our
commitments
Moving, smiling, shining!
Our mission: to help you find your own balance by creating comfortable, technical and stylish clothing collections. Environmentally friendly products designed by women for women, guaranteeing you a freedom of movement and expression in your daily physical activities, indoors or outdoors.
Let’s unite our strengths to find new ways to reduce our environmental impacts, and act responsibly and respectfully.
Ready? Go!
Care, Protect, Enjoy!
The textile industry is the second most polluting industry, responsible for 7% of the world’s C02 emissions.
According to the ADEME (French Environment and Energy Management Agency), here are the 3 most impactful phases of the life of a piece of clothing:
- The production of raw materials requires the use of fertilisers, pesticides, water, fossil fuels…
- The manufacturing of the product involves the use of chemicals and a lot of energy.
- The care of garments (washing, drying) represents half of the impact of our clothing on the environment.
We need to think outside the box and act accordingly. This is how we reduce our impact.
4 commitments to our mission.
Raw materials and manufacturing
Eco-design is the key word. All of our products (not forgetting the packaging) are eco-designed and developed using less impactful materials.
We have followed the Textile Exchange Preferred Fibres Report (Textile Exchange Preferred Fibre and Materials Market Report 2021 – Textile Exchange):
- Our partners use recycled polyester threads, made from PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastic bottles. Recycled polyamide requires the use of discarded nylon to make it. These processes use less energy and water, not to mention the fact that they do not use fossil fuels!
- The organic cotton used in our products is cultivated without pesticides, insecticides or chemical fertilisers and without GMOs. The producers use natural products that are not harmful to surrounding ecosystems, do not deplete the soil and are non-toxic to humans. This organic cotton consumes less water than conventional cotton (but don’t worry, it is just as high quality!)
- Lyocell is a more responsible form of viscose produced from wood pulp and transformed by more environmentally friendly chemical processes
Packaging: "Less is more"
Over-packaging is part of the problem as it also requires the use of raw materials, energy and an environment impacting end of life management. Because we don’t need to decorate our products like Christmas trees, we commit ourselves to not use cartolina on our products. PS: you’ll find all useful information concerning your products on our website. It’s so easy to save trees after all!
Polybags – or plastic bags – are useful for protecting products during transport (from the factory to our warehouses and then to your home). The problem is that this multi-component packaging “does not yet benefit from recycling solutions” (Citeo). As it is impossible to eliminate them in the short term, we have chosen to use recycled plastic bags. A small step in the right direction, while waiting for the standardisation of bags made of natural materials to be initiated by the large groups.
Responsible and committed men and women
There are no secrets with us! Shining Sisters advocates TRANSPARENCY.
A code of conduct has been defined and signed by all our manufacturers. It covers the following topics: fair employment without discrimination, respect for human rights and dignity, decent work within the framework of the law… We have also established partner relationships with our suppliers, who are all socially certified (SA8000/WRAP). We prioritise long term relationships to grow together!
Shining Sisters products are all Made in Portugal to reconcile a responsible approach, proximity and quality. Made in Portugal, means being sure to follow European regulations, which is good for the manufacturers of our partner factories! Spinning, fabric manufacturing, dyeing, garment making: everything is done in the same area, near Braga. Our warehouses in France are less than 1500km away from our manufacturers, which is good for the planet! Ancient know-how and experienced seamstresses make Portugal one of the specialist countries for knitwear. Better quality is good for the durability of your products!
And after the purchase? Care
Together, we can act. Here are 3 simple tips to minimise the harmful effects of care:
● Wash on a low temperature (How did Grandma do it before?)
● Make clothes last (We say stop to fast fashion!)
● Give them a new life (Upcycling is in fashion at the moment!)
Go to clevercare.info for more tips! PS: On some of our products we use anti-odour treatments, allowing you to wear your favourite products for longer and to reduce your water consumption!
MOVING, SMILING, SHINING!