Welcome to our Conscious Celebrations feature!

This holiday season we would love to share why and how we produce our products with respect for our people and the environment. As an ethical and transparent business we believe it's important to give you all the facts about how we produce our garments and why we feel it is important to have the certifications that we do. It's something we feel passionately about so if you have any questions we'd love to hear - please drop us a comment below!

We hope this article helps to de-mystify some of the jargon around ethical clothing production plus make you feel great about gifting Hunter+Boo!

Plus we had to share the gorgeous #behindthescenes pictures we took with our lovely suppliers in Sri Lanka of our latest collection being made - photo credits to the awesome team Eyeconic in Colombo. 

Here are the three reasons why you can feel great about gifting Hunter+Boo this Holiday Season...

1.Let's start with our 100% GOTS certified organic cotton.

Organic cotton has many benefits over non-organic cotton:-

• No pesticides, insecticides, synthetic fertilisers or fungicides are used in it's production, so these nasty chemicals do not end up in the soil of the farm, on the skin of the farmers, mill workers, factory workers, and of course our customers.
• Non-organic cotton farming currently accounts for 6% of pesticide, and 16% of insecticide consumption globally, more than any other single crop (source: http://www.pan-uk.org/cotton/).
• The harvest is conducted each year with the natural freeze rather than being induced by chemicals. Again, these chemicals can pollute the land and anyone that comes into contact with them.
• No GMO seeds are used in its production, promoting biodiversity and a stronger eco system on the farms, as well as reducing the need for herbicides.
• It uses less water to grow, as the soil contains more organic matter which retains water.
• Natural farming methods such as crop rotation and adding organic fertilisers means less soil erosion and less pollution into local waterways.

We believe that using GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) certified organic cotton is the best way that we can ensure that all of these criteria are met, and GOTS goes so much further! In addition to certifying that the cotton is grown organically, it also ensures that the raw material from farm to end product is treated and handled in a way that respects the environment as well as all of the workers involved along the way - to learn more, visit their website https://www.global-standard.org/ 

2.Our Certified Ethical Factory.

Our factory for garment production in Sri Lanka is certified by Garments Without Guilt.

This is Sri Lanka's highest certification for ethical and fair practices in the work place and has four key founding principles:

1. Prohibition of Forced Labour
2. Prohibition of Child Labour
3. Prohibition of Discrimination on any grounds
4. Protection of the Environment

In addition, Sri Lanka has strong labour legislation that demands safe and healthy working conditions, governed hours of work, social security fund contributions, environmental protection standards and many other laws that ensure and encourage compliance. Learn more at http://archive.gwg.garmentswithoutguilt.com/about-gwg

Our factory is audited annually, and we visit on a regular basis to ensure these principles are upheld, but they also go above and beyond for their workers too, offering benefits to the workers such as:

• Subsidised lunch and teas
• Attendance bonuses
• Production incentives
• Annual Get-togethers & trips
• Death Donations
• Annual bonuses
• Interest free loans

We'd love to share these quotes with you from some of our factory workers:

"I enjoy the family atmosphere at the company and the support given by the management" - C.B.G. Hirunika Thejani

"The training and experience I gain from the company helps my future career" - M. Madushani Munasinghe

"My hard work is appreciated by the management and it gives me the feeling that I am part of the team" - J.K. Chandima

We believe that having happy workers is fundamental not only for our own peace of mind, but that this ultimately reflects in the quality of our products!

3.Our OekoTex 100 Certified Dyes

We believe it is important not to allow nasty chemicals to pollute either the environment, the lives of those manufacturing them, or the skin of our customers.

All our textiles are dyed to the Oeko-Tex Standard 100.

Textile products bearing the Oeko-Tex 100 certification mark:

• Do not contain allergenic dye-stuffs and dye stuffs that form carcinogenics.
• Have been tested for pesticides and chlorinated phenoles.
• Have been tested for the release of heavy metals under artificial perspiration conditions.
• Formaldehyde is banned; other aldehyde limits are significantly lower than the required legal limits.
• Have a skin friendly pH.
• Are free from chloro-organic carriers.
• Are free from biologically active finishes.

The certification process includes thorough testing for a lengthy list of chemicals, including lead, antimony, arsenic, phthalates, pesticides, and chlorinated phenols.

Specifically banned are: AZO dyes, Carcinogenic and allergy-inducing dyes, Pesticides, Chlorinated phenols, Chloro-organic benzenes and toluenes, Extractable heavy metals, Phthalates in baby articles Organotin compounds (TBT and DBT) and Emissions of volatile components.

Read more on this at www.oekotex.com

We hope that you have found this series to an enlightening journey into the reasons why we have chosen to be an ethical brand! We'd love to hear your thoughts on ethical clothing production and Conscious Celebrations this year. Will you be gifting Consciously? Happy Holidays!

-Team HB

Shop the Hunter+Boo collection here