Social and environmental standards we require from our suppliers

Since 2009 Altramoda has meant clothing, cosmetics and natural products made respecting high social and environmental production standards.

In these lines we will try to summarise the spirit that drove us to undertake this activity, and the ethical criteria that we have given ourselves.
We share the values ​​of degrowth and sustainability, and we try to carry out our work with honesty and transparency. We prefer to have contacts with aware consumers, because they value the quality and ethics of our products.

We believe that the values ​​that make the difference of organic and sustainable clothing and ecological products are:

• supply chain traceability,
• the clear composition of the price,
• the protection of workers' rights,
• the bond with the territory,
• the sustainability and ecological nature of production processes,
• transport optimization and packaging reduction,
• the durability of the products
• rapid biodegradability at the end of its life cycle
• the healthiness of the fabrics on the consumer's skin.

For this reason, we are always available to answer all the questions that are asked of us and, if necessary, to improve ourselves. Every question is legitimate for a person who wants to critically orient his or her consumption, because production and consumption are social acts that affect the community.

So we propose clothing and underwear items by giving ourselves the following priority scale:

1. We turn to Made in Italy products, from Icea and Gots certified companies, which guarantee organic fibers, non-toxic dyes, reduced environmental impact, ethical work certification. For Made in Italy we also accept companies with mixed conventional and organic production (where of course the two supply chains are clearly distinct), because we believe that it is necessary to give time and methods to conventional companies to convert to sustainable and certified production.
2. For what we cannot find in Italy we source from European companies, which are historically pioneers of natural clothing, which have been operating in the sector for years and produce only organic garments of the highest quality, certified with the brands Gots , IVN , RWS , Oeko Text , Better Cotton etc.
3. Ultimately, we buy organic clothing produced in Asia, as long as it is certified Fairtrade by the Fair Trade and Fairwear , both for the collection of textile fibers and for manufacturing. In addition to the Fair Trade or Flo certification (to guarantee social justice), these garments also carry the organic certification for cotton and ecological for hemp and bamboo. We also select these companies for their interest in reducing environmental impact and optimizing resources.
   

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
We are committed to reducing the environmental impact of our business through the following actions:

• For shipments we often use second-hand cartons, which arrive in our warehouse via shipments from our suppliers. Small orders are shipped in envelopes provided by the courier in recyclable plastic, or in boxes made of FSCmix certified cardboard.
• The packaging needed for fragile products is always made of paper or second-hand and comes from the reuse of our suppliers' packaging.
• To save electricity we have installed LED lamps for lighting. Unlike many shops we keep the lights off after closing time.
• We mainly use the courier GLS which has the Think Green program for the reduction of emissions.
  

WHAT WE ASK OF OUR SUPPLIERS

• First of all, we check the ecological and sustainability of the raw materials, reading the composition labels, and selecting from the catalogue the individual products or lines/collections suitable for being potentially inserted on the Altramoda website.
• We check the certifications available both at social level (such as B corp ) and environmental level.
• We evaluate the environmental impact of production depending on the manufacturing country and the supply chain of raw materials. CO2 savings and resource savings, presence of biodegradable, compostable or regenerable yarns and components, recycled and recyclable products (preferably with GRS certification)
• We evaluate the methods of supply, delivery and possible pre-order to ensure continuity of the commercial relationship.

SYNTHESIS

As you can see, to be part of Altramoda there is a complex research and selection, carried out with care and passion to offer people the best organic clothes and products at a fair price for the entire supply chain.