Since 2016, all the cotton we use is certified organic cotton with a proof certificate document. Organic crops are grown without the use of chemical fertilisers, pesticides and insecticides. The use of synthetic fertilisers and pesticides harms the environment and communities. Organic farming is all about a balanced ecosystem, where healthy soils aid clean waters, promoting better development of crops. Organic is better for the people who farm it and for your own skin. We have an ‘Organic Cotton Only’-policy that all our suppliers have to comply with.

Since 2012 we have been using recycled cotton in our denim fabrics. Cotton waste is captured or collected, shredded and re-spun into a new one-of-a-kind yarn. Recycling greatly reduces the water, energy and chemicals needed to produce virgin fibres. All products stating recycled cotton use cotton fabric and fibres that are wasted in the production chain. From fibres captured during the spinning, dyeing and weaving processes, to fabric scraps in the cutting stage. This way we cut down and utilise waste streams in our facilities.

PCRC stands for Post-Consumer Recycled Cotton, which means that the fibre used for new denim, has already had a full life. It has been produced, worn, and discarded. After cutting off the top of the jeans, the remains are shredded and then blended into new yarns. The top with the waistband is cut off as it contains a lot of metal parts, that can disrupt the shredder. Using the post-consumer clothing waste stream has several benefits. Fewer clothes will end up in landfill and fewer chemicals and water are needed for cotton production and fabric dyeing. Increasing the use of PCRC is part of the Denim Deal we signed.

Linen is made from the strong fibres in the stems of the flax plant. Flax is a low demanding plant, growing well in more mediate climates. The flax plant needs few to none pesticides. It’s one of the strongest - and oldest - fibres out there with a high durability. Linen gives your clothing a nice fresh, crisp and richly-textured feeling. All our linen is farmed in Europe, in France and Belgium to be exact.

T400 ecomade is an innovation fibre from Lycra. It’s composed of one part recycled PET polyester, one part plant-based polymers, and one part virgin polyester. The different components react differently to your body's warmth, creating the stretch while keeping the shape of the fibre. This means your denim literally needs to warm up to you to give a comfortable stretch to your body. The biggest benefit of the T400 ecomade is the recovery, it turns back to its original shape after cooling down, creating a lasting fit for your denim.

Hemp is a fast-growing plant made from stem fibers of the cannabis sativa plant. This plant captures carbon from the air faster than trees and most other plants. Which means, using more hemp for clothing could help lower our carbon emissions! Hemp is perfect for crop rotation as it enriches the soil but it can also be grown season after season as it enriches the soil. Because hemp grows so fast, it uses less land and water compared to other crops like cotton or trees, creating less environmental impact. We love hemp because it makes our pure goods stronger, more absorbent and more durable!

To make recycled polyester, plastic bottles are collected, shredded and re-spun. This saves over 75% of greenhouse gas emissions and more than 90% of the chemicals needed to produce virgin polyester. Furthermore, recycling PET stops plastic waste from polluting the land and oceans. We use the GRS (Global Recycling Standard) certificate on fabrics that contain recycled polyester. This guarantees that only post-consumer PET bottles are used for our recycled polyester yarns.

There are a lot of different ways to create a more sustainable wash on your denim. Every style has its unique wash recipe to get to the ideal ‘worn-in’ look. You can use different technologies like laser, ozone and e-flow machines or substitute harmful chemicals for better low-impact ones. We constantly work on improving our washes by incorporating these options in our wash recipes. Read more about low-impact wash techniques here. Water-saving techniques are not only used during washing, also in our dyeing processes our suppliers limit the consumption of water. Besides they take care that the wastewater that comes out of the processes is cleaned and filtered and recycled as much as possible. The best options are our undyed denim items.

EIM stands for Environmental Impact Measuring. This tool is developed by Jeanologia, a company which develops machines and sustainable technologies for the fabric and garment finishing industry. EIM makes it possible to calculate the exact water, energy, chemicals and worker impact of our pure goods! In our sustainability report, we dive deeper into the numbers behind our denim washes and the results that we have booked this far. You can find the report at the top of this page.

Since 2016 we’ve replaced the leather patches with jacron patches on the back of our jeans. Jacron is a washable and resistant material made from - in our case recycled - paper and glue. By using jacron patches, our jeans became vegan-proof. Since 2020 we have used the Viridis patch from Panama trimmings. These partly biobased polyurethane (PU) patches are made from 48% corn polyols, 26% cotton and 26% normal PU. Not only are our patches a vegan substitute for leather ones on denim, but they also have a lower environmental and worker impact.

We were the first denim brand using Ecoverde recycled polyester sewing threads by Coats. These recycled threads have exactly the same performance and durability as the non-recycled threads that are conventionally used but bring the benefit that no new resources are needed to produce the yarn. Coats, as a global leader in sewing threads, is working on improving their own sustainability and the ecoverde thread is one of the outcomes of this process.

We’re very proud that almost all of our Pure Goods are fully vegan! Almost all our products are fully free of any animal content. All vegan products are easily recognisable by reading the 'Certifications & Sustainability' info on the product page. From the beginning, Kuyichi has been opposed to using fur, which is why we're both on the Fur free retailer list and Bontvrijlijst. For more information on how we look at animal fibres and welfare, download our sustainability report at the top of this page.

Since the beginning of 2020, we're a member of the Fair Wear Foundation. Fair Wear is an international independent organisation that fights for better labour conditions in the fashion industry. Since the beginning of 2020, we are a proud Fair Wear member. Fair Wear works on the principles of their ‘Code of Labour Practice’ (their own code of conduct), based on 8 internationally agreed labour standards, such as no child labour and reasonable working hours. Fair wear has a lot of tools and (local) in-depth knowledge to help us do better. With their support, we will work relentlessly on improving working conditions.

With signing the Transparency Pledge last November we pledged to at least bi-annually publish on our site an updated supplier list, stating full name, address, parent company, type of products, and worker numbers. We’ve also uploaded this list to the Open Apparel Registry, an online database with all publicly available supply chain data. This database uses publicly available supplier lists or brands can upload their own. The goal is that the database sparks collaboration between brands and NGOs and between brands that share the same facility to improve the working conditions in these facilities.