SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTS

Clothing production has an impact on the environment in so many different ways. Massive quantities of water, energy, and chemicals are used to grow or manufacture fabrics, and to dye and wash them. This leads to water pollution and CO2 emissions, among other things.

To protect the environment and the communities that live in it, we all need to consume less, care better for our clothing, and we at America Today want to offer you more sustainable choices. That is why we have developed our sustainable collection: Care For Tomorrow. This label indicates that a product has been produced using sustainable production processes, and/or contains sustainable fabric, or that the fabric has been obtained through Better Cotton. Our aim is to reduce our impact on the environment and to quickly expand the Care For Tomorrow collection.

Materials

We prefer to use sustainable materials for our clothing, and we plan on increasing our use of sustainable materials in the years ahead. With the current worldwide raw material shortage and rising production- and transport costs this will be challenging, but we like a good challenge. We will do anything we can to keep growing and most definitely not do a step back.

In 2021, 67% of our collection was already made from sustainable materials or sustainably sourced via Better Cotton.

Our aim for 2023 is that all our cotton will be organic, recycled, or sourced through Better Cotton. In 2025 we want to reach a total of 90% sustainable materials in our clothing.

We use a list that ranks all the sustainable materials and fibers we use, to guide us on our road trip to a better tomorrow. This list ranks fibers based on their environmental impact and is based primarily on the Modint Fiber Matrix (MFM). We use some materials that are not included in the MFM and classified them in the list as ‘conventional’. We also added the materials we specifically choose not to use. We will continuously update the list according to the industry's standards and developments.

Organic cotton

We love organic cotton

Organic cotton has the same high quality as conventional cotton but is more environmentally friendly.
No toxic chemicals are used to grow it.
Organic production has the potential to decrease cotton’s impact on global warming by 46% in comparison to conventional production methods.
Organic cotton uses 62% less energy than conventional cotton.
Our organic cotton clothing is always provided with a certificate that meets the recognized standards in the textile industry.

For more information about organic cotton, click here.

Better Cotton Initiative

America Today has been a proud member of Better Cotton since June 2018. Better Cotton trains farmers to use water efficiently, care for the health of the soil and natural habitats, reduce use of the most harmful chemicals and implement the principles of decent work. Better Cotton has calculated that, thanks to our contribution to Better Cotton, in 2022 an estimated:

206 million litres of water were saved
126 kg of pesticides were avoided
39 thousand EUR additional profit* was made by Better Cotton Farmers

*Better Cotton Farmers experience profit increases for a variety of reasons, most commonly due to increased yields and/or optimised use of inputs (such as irrigation water, pesticides or synthetic fertiliser).

Better Cotton is sourced via a system of Mass Balance. This means that America Today sources cotton via Better Cotton. It is produced by the farmer and sold to traders and yarn producers. Then the cotton fibers are mixed with other cotton. This means that Better Cotton isn’t physically traceable to end products, but the Better Cotton Farmers benefit from the demand for Better Cotton in equivalent volumes to those we source. For stories from the field, read here.

Last year, 90% of our cotton was sourced through Better Cotton. Our aim for 2023 is that 100% of our cotton is sourced as Better Cotton, or has an organic or recycled certificate.

Recycled polyester

Recycled polyester is made from recycled waste such as plastic bottles and plastic packaging. By using recycled polyester, we are giving plastic waste a new lease on life and in doing so we are preventing it from being dumped in our beautiful nature.
The production of recycled polyester requires 59% less energy and is estimated to have 32% lower CO2 emissions compared to new polyester*
Our recycled polyester clothing is always provided with a certificate that meets the recognized standards in the textile industry.

Recycled polyamide

Recycled polyamide is made with waste products from other polyamide products such as old fishing nets.
The recycled materials reduce emissions by 26% compared to new polyamide*
Our recycled polyamide clothing is always provided with a certificate that meets the recognized standards in the textile industry.

Recycled nylon and recycled polyamide are the same.

Recycled acrylic

Recycled acrylic is made from acrylic waste. By using recycled acrylic, we give acrylic waste a new lease on life and prevent it from entering our nature.
Our recycled acrylic clothing is always provided with a certificate that meets the recognized standards in the textile industry.

Recycled cotton

By using recycled cotton, we extend the lifespan of a fiber that has already been made.
The energy consumption for producing recycled cotton is almost 20% less than for producing conventional cotton.*
Organic cotton clothing is always provided with a certificate that meets the recognized standards in the textile industry.

LENZING™ ECOVERO™ viscose

LENZING™ ECOVERO™ branded viscose fibers
Derived from sustainable wood and pulp, coming from certified and controlled sources.
The manufacturing of LENZING™ ECOVERO™ branded viscose fibers generates up to 50% lower emissions and water impact compared to generic viscose.

o All of our items containing LENZING™ ECOVERO™ are certified. LENZING™ and ECOVERO™ are trademarks of Lenzing AG. More information about LENZING™ ECOVERO™ can be found here.

