Of course, Spreadshirt stands for creative designs, but also for sustainable products. In the following article, you will find out why conscious shopping at Spreadshirt is fun as well.
Fair and sustainable Dank Print-on-Demand
All items at Spreadshirt are produced by way of print-on-demand. This means that we will only start producing your order once you’ve completed the purchase. Compared to conventional off-the-shelf products, you don’t only get a highly customized product, but also a particularly sustainable one. Please note:
- we don’t ever produce on stock, and in doing so avoid producing shelf ware we won’t be able to sell (and that would need to be discarded).
- we use the best digital direct printers on the market, featuring completely non-toxic and 100% biodegradable inks for waterless printing.
- we produce completely paperless, saving over 8 million sheets of paper per year, equivalent to about 767 trees.
- we give you the exact measurements and size recommendations for all our products, so that your new favorite item really fits and won’t need to be returned.
Sustainable shopping: Good for you and our planet
Whether you create your product yourself or choose a design from the Marketplace, you can filter by various product characteristics, including of course organic quality or fair trade items. Organic and fair trade products have been proven to have a smaller environmental and social footprint than conventionally produced products, as these actively help protect the environment and improve working conditions. Our share of sustainably produced textiles is already over 14 percent in Europe and 9 percent in North America, and we are going to continue to increase this in the future. As a company, we commit ourselves and our suppliers to comply with a code of conduct and provide transparent information about the certificates and seals of our products.
And it doesn’t stop there!
We are always and constantly working on making our production and our everyday work more sustainable. This includes covering part of the electricity requirements in our production facilities and in our Leipzig headquarters with solar power, regularly supplying our employees with fresh organic fruit and vegetables, or recycling and donating returned goods. All corporate decisions are monitored by a sustainability council and reviewed for the impact on our eco-balance.
Packaging shipments are now on the sustainability test bench. Currently we ship your order – depending on the quantity – either with paper or plastic shipping bags or in cardboard boxes. In Europe, this packaging mix already consists of 69 percent fully biodegradable or recyclable materials, and 89 percent in North America. We will reduce the amount of plastic shipping bags and replace them with a holistic solution that will lower carbon footprint even more.
An obvious solution would be to switch completely to paper and cardboard. However, a look at the complete life-cycle assessment makes such a switch seem counterproductive. Because paper and cardboard have – besides undeniable advantages – a decisive disadvantage. They are heavier and have a larger volume. This can add up to a larger environmental footprint than plastic. Unfortunately, it isn’t quite as straightforward as we’d want it to be. But we will find a solution – one that’s good for you and our planet.