In the wake of climate change, many businesses are pledging to become carbon neutral. But what does it actually mean, and how does it work? In this blog, we will take a look at how companies can commit to reducing their carbon emissions and what consumers can do about it, including steps that you can take today.

What Is Carbon Neutrality

Carbon neutrality is a way to help tackle climate change by reducing the amount of carbon in our atmosphere. A company’s “carbon footprint” is all of the greenhouse gas emissions that result from its operations, such as energy used to power its facilities, transportation costs, or the raw materials it uses in production. The goal of carbon neutrality can be realized by compensating for the emission of carbon with the absorption of carbon from the atmosphere in carbon sinks. Anything that absorbs more carbon than it releases is referred to as a carbon sink, such as trees, the ocean, and soil. Usually, businesses use credits generated by projects like trees planted for carbon sequestration or renewable energy generation to offset their overall carbon footprint.

The Textile Industry and Carbon Neutrality

As a large and growing industry, the textile industry’s carbon footprint is substantial. Making the textile industry more sustainable requires driving change at every point in the supply chain, from how textile is made to how it’s disposed off. Carbon dioxide emissions from the textile industry range from 122 million to 2.93 billion tons per year, accounting for 6.7 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions during their life cycle. The textile industry has an important role to play in achieving sustainable development. They should be produced in ways that are clean and safe and lead to reduced environmental impact.

The most effective way to reduce the textile industry’s carbon footprint consists of recycling textile process waste as well as recycling textile products after their useful life is over.

A circular approach is another way to tackle the environmental impact of the textile industry. With a circular approach to textile production, the carbon impact of the product is minimized by keeping the environmental footprint in check. Eco-friendly fabrics are sourced, and recycled fibers are utilized to reduce the use of virgin fibers. Recycling old textile scraps, using water-based dyes, and reducing energy requirements in production contribute to reducing the carbon footprint.

How Downcle Supports Carbon Neutrality

Downcle has set milestones on its journey toward fulfilling its carbon neutrality goal. By focusing on quality bedding and paying attention to the environment, we have developed a revolutionary way of recycling and reprocessing used down into products that are just as warm and comfortable as new bedding.

We are aware of the growing concern of depleting resources, bringing us to take a closer look at our consumption patterns and discover smarter solutions. Being part of this collective effort, we have decided to do our own part by creating a better product that uses responsibly sourced materials. Our current samples indicate that 95% of the whole product is made with recycled material, including sustainable fibers, lining, recycled down fill, zipper, and thread. To help develop sustainable solutions for rising textile waste, we recycled about 29 tons of down in the year 2020 and 133 tons since 2021.

Reducing Our Carbon Footprint in the Most Effective Way Possible

We take our commitment to sustainability seriously, which is why we are determined to produce our products with a minimal carbon footprint. To ensure we are moving in the right direction, Downcle is attested by several certifications that affirm our attempts at meeting our carbon neutrality targets. Following are some of the ways in which we strive to be sustainable:

Global Recycle Standard

The Global Recycle Standard, or GRS, is designed to evaluate the environmental, social, and chemical practices of companies around the globe. GRS defines specifications for social impact, assuring safe labor practices, and monitoring toxic chemical and environmental pollution in the production process.

Downcle has been GRS certified since the beginning, allowing us to contribute responsibly to the environment. Our commitment to sustainability is reflected in the products you love and our efforts to reduce our impact on the environment.

OEKO-TEX Certification

To be sustainable, manufacturers must ensure their manufacturing processes support ethical practices. The OEKO-TEX Standard certifies the safety of products and the social responsibility of businesses that adhere to it.

Downcle adheres to OEKO-TEX certification guidelines, thanks to REPREVE. Internationally recognized for its superior performance, REPREVE by Unifi is one of the leading sustainable performance fibers. REPREVE is recycled polyester made from discarded plastic bottles. The REPREVE fabric provides outstanding thermal regulation, odor control, and moisture-wicking properties. Downcle uses REPREVE for its outer fabric shell as a means to enhance the sustainability of its products.

YKK NATULON

The YKK Fastening Products Group strives for responsible consumption and is a leading manufacturer of zippers and fastening products. The Downcle line of products features YKK NATULON zippers, manufactured in compliance with YKK Group’s green initiative.

The YKK NATULON zippers are made from post-consumer plastic bottles. Implementing mechanical recycling, bottles are pulverized to create pellets, then recycled into yarn for the YKK NATULON zippers. In addition, the yarn used on the tape of the NATULON® Mechanically Recycled zipper contains more than 99% post-consumer recycled materials.

Small Carbon Footprint, Big Impact

Carbon neutrality is one of the most important ways we can contribute to protecting our environment. The path to carbon neutrality can be achieved by understanding your carbon footprint and doing your part to reduce it. By choosing products that are easy to recycle and compost, like our organic bedding and bath items, you can make a difference at home every day. Some ways you can keep your average carbon footprint in check:

• Look for Responsibly-Sourced Raw Materials
• Look for Eco-Friendly Materials
• Go for Reusable Materials
• Promote the use of recycled bedding and textiles in your community.
• Emphasize traceability. Your product’s traceability allows you to ensure that it meets ethical standards and has had a low environmental impact throughout its manufacturing process.
• Educate yourself on greenwashing. The use of green terms is prevalent in many industries, so it’s crucial to know when a product is actually sustainable and when it’s just marketing green terms.

Downcle: The Comfort of Sustainability

At Downcle, we take our responsibility to reduce our carbon footprint seriously. We employ various policies, clean energy technologies, and best practices to reduce the impact of our business on the environment and create a sustainable future. Downcle does more than just create sustainable products from responsibly sourced materials – we ensure that every step of the production process is dedicated towards environmental protection.

Before we ship our products worldwide from our own production facility, each product is extensively inspected for quality. With this proactive approach, you can rest assured knowing your bedding is made with passion, care, and commitment. Visit our online store today!