1. ETHOS

At Deiji Studios, sustainability and social conscience is considered integral to every facet of our company. We embrace slow fashion, releasing products only when we are 100% sure they are something we love and would have in our wardrobes for years to come.

We are not driven by trend or profit, we are driven by social purpose and the pursuit of an innate sense of style that defies age and time. In this model we believe our customers will have a product they can continue to work into their existing wardrobe for years to come.

 

2. RESPONSIBILITY

Since the beginning of Deiji Studios in 2016, sustainability and social conscience have been considered integral to every facet of our company. In 2020 we partnered with Carbon Positive Australia to offset our entire carbon usage. Is it our mission to continue to offset all future carbon usage and work towards zero-waste in our manufacturing process, refining all design elements to be recycled and biodegradable.

We are a young business, and continue to learn and evolve, finding better practices and more efficient ways of doing this as we grow. Thank you for joining us as we learn to make a positive impact for a more sustainable future.

 

 

3. COMMITMENTS

 

1% FOR THE PLANET

We are now a proud member of 1% for the planet, which means we pledge 1% of our yearly sales revenue to non for profits. We will keep this page updated with news on who we are donating to and any stories relating to them.

 

CARBON POSITIVE

We have had our business independently audited to assess our yearly carbon usage, and then purchased credits to offset these in their entirety. We support Carbon Positive Australia, who plant native trees in various locations in Australia which are protected for 25-100 years. We are committed to sharing knowledge and tools provided by Carbon Positive Australia to minimise our impacts on the planet.

 

SEED MOB
Seed Mob is a youth led Indigenous organisation standing strong to protect country, culture and communities from the causes and impacts of climate change. We started supporting Seed Mob in 2022.

 

THREAD TOGETHER

We have recently partnered with an amazing enterprise, Thread Together - donating samples, seconds, and end of line items. Their mission: - “An increasing number of Australians do not have access to essential clothing.

According to the Social Policy Research Centre report of 2016, 2.99 million people (13.3% of the population), are living below the poverty line. We believe that clothing performs a vital role in creating brighter futures for those who need it most. With the help of our founding corporate and charity partners we continue to achieve our mission to clothe people in need – at no cost to them.

 

HUMANE SOCIETY
Deiji Studios slides are made in accredited factories audited by WRAP and are by-products of other industries. 1% of all sales of our slides are donated to the Humane Society, an animal welfare and conservation organisation working in Australia and Internationally to protect our natural wildlife.

 

 

 

 

4. FABRICATION

Our collections are designed with a growing list of natural and sustainable fibers including certified French linen, GOTS cotton, organic hemp and GOTS cotton jersey, a sustainable bio-tech knit blend, recycled polyester, tencel, accredited and audited shearling and leather.

These fabrics are 100% biodegradable or recycled.

 

LINEN

Our linen is free from harmful chemicals, 100% certified by OEKO-TEX Standard 100. European Flax Certification ensures complete traceability, meeting EU Eco Label Certification and traceability from seed to dispatch, guaranteeing premium quality linen grown in France. European Flax is grown without the use of fertilisers or pesticides, using just rainwater, requiring no additional irrigation, and producing zero waste as the whole plant is used. These practices have a regenerative effect on the land, maintaining soil fertility and allowing the natural capture and storage of 400 000 tons of CO2 from the atmosphere each year. Across its lifecycle, a linen shirt uses 6.4 litres of water compared to 2,700 litres for a cotton shirt according to the European Confederation of Flax and Hemp (CELC). Breathable, hypoallergenic and environmentally friendly, we are devoted to bringing you our signature wears in this fabric for time to come.

Our core linen styles are now also GOTS certified organic.

 

GOTS COTTON

Our cotton is 100% certified organic by the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) to reduce environmental impact, create a safer working environment and enhance biodiversity. Since the first collection introducing GOTS Cotton in 2018, we can estimate a savings of 120,032,000 litres of water compared with using conventional cotton. This is based on data from the Textile Exchange’s 2014 Life-Cycle Assessment of Organic Cotton calculating the water usage during a life cycle of a cotton t-shirt. According to the assessment, conventional cotton uses approximately 8206 litres of water compared with water usage of 704 litres for the same t-shirt made from cotton grown and processed organically, a saving of 7502 litres.

 

ORGANIC HEMP /GOTS COTTON JERSEY

Hemp /GOTS Cotton Jersey was introduced into Deiji Studios collections in July 2021. Cultivated in the mountains of Northern China, hemp requires little land and water to grow whilst yielding large amounts of fibre with zero waste. Hemp is naturally pest resistant so requires little to no use of pesticide or fertiliser. Hemp crops have positive effects on the diversity of agricultural ecosystems and landscapes, requiring no irrigation, helping to renew the soil and capture CO2, offering a welcomed pause for the quality of the soil. Breathable, cooling, strong, antibacterial, and hypoallergenic, rest comfortably in Deiji Studios jersey.

