Bamboo is a highly renewable resource. Unlike other crops, bamboo regenerates itself rapidly, without the use of pesticides and fertilizers. It reaches maturity quickly and can grow up to three feet in a day. Once harvested it does not need to be replanted and its extensive root system improves surrounding soil quality. It has a natural sheen, and a soft silky feel that make it excellent to drape with. Additionally bamboo is anti-bacterial, highly breathable and moisture wicking.
Traditionally grown cotton is one of the most chemically intensive crops, accounting for 25% of the world’s pesticide and herbicide use. It takes almost a third of a pound of chemicals to grow the cotton for just one t-shirt. These chemicals, including known carcinogens, end up contaminating our food, air and water supply affecting the health of the growers and the end users. Organic cotton is grown without chemical pesticides and fertilizers and certified through a third party.
We see Sublet Clothing as a means for positive social change, while fostering a collaborative community. We are socially and environmentally responsible in the way we source, manufacture, and run our company. We take into consideration our footprint because the effect we have on our environment and the people who inhabit it needs to be a positive one.
Sublet’s garments are manufactured domestically in New York City. We interact personally with every person involved in the production process from sample making through label printing. All of the companies we have worked with pay their employees living wages, and maintain a pleasant environment at their workplaces.
Inessah and Tara try to leave as light of a footprint as possible on everything they do. From riding bikes to using canvas bags, to composting, each decision they make considers its effect on the Earth. This ideology translates into how Sublet runs its business and designs its clothes. Their lives and their business are one.
