SEASALT CLOTHING - PAVING THE WAY IN SUSTAINABLE FABRICS
Seasalt Clothing was founded in 2001 in the heart of Cornall by Neil Chadwick, along with his wife Sophie and brothers when they released their iconic Sailor shirt produced using organic cotton. Since then, sustainability has been at the core of all production decisions made at Seasalt. With their designs and prints rooted in the Cornish landscapes coastal path flowers and the abundance of Cornish towns and harbours they effortlessly combine sustainable ethical trading and beautiful iconic designs. Displayed above on one of their iconic Larissa Shirts.
In 2005 Seasalt were the first fashion company to achieve Soil Association Global Organic Textile Certification Standard Certification, and they have continued to be trailblazers in the sustainable fashion world, pledging to ensure all their cotton will be 100% organic and 100% traceable by 2024.
Organic cotton has many benefits: because no pesticides, herbicides or fertilisers are used, production results in 94% less greenhouse gasses and a significant reduction in water usage. Pesticides and herbicides can also have negative impacts on the farmers who administer them, by using organic fibres Seasalt can be assured their suppliers are not exposed to this risk.
Endeavouring to use only organic cotton isn’t without its challenges: organic cotton fibres are typically shorter and thicker than their regular counterparts, this makes spinning them into fine enough fibres to achieve the desired silky finish for Seasalt shirts tricky. However, Seasalt have very close relationship with all suppliers, and working with supplier Afflatus in India, they were able to develop a production technique that did not compromise the quality of the garment, whilst sticking to the sustainability goals of the brand.
Cotton is not the only material Seasalt utilise that has been sourced with sustainability in mind. Many of their raincoats, such as the Turning Tide Coat, are made using Tide Cycle, a polyester produced from recycled plastic bottles. Tide Cycle is waterproof, breathable, hardwearing and extremely soft, whilst also reducing both water and energy use during production.
Sustainability is about more than just the environment; it also encompasses social welfare across all points of the supply chain. This is something else that is very important to Seasalt, being members of the Ethical Trading Initiative. All Seasalt suppliers must comply with an independent audit evaluating the ethics of their supply chain, if anything concerning is found, the supplier is rejected.
At Potter’s of Buxton we are proud to stock a brand with sustainability at the heart of every decision, not just an afterthought.