 

SUSTAINABLE KNIT BLEND

Our knitwear is thoughtfully constructed from a sustainable mix of bio-technology threads including terryl polamide, recycled polyester and ecovero viscose. This unique blend embraces renewable raw plant materials and recycled waste product to create subtly lustrous and softly weighted styles. 

 

 

SHEARLING AND LEATHER

The Deiji Studios shearling slides are made from 100% Mongolian shearling (sheep) made in an accredited factory, audited by WRAP. All other Deiji Studios slides are made from Australian sheep wool, and leather and are a by-product of other industries. Our leather factory is accredited and audited by WRAP. Our shearling and leather factories are committed to the Five Animal Freedoms and have signed our Animal Welfare Policy. We will never allow the use of exotic skins or threatened species. 1% of all sales of our slides are donated to the Humane Society.

 

OTHER MATERIALS

Deiji Studios currently use plastic button closures on garments. All sewn in garment tags are composed of recycled polyester or cotton and all garment elastic are composed of polyester. Swing tags are composed of recycled paper meeting the GRS standard. Deiji Studios aims to replace all plastic buttons with Corozo, a 100% natural and sustainable button made from corn-starch and all elastane will be replaced with recycled polyester elastic.

 

 

5. MANUFACTURING

We consciously manufacture our product in China which before covid 19, we visited on a yearly basis.

We are committed to working together with our factories and motivating them to enrich the lives of those who work on our garments, and their local communities. It is of utmost importance to us that all workers are ensured a fair living wage, good working conditions and hours. We acknowledge that the wage received for a standard workweek by any worker is enough to allow a decent living standard for them and their family. This should cover costs of food, water, accommodation, education, medical care, clothing, transport, and any other essential needs. We care about them on a personal level and their health, wealth and happiness matters to us.

On a visit in 2019 we learnt many women are forced to move from their hometowns into the city to find work, leaving their children behind with grandparents. This broke our hearts - as mothers we understood the gravity of this decision. We then began to work with one of our factories to set up in rural China, assisting in keeping families together at home.

As the environment and our impact is of such importance to us, we visit the China based factories to ensure that this core value is being respected in the production of our garments. Our linen is softened by being washed with natural pumice stones, and all wastewater is recycled and disposed of in ways that minimise environmental impact. The local government has recently raised its standard codes of practice also, meaning all factories must comply with these or they are shut down. We do not use any harmful AZO dyes in any of our fabrics.

All of our scrap fabric is gathered in bundles and recycled or donated to local craftspeople, who use them to weave blankets and rugs.

Our factories have signed our Environmental, Animal Welfare and Social Policies.

During Covid, we are unable to visit our factories, so we stay in touch with our manufacturers daily through video chats.

 

 

6. MODERN SLAVERY STATEMENT

Protecting the rights and well-being of the people in our supply chain is of upmost importance to Deiji Studios. We are committed to ensuring good labour standards and the protection of human rights for any person employed as a result of Deiji Studios business. This includes all employees receiving fair wages, proper compensation and work under pre-approved conditions. We do not condone Modern Slavery in any form, including the use of violence, deceit, threat or coercion to recruit workers into forced or bonded labour, descent-based labour, child labour or any behaviour that undermines the freedoms or rights of a human being.

 

7. BIODEGRADABLE PACKAGING

In place of conventional plastic, all product arrives at our warehouse within boxes in corn-starch packaging which is 100% home compostable. We use recycled paper in our postcards, invoices, and swing tags we which are tied to garments using natural cotton rope without unnecessary safety pins. Our orders are then packed and sent out in biodegradable satchels. We have now also changed our postage labels to a biodegradable option so the entire package can be composted. 

 

 

8. BYRON BAY WAREHOUSE

We aim to minimise the use of unnecessary electricity in our warehouse, generally allowing
it to naturally heat and cool (with the exception of extreme temperature days where our staff require basic heating and cooling for comfort).

We use recycled/environmentally friendly products within our warehouse and offices and use these sparingly. We use recycled paper in our postcards, invoices, and swing tags.

Any waste we generate is consciously disposed of, recycled, reused or gifted where possible.

 

9. FUTURE

Is it our mission to continue to offset all future carbon usage and work towards zero-waste in our manufacturing process, refining all design elements to be recycled and biodegradable.

We will continue to learn and evolve our practises for this new world with accountability and openness. Please get in contact if you have any suggestions for us to better our product, process or service. We welcome your feedback.