We have made the conscious decision to work primarily with on-demand suppliers, meaning that we only produce items that we receive orders for. In the rare event that we do receive bulk orders, every unpurchased product is recycled back into the community to serve those who need them. We choose our apparel partners based on their demonstrations of outstanding contributions to sustainability, such as:

- Zero fabric-waste practices due to improved technology and innovate product offers; even with print-on-demand suppliers, “all-over print” routinely results in excess fabric scraps. Our chosen partners for these items have not only improved their digital printing technology to substantially reduce these occurrences, they have created useful products out of extra fabric, reflecting our values of resourcefulness and innovation.

- Annual voluntary audits of each facility that guarantees the best business practices, standards, working conditions, and compliance.

- 100% recyclable packaging.

- Eco-friendly fabric options, such as 100% organic cotton and polyester that uses recycled plastics from plastic bottles – all without compromising product quality!

- Active timelines that demonstrate continual and effective development of green practices and policies, and patterns of timely, long-term commitment and investment in global education and efforts towards sustainability.

- Sourcing transparency and active public communication regarding their sustainability policies.

- Ongoing, up-to-date research into the fashion industry’s environmental impact, and active effective solutions.

Note: This method is typically used for products with high cotton fabric content, like t-shirts, hoodies, tote bags, etc.

Our clothing designs are fulfilled using various methods. Many of our products are printed with the direct-to-garment (DTG) technique, which is a printing method where ink is first sprayed directly onto the garment before soaking into the fabric. It’s like printing on paper, but on clothing. We use Kornit printers that generate almost zero wastewater and use less energy than standard industry printers, which lowers our carbon footprint.

The inks we use for printing are Oeko-Tex™ certified, vegan, water-based, and free of harmful chemicals. Velvet Moon takes sustainability seriously, that’s why we take care to properly dispose of any left-over ink according to the ink supplier guidelines.

At Velvet Moon, we embroider our products with Oeko-Tex™ certified threads, meaning they’re safe for both adult and children's clothing. Compared to printing, embroidery is generally more durable and produces less environmental waste. Not only are we careful to adopt the best possible printing options, we are actively seeking expansive options in both quality and eco-friendliness.

There are many reasons why a product or material would be considered “sustainable.” Currently, at Velvet Moon our Eco-Apparel Line consists of items made of at least 70% organic or recycled materials, or a combination of both.

Each product that you see in our catalog is made “on-demand,” which means once you place the order, we start working to get it to you. It takes time for us to create and mail out the product, but making each order on-demand allows us to avoid overproduction. This way we get to take care of you and the planet we all share.

At Velvet Moon, our apparel products are either wrapped in 100% recyclable packaging certified by the FSC, or post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic mailers.

*The amount of PCR in the packaging will differ depending on where your order is printed, but contains a minimum of 50% for the outer (white or grey) poly mailer bags and a minimum of 30% for the inner (clear) bags (used only in multi-item shipments).

PCR packaging is made from everyday items, like used plastic bags and bottles. This material protects your order just as well as regular plastic bags; however, choosing PCR over first-use plastics reduces the environmental impact that plastic has on our planet.