Sustainability

Our designs are defined not just only by great style, but by safe and ethical production. We’re taking meaningful steps in sustainability – from our production to packaging and everything in between – as we strive towards a greener future. All our efforts link to our overarching goal: creating pieces to love, with a conscience.

Our Commitment

We believe it’s our responsibility to respect and protect the environment. Our approach is constantly evolving as we evaluate our strategy on social responsibility and address all levels of our supply chain. We hold ourselves to the highest standards and encourage operational transparency. Working with our network of partners and suppliers, we strive for excellence and integrity at every stage of manufacturing and production.

Transparency

Seed Heritage apparel and accessories are sourced from a range of countries, including China, India, Vietnam and Australia. Our contract with each supplier is the same - we demand transparency and the ability to check the conditions under which our product is made.

Consumers are demanding more transparency from brands and are looking to the fashion industry to do the right thing. While still relying on many levels of suppliers and complex production processes, it can be difficult for brands to trace and monitor their own supply chains – but, we’re up to the challenge.

We enforce rigorous trading terms to ensure our supply chain is free from all forms of worker exploitation.The Brandbank Group Code of Supplier Conduct applies to all factories we work with, and compliance records must be signed and adhered to by both suppliers and third parties.

Our manufacturers, regardless of location, are audited and must adhere to our high ethical and social standards; we have zero tolerance for child labour, discrimination, corruption, bribery or animal cruelty, and ensure safe working conditions and fair pay.

Our Compliance Program operates across our entire supplier base and consists of strict supplier onboarding processes and factory audits to ensure suppliers are following our Brandbank Group Code of Supplier Conduct. The textile industry supply chain is often described in 'tiers' - T1 refers to factories that make our products;T2 are processing facilities for things like mills, dye houses, printers; and T3 refers to factories that provide raw materials such as cotton, fibres and leathers.

We have reached 100% transparency of our T1 supply chain partners with 98% of their operations audited in the last two years.

Although tracing raw materials can be complex, total transparency across all tiers is our goal and, where possible, we use raw materials and fibres covered by certification programs such as; Better Cotton Initiative (BCI), Global Recycled Standard (GRS), Oeko tex, Organic Content Standard (OCS), Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) and Leather Working Group (LWG).

We ensure each and every Tier 1 supplier factory agrees to comply with our policies and are regularly audited by our nominated partners to ensure compliance because the welfare and safety of workers is an important aspect of our Brandbank Group Code of Supplier Conduct and our Compliance Program.

Last year in 2020, we recorded 113 audits, all of which have passed.

We have implemented a number of actions to help improve overall supplier ratings and relationships, including:

• A whistle blower hotline that workers can access via email posted in the factory, enabling direct communication to us.
• Training sessions for all T1 suppliers to help better understand requirements and expectations.
• Strategy updates to strengthen our ongoing relationships with suppliers.
• In China, although independent unions are illegal, we support factories that have democratically elected worker representatives and functioning grievance mechanisms within the factory.
• We monitor our Supply Chain with a Risk Assessment yearly.
• We continually monitor the corrective action plans of our suppliers.
• We review and update all of our business policies and reference manuals at least yearly.
• We insist that factories are paying all mandatory social benefits and do not exceed allowed overtime.
• Ensure all of our factories have emergency exit routes posted in all areas of the factory and first aid photos posted in the factory.
• Mandate machinery maintenance and inspect records to ensure they are up to date.

Our Culture

At Seed Heritage we value honesty, respect, innovation and passion. We always aspire to do the right thing and have a positive impact on the world – for our customers, our suppliers, our partners, our employees and all those we touch along the way.

Internally, that starts with fostering an inclusive and safe workplace that prioritises employees’ wellbeing and happiness. Externally, we seek to enhance our contribution to society. In early 2020, following Australia’s devastating bushfires, Seed Heritage donated $200,000 to the Red Cross Relief and Recovery fund. We also encouraged our customers to lend their support by donating to the fund in store, or directly via the Red Cross website. In addition, we’ve made donations of women’s, men’s and childrenswear to Thread Together, a non-profit that distributes clothing to people in need.

2020 was the third year Seed Heritage partnered with Make a Wish® at Christmas to help grant life-changing wishes to critically ill children. Over the three years, the campaign raised $246,900 through point-of-sale donations in exchange for gift-wrapping services. Seed Heritage will continue to honour its commitment to giving back throughout 2021 and beyond.

Literacy is freedom. It’s the key to accessing education, employment and participating fully in society. That’s why, since 1999, the Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation (ALNF) has been dedicated to raising literacy standards. Their vital work provides reading, writing and communication skills, with initiatives that cover early language and literacy training, refugee action and support, along with help for children living in rural and remote areas. Most recently, Seed Heritage has been working to bring hope and confidence to individuals and their families by donating funds that support a range of core literacy programs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Through an ongoing partnership, Seed Heritage commits to an annual collaboration supported through online and select stores. All proceeds go to supporting the literacy initiatives in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

As a proud member of Better Cotton, we’re helping improve sustainable cotton farming around the world. Better Cotton is aiming to transform cotton production globally and exists to help cotton communities survive and thrive, while protecting and restoring the environment. This involves training farmers in using water efficiently, caring for soil health and natural habitats by reducing harmful chemicals, and respecting the rights and wellbeing of cotton workers. And it’s having a big impact: in 2018-2019, 2.1 million licensed BCI farmers in 23 countries produced a game-changing 22% of world’s cotton supply. Better Cotton is sourced via a system of Mass Balance. By 2025, Seed Heritage is aiming for 100% of our cotton products to support sustainable practices. This includes cotton sourced through Better Cotton, organic cotton and recycled cotton. See here for real stories on how partnering with Better Cotton helps improve sustainability within the cotton industry.

Our goal is to make products as sustainable as possible without compromising on quality. To achieve this, in 2020/21 we are focussing on using fabric certified for performance with reduced environmental impact. That means working with suppliers on achieving certification across leather and wool, reducing our reliance on virgin materials, working with suppliers to source recycled fibres and supporting 100% Cruelty Free Fashion that respects biodiversity, animal welfare and protection of our oceans.

Our next big target is phasing out the use of Nylon in our products. Nylon is synthetic, man-made, non-biodegradable polyamide fibre derived from petrochemicals which requires three times more energy to manufacture than cotton, and is not suited to natural and low impact dyes so the process of colouring creates significant water pollution.

Since December 2019 we’ve implemented satchels made from 50% post-consumer recycled content for our online orders and other biodegradable options. This includes corn starch bags, which are 100% compostable and will disintegrate like organic waste. Our goal is to have 100% of our product packaging able to be recycled or made from recycled material by 2022.

Within the business, we’re phasing out single-use plastic and in our offices, we use recycled paper and favour sustainably sourced supplies. The focus for 2022 and beyond will be measuring and reducing the business’ carbon emissions through the development of our carbon emission reduction plan.