Product Sustainability Practices
We are continually striving to make the best possible sock. Not only that, but doing it in the best possible way. We take sourcing our product extremely seriously. Every step from the bamboo through to the shipping, we aim to do the best for the planet.
RESPONSIBLY SOURCING OUR SOCKS
We take sustainability and ethics seriously at Bare Kind by ensuring our products are made in factories that have the highest credentials. We only work with yarn suppliers, manufacturers and warehouses that share our high ethical and eco-standards.
BAMBOO SOURCING
We don’t use any bamboo that’s growing in natural forests where pandas live. The bamboo we use is sourced from a certified, 100% sustainably grown bamboo forest in China. The factory that works with this bamboo is Level 3 out of 3 on the STeP OEKO-TEX certificate. In other words, it is listed as having ‘Ideal implementation in the sense of Best Practice examples.’ It also holds the OEKO-TEX 100 standard for non-toxic dyes in the finished product.
ETHICAL FACTORIES AROUND THE WORLD
We choose our factories based on price, labor practices, and environmental impact. We only work with factories that are SEDEX or BSCI audited. This means that they pay fair wages to their workers, have good working conditions, and don’t hire child laborers.
The manufacturers we work all scored Level 2 out of 3 the STep OEKO-TEX certificate for:
- Chemicals Management
- Environmental Performance
- Environmental Management
- Social Responsibility
- Quality Management
- Health protection
- Safety at work
This level means that they have ‘Good Implementation’ of the above measures with potential to optimize even more.
The manufacturers we work with are based in Turkey, India and China. The location of our manufacturing isn’t confirmation of ethical and environmental standards being met or not. Which is why we ensure that all of our manufacturers are independently verified.
Additionally, we use a Gold Standard offset to achieve 100% carbon neutral status for every stage in our supply chain. For context, this is the highest level of certification you can have for carbon offsetting.
Our mission is simple, to save the world’s animals one sock at a time
WAREHOUSE STANDARDS & DELIVERY
Our warehouse is run on 100% renewable power and pays a London living wage. We reduce our carbon footprint by prioritising sea freight over lorry shipments and lorry shipments over air freight when getting our socks delivered from the manufacturers.
We mostly use Royal Mail to deliver orders. They earned the reputation of having the ‘Lowest reported carbon emissions per parcel of any UK delivery company’. This was made possible by the fact that they have a network of 90,000 posties walking up and down delivering parcels across the country.
PLASTIC-FREE PACKAGING
All our socks are packaged in 100% plastic-free materials. We use certified sustainable cardboard for the outer packaging of all orders. What’s more, our protective sock sleeves are also made from corn starch. This means that they can biodegrade in 180 days when they are buried in the ground.
WHAT ABOUT RECYCLING?
Since most people don’t buy secondhand socks, we strive to make our animal socks long-lasting and hard-wearing. These bamboo socks are made to last and last. But if for whatever reason our customers need new socks, we encourage them to reuse their old socks.Think sock puppets, dog chew toys, and hair ties.
B-Corp
We are committed to providing evidence to all of our claims, which is why we have also received our B-Corp verification.