We want to make sure that you know who’s behind your clothes and what it takes for each piece to be made. There is a lot of people involved in the manufacturing process of our clothing. So we want to give them the credit they deserve. We don’t expect our suppliers to be perfect. No one is. We expect, however, for them to be open and transparent. To be close partners that we can learn with and grow.
Armaco is our main fabric supplier. Located in Ribeirão, Portugal, this family owned business is specialized in the production and trade of finished knitted fabrics. I started working with them for the production of the hoodies, and I haven’t looked back since then. One of our biggest challenges is to find partners that fulfill our brand needs, without relying on ordering huge quantities for the production to happen. Luckily, Armaco has received me with open arms and, from the first moment, they have been super reliable, responsive and consistent. One of the first reactions people have when wearing our hoodies, is to tell how soft and great quality they feel. Armaco is the main responsible for that.
Certifications:GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard); BCI (Better Cotton Initiative); STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX
After looking for and calling to dozens of companies, I was very lucky in finding Farsilcortex. I know this sounds quite repetitive, but to find a partner that can deliver a high quality service, without being constrained by super high quantities, is really really hard. António (as known as Toni), didn’t even flinch when I asked him to be our partner. He told me that everything can be done, and that we all have to start somewhere.
The company was founded in 1985, highly specialized in the cutting of fabrics. With the years, they have been developing methods of optimization that result in less waste during the production phase. Not only that, but they also separate all the cutting waste by composition and take it to a recycling facility, to give a new life to those fibers.
They are responsible for the cutting and sewing of our new pieces, and I have a great trust in their work.
I was incredibly lucky for finding this facility. This family owned business was everything I could look for a partner. Amazing quality, super transparent, don’t require huge quantities for production and equipped with the best machinery capable of working with finished garments. Even though always full of work, Rui and Rui (the owner and nephew) always take their time to help me with anything I might need.
Their threads are supplied by Madeira, a company well known for their super high quality and certified embroidery threads.
I was working on a production, when I got notified by the previous screenpinting facility that, unfortunately, they were closing doors. I already had the fabric ready to screenprint, but didn’t know about any other factory that was willing to do it. It’s really hard to find a partner that is open to produce in small quantities, while at the same time has a high quality standard. After going from door to door of a lot of different factories, I finally found ABR. Dora and Xavier (both founders) received me with open arms. First thing I told them was that I couldn’t produce in high quantities yet, and they immediately told me to not worry about it. After years and years of experience working at other textile factories, they decided to open their own quite recently, and so they completely understand what it means to start small. Their expertise is shown through their high quality prints, and they are always open clarify any questions I might have. I’m very grateful that I found them.
Certifications: GOTS;
Located in Vila Nova de Famalicão, Passamar is a company specialized in producing labels and merchandise. They were kind enough to help out producing the humano cotton labels in quite limited quantities.
Certifications: STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX;
This facility is specialized in washing, dyeing techniques and finishes. This is where we dye our garment dyed pieces, as well as preshrink all of our garments.
Certifications: GOTS; OCS; RCS; OEKOTEX Class I; ISO 9001; ISO 14001
Admittedly, many of us wash our clothes after each wear. However, with some items, that’s not really necessary to do. Most of the times, if your piece is not dirty, it just needs to be shaken out and aired to be good for another day. This not only helps reducing the environmental footprint, but it also helps maintaining the quality of your garments for longer. The more you wash it, the quicker your piece will lose its color and overall quality.
Washing at low temperatures is great not only for your clothes, but also for the environment. We suggest machine washing at maximum 30ºC. This helps preserving the color of your pieces, as well as preventing them from losing their shape. Washing at higher temperatures might damage and shrink the fabrics.
In each product page you can see the specific garment care instructions and recommendations. These aren’t just a formality. Because our fabrics are not synthetic, they need to be maintained with care. The garment care instructions are intended to help you keep the quality of your pieces for longer.
Before running your washing machine, make sure you’ve accumulated enough clothes to fill it up. This will significantly reduce the consumption of water and energy over time. However, be careful to not overfill it, as it can lead to poorly washed items and even damage them due to friction.
Before washing, please sort your garments by color. We recommend separate them in three categories: whites, light colored and dark. This can prevent dye transfer problems during washing.
Wash all of your colored garments inside out and follow all the garment care instructions.
When cleaning stains, please avoid the use of solutions with bleach, as this can alter the color of the fabric.
Avoid drying your clothes in direct and bright sun light for long periods of time, as this can accelerate color fading over time.
The longer you wait, the harder it will be to treat stains. These are easier to remove when they haven’t set into the fabric.
Tumble dryers have a significant impact on the environment, as these use a lot of energy. Not only that, but dryers can also damage your clothes and alter their shape. If you can, skip the dryer completely. However, we understand that’s not always possible. If you’re using a dryer, use a low heat setting. The higher the heat, the higher the risk of shrinking.
Most of the times, air drying is the best option. Not only does it have zero impact, but it also helps maintaining the quality of your clothes for longer. In this case, if possible, avoid long exposure of your garments to direct and bright sunlight, as this can lead to fading of the colors over time.
As soon as you finish washing your clothes, we recommend gently shake them to remove some wrinkles and hang them properly to dry. By doing this, you’re ensuring that there will only be minimal wrinkles before ironing, which makes the entire process much easier. Sometimes, this process might be enough and you can skip ironing entirely.
We recommend steaming instead of ironing, as it’s less aggressive for the fabric fibers. However, there will be some items that do need some ironing.
If you’re ironing garments made of cotton, make sure they’re slightly damp prior to ironing, or use the steam setting on the iron. This will make the fibers smoother and the process of ironing much easier.
We recommend ironing all of our clothes at low/medium temperatures, inside out. This will help avoid any possible damage in outer side of the fabric. Finally, please avoid ironing directly on the print or embroidery, as this can damage it over time.
If you can, reduce the consumption of clothes that contain any type of plastic in their composition, such as: polyester, nylon, elastane or acrylic. Every time you wash these fabrics, microplastics are released into the water systems and consequently into the aquatic ecosystem. This happens because a lot of these microplastics are just too small to be filtered by the current waste treatment plants. By entering into oceans and rivers, they pose a potential danger not only for the environment and the marine life, but also for our own health, as we can ingest them through food and water. All of our pieces are made of 100% organic cotton. However we also need to consider the labels, sewing threads, embroideries or other embellishments, which can be made with synthetic fibers. We care about every single component of our pieces, and so we believe that we should inform you the best we can about them. Unfortunately, some of our sewing threads and embroidery are made of polyester. We recommend always using a Guppy Friend washing bag, as it collects the microplastics that are released from garments in the wash and prevents them from entering in the water supply systems.