TENCEL™ Lyocell

TENCEL™ branded lyocell are made from sustainable wood from certified and controlled forests. The processing of the wood pulp into fibers takes place via a closed-loop system, where up to 99 % of the process water and solvent are reused. TENCEL™ is a trademark of Lenzing AG.
o All of our items containing TENCEL™ lyocell are certified. More information about TENCEL™ Lyocell can be foundhere vinden.

Livaeco™ viscose

Livaeco™ viscose fibers from Birla Cellulose. Livaeco™ viscose fibers are sourced from FSC certified forests.
The manufacturing of these fibers generates up to 55% lower GHG emissions and consumes up to 60% less water as compared to generic viscose, as per the Higg Material Sustainability Index (MSI) tool by the Sustainable Apparel Coalition.

Livaeco™ viscose fibers are traceable through the supply chain with blockchain technology. More information about Livaeco™ by Birla Cellulose can be found here.

Vintage by America Today

By purchasing vintage items, you increase the lifespan of good quality items.
All of our vintage items are specially selected from the US.
Be unique! Nobody will have the same item.
Vintage items are available in our stores. Check here which stores

Animal materials

We care about the wellbeing of animals. We have forbidden fur, exotic hides, silk, mohair, angora, and cashmere in our collections. We are on the Fur-Free List at Fur for Animals (Bont voor Dieren), and we are listed as an Angora Free and Cashmere Free Retailer at the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Foundation.

We use a small percentage of leather and wool in our products (0.2% leather and 0.3% wool in 2021) and we are aware of the potential animal welfare risks associated with this, such as mulesing in the case of wool. To support a future without mulesing, we signed the Brand Letter of Intent from Four Paws. From the end of 2021 we started to work with leather that is vegetable tanned and that is produced at a Leather Working Group certified supplier. We do not use conventional down. In some of our coats we use recycled down, a natural material that lasts a long time and therefore we like to give it a second life.

Our animal welfare policy specifies that animals must be treated with care and respect and our business partners must comply with EU and national legislation on animal welfare, transportation, and slaughter and only source animal materials from farms with good animal practices, at least in compliance with the Five Provisions and Aligned Animal Welfare Aims. We aim to have full traceability of our wool and leather products by 2025.

Processes

In clothing production, lots of chemicals, energy, and water are used. We strive to use water, energy, and chemicals responsibly and to use less of these, so that we have a lower impact on the environment and people. We have a Restricted Substances List and Manufacturing Restricted Substance List that we share with our suppliers. In it, one will find our demands about harmful chemicals. Our environmental protection policy contains requirements and guidelines on the use of water and energy, among other things. The use of PVC is forbidden in our products.

Responsible denim

It is likely the most popular fabric ever: denim. Unfortunately, the production of denim has various risks. The production of jeans requires a lot of water, chemicals, and energy, such as in the washing process for example. The washing process is done to give the jeans the right “look and feel.” Hazardous waste from these processes can end up in surface water. In a nutshell: denim production can have a negative effect on the earth. That is why we try step by step to make our denim production processes more sustainable.

From 2018 we started investigating how we can ensure sustainable jeans washes together with our suppliers. The result is our jeans with a “Low Impact” wash. Jeans are given a “Low Impact” score according to Environmental Impact Measuring (EIM) software from Jeanologia. EIM measures the impact from the process in four categories: water consumption, energy consumption, chemicals, and employee health. A low impact EIM score can be achieved by, for example, using recycled water, laser technology instead of chemicals, and energy-efficient machines. The benefit of the low-impact jeans can be found at the hangtags of the low-impact jeans.

In 2021, 26% of our total jeans had a low-impact wash. In 2019, only 17% of our men jeans was produced with a low-impact wash. It is our aim to reach 100% low impact jeans by 2025.

In 2022, 36% of all our jeans had a low-impact wash. In 2021, it was 26%. Our goal is to have 100% low-impact jeans in our collection by 2025.

In 2023 we will also have some 'undyed' jeans in the collection. These jeans with 'low impact' wash are the natural color of the cotton they are made from. This saves water, energy, dyes and other chemicals normally used to color jeans.

In 2024 we also have denim in the collection that is dyed with natural clay dye from Terra Denim. This clay dye contains no synthetic dyes or chemicals, and saves up to 87% water and 45% energy compared to a regular indigo dyeing process.

Our stock

We try to adapt our collections as much as possible to the taste and needs of our customers, so that we have less residual stock. Our surplus items and samples are sold to outlet stores or in sample sales or are donated. To read more about our donations, click here.