GOING GREEN
NEW SUSTAINABLES , PLEASE
EXEAT is a luxury , sustainable tennis apparel brand for women launched by entrepreneur and tennis enthusiast , Laura Ward .
Laura saw a niche in the market for chic , fashion-led tennis attire with beautifully cut , flattering items , but with a focus on sustainability .
EXEAT is now the UK ’ s most exported luxury sustainable tennis brand and is in the top 1 per cent of sustainable fashion brands globally .
Instead of using traditional sportswear fabrics made from ‘ fossil fuel guzzling yarns ’, EXEAT creates its sustainable cloth from recycled ocean plastics and textile waste destined for landfill .
This allows the company to halve its carbon emissions , reduce water consumption by 80 per cent and pioneer circular manufacturing , making it one of the most sustainable brands in sport ,
Laura said , “ We create every piece in our collection from pioneering ecological fabric with an ultra-low carbon footprint , making us one of the kindest brands in sport .
“ In a world where just 1 per cent of fashion brands are sustainable , we ’ re raising the game .
“ Looking ahead our aim is to maintain EXEAT ’ s position in the top 1 per cent of sustainable fashion brands globally , thanks to our pioneering sustainable fabric and awardwinning factories .
“ We will continue to innovate and this coming year we ’ re investing in some hugely exciting emerging eco-technologies around fabric , cotton and water reduction which will future proof our supply chain .
“ Green is the future of fashion !”
For more info : www . exeatweekend . com
" EXEAT creates its sustainable cloth from recycled ocean plastics and textile waste destined for landfill "
SENDING PACKAGING PACKING
Packaging Not Included is part of a new wave of supermarkets with an aim to end excess packaging and minimise the impact of consumer habits .
The shop essentially acts as a refill station . Customers visit the store , choose their desired products and either bring their own containers to fill or use the paper bags provided .
Packaging Not Included ’ s stock list includes flours and sugars , pastas and grains , dried fruit and chocolates , nuts and seeds , herbs and cereals , beans and pulses , spices and coffee , as well as eco-friendly household cleaning and personal care products .
All the store ’ s produce is organic , ethically produced and responsibly transported , encouraging people to think more about where their food is from and how far it has travelled .
Founder Hayley Lambert said , “ My passions for organic food , sustainability , a healthy lifestyle and the need to reduce our impact on the environment came together to inspire me to open a zero-waste shop . Everything sold in our store is organic and Fairtrade and foods are traceable from farm to fork . It is important to us to know exactly where our food is coming from and that it hasn ’ t been air freighted . Many of our products travel less than 20 miles with seasonal fruit , vegetables and eggs from Purton House Organics , honey from Wiltshire Bee Centre and rapeseed oil from local firm Gears ’ Oil .
“ As a business concerned with the green agenda it was important for us to embrace sustainability in all areas of our work , assessing our impact on the environment and striving for continual improvement .
“ I received support from the Growth Hub around this and attended a Growing Your Green Strategy workshop and as a direct result we have implemented changes including upgrading the shop ’ s lighting to LED ; challenging suppliers about packaging that we are unhappy with ; reducing the frequency of our longer-distance deliveries ; and reducing deliveries by buying in the largest quantities that we can manage
“ We have also signed up to the United Nations Climate Neutral Now initiative and achieved the Climate Neutral Now badge . This is a great thing to be able to share with customers to tell the story of what we are doing as a business to reduce our impact .
“ Our future plan is to keep expanding our product range based on what our customers would like to see . I plan to organise a ‘ Great Big Green Week ’ ( Climate Coalition initiative ) in Marlborough in collaboration with the community , including the local independent cinema . I would also like to start some ‘ Sustainable Social ’ evenings and design a Carbon Literacy course .
“ These things might encourage new people into the shop , but importantly , they will hopefully help to inspire people to make changes towards a greener , lower carbon life and empower them to push for changes that they would like to see , whether that ’ s at home , in their child ’ s school or at work .
“ It ’ s really exciting to be a green business at the moment , we need everyone on board with carbon reduction .”
For more info : www . packagingnotincluded . co . uk
“ It ’ s really exciting to be a green business at the moment , we need everyone on board with carbon reduction .”
THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2022 19