Since the beginning, part of our BELLA+CANVAS mission has been to be conscious of our impact on the environment. We aren’t naive to the fact that historically, the clothing industry has negatively impacted Earth. With that said, from the start, we’ve been out to, well, as our motto says, BE DIFFERENT. And that difference starts at the beginning of our production process and remains a top priority all the way through to the lifestyle we encourage our employees to live and the high-quality t-shirts we produce. We believe in being an eco-friendly clothing company. This post gives a glimpse into some of the decisions we’ve made to reduce our ecological footprint while creating a leading clothing brand.

Water Reduction

We dye all of our fabric in California at dye houses that use 7x less water than the average clothing manufacturer.

California has some of the most strict EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) regulations, so by dyeing in California, we we are adhering to the highest level of environmental compliancy for our men’s t-shirts and women’s t-shirts. At our dye houses, everything is monitored to eliminate waste. We are also utilizing the most efficient machines that are available, which allow us to use seven times less water than the average clothing manufacturer. We use three gallons of water per pound of fabric, whereas, most others use anywhere from nine to 20 gallons of water per pound of fabric. During an average week, we save approximately 24 million gallons of water. This top-notch technology uses a very low level of dye-per-water ratio, which is monitored through a digital computer system. When dye houses mix manually, they’ll generally use extra dye, which causes inconsistency and wastefulness. The dyes we use are also bluesign® certified, which guarantees they are eco-friendly. Once a process is complete, the water and dyes are separated. The water is recycled through an in-house filtration system and reused again, rather than being dumped into rivers or oceans. The dye waste is also burned at a high temperature in a self-contained environment, allowing for no smoke stacks or pollution to be put into the air.

Energy Reduction

We take every opportunity to reduce our CO2 emissions.

Our sewing and cutting facilities are run on solar power. And by the end of 2019, we’ll have a 450,000 square foot solar farm to further our commitment to clean energy. All the buildings at our headquarters are equipped with motion-sensor LED lighting, which use nine times less energy than traditional lights. We are constantly updating our employees’ computer monitors to new ones that use less power. The skylights in the buildings also help offset the amount of power needed, and we continue to expand the number of them throughout our campus. All the buildings are insulated in a way that allows for minimal artificial heating and cooling. For years, our employee parking lots have had electric car charging stations to encourage employees to live a green lifestyle even after they leave the office.

Virtually Zero Waste

We recycle everything possible – fabric, plastic, bottles, paper… you name it!

As we’ve mentioned above, we believe that taking advantage of and incorporating the latest technology will help us reduce our carbon footprint. Our systems are very high-tech, and all orders are processed digitally, with minimal paper waste involved. Our goal is to soon have a completely paper-free warehouse – and we’re close to that! We have only one trash can in each building, so employees take part in sorting and recycling all waste. We also don’t let any fabric go to waste. Anything that isn’t turned into a BELLA+CANVAS product, is picked up daily and taken to different recycling centers. The fabric is then recycled into different things like tile, bottles, stuffing, upholstery – even energy!

As technology advances so will our eco-friendly practices. Our goal is to make the best tees around while still putting Earth first. We invite you to join our movement. BE DIFFERENT. Choose BELLA+CANVAS.