we source our materials?

We source our fabrics and yarns from various leading fabric mills across the globe. Our purchasing policy on new woven and jersey fabrics is Organic (GOTS) or Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) accredited cotton only.

We are equally conscious of the benefits of using overstock fabrics, and occasionally we may purchase high quality ‘dead stock’ fabrics from various mills across the globe. We cannot guarantee if these fabrics will be organic or BCI cotton, but by using cotton that would otherwise be wasted, we feel this is a positive approach to up-cycling.

Our knitwear yarns are purchased from Turkey, Italy and Portugal, and follow all ISO and OEKO-TEX standards. Where possible we purchase Organic (GOTS) or BCI cotton yarn, however we are sometimes restricted by the factory/mill minimum order quantities.

Where appropriate we also use recycled polyesters. For swimwear we are trailblazing a specialist fabric made from recycled plastic bottles. All plastic bottles labeled with #1 on the bottom have the same chemistry make-up as polyester known as PET (polyethylene terephthalate) allowing plastic bottle flakes to be transformed into fabric perfect for swimwear. This polyester fibre is made of 100% recycled plastic, comprised mostly of post-consumer plastic bottles.

All our buttons are strictly all non-plastic and have been since we launched. We use natural only buttons, including; mother of pearl, shell, coconut, wood, and corozo.

BCI: BETTER COTTON INITIATIVE

Cotton is arguably the World’s most important natural fibre with the cotton industry supporting the livelihood of 250 million people.

The Better Cotton Standard System is a holistic approach to sustainable cotton production which covers all three pillars of sustainability: environmental, social and economic. Each of the elements – from the Principles and Criteria to the monitoring mechanisms which show results and impact – work together to support the Better Cotton Standard System, and the credibility of Better Cotton and BCI. The system is designed to ensure the exchange of good practices, and to encourage the scaling up of collective action to establish Better Cotton as a sustainable mainstream commodity.

The 6 key principles of the BCI are crop protection, water usage, soil health, biodiversity, fibre quality and decent working conditions. All BCI cotton is produced in verified cotton farms. All BCI cotton is produced in verified cotton farms.

Plastics & Packaging

We are currently phasing out all non-recyclable plastics in our packaging, and will be fully recyclable or non-plastic by 2020.

That means no non-recycled plastic bags, plastic clips, collar straighteners, plastic swing tags, and plastic labels. We substitute with wood, cardboard or metal and try to strike a balance between crisp, non-crease presentation and heavy over-packaging. The recycled plastic bags we use are category 4 and are considered a safe form of plastic.

This does, however, mean your garment may not appear as ‘over-packed’ as other brands, but we feel this is a small price to pay when it comes to the environment. The quality of the garment is obviously not affected.

As previously mentioned, we have a strict no-plastic policy on all our buttons.

Transportation

We are conscious of the carbon footprint of our process but accept that getting raw materials into production and then into your home implies a great deal of transport. We avoid use of airfreight as much as possible.

We have a logistics process which streamlines deliveries to ensure maximum efficiency, including use of recycled cardboard and maximum load densities to get most efficient haulage time and frequency – cutting down on wastage and empty consignment space.

We use sea transport with cargo vessels which abide by the highest standards of pollution reduction and best industry practice.

GOING FURTHER | SUSTAINABLE SOURCING