You lot know that we care about our impact on the environment. We know you care, too. As Bleubird continues to grow, we will face more and more hurdles that make limiting our negative impact harder. However, we are committed to doing what we can right now, and The Salvage Yard is the latest project that aims to keep our faulty, imperfect products out of landfill.
Over the past few years, our main focus has been on using more responsible materials in our new products, including post-consumer recycled polyester, organic cotton, and water-based inks. We have also sought out alternative packaging, including biodegradable polybags and paper mailing bags. If you’re curious to learn more about our eco side, you can read about it here.
As Bleubird has grown, the challenges we face with damaged, faulty, or imperfect products has become greater. We take pride in the quality of our products, so we don’t tend to see a lot of products coming back to us with issues but unfortunately, some issues are unavoidable as a growing clothing and equipment brand. The same goes for items that have been used as samples or for photoshoots…
Many of these items are still fully functional and fine to wear. But we wouldn’t feel right about selling items to you guys that we just aren’t 100% happy with. So, you might be wondering, what happens with these?
The issue of clothing waste…
Global fashion waste is no joke.
It’s estimated that every 16 seconds, clothing thrown in landfill around the world reaches the equivalent height of the Eiffel Tower; every 42 seconds, the equivalent height of The Burj Khalifa (the world’s tallest building); every seven minutes, the height of Mount Everest; and every 228 days, this waste would reach the height of the moon!
We don’t want to be another contributor to this major issue of global fashion waste, which sees millions of tonnes of perfectly good clothing sent to landfill every year. So, we’ve now got an alternative to ensure our products are getting as much use as possible.
The Bleubird Salvage Yard…
The Salvage Yard (S/Y) is a concept we’ve been working on for a while.
Every couple of weeks, we’ll release a new drop of Salvage Yard products. In some cases, items might have a small hole, others might have frayed threads, stains, or the print might not be quite right.
The issues will be outlined clearly on the individual product page and given a rating (Green, Amber, Red) so you can understand the extent of the fault. All Salvage Yard products will be sold at a discounted price, and we will still plant one tree for every order!
As mentioned, we take pride in our products, so don’t see a high volume of returns. This means that stock availability on Salvage Yard products will be very limited and, in many cases, there may only be one of a certain item.
With nature at the heart of our inspiration and drive, we feel a profound responsibility to build an authentic business and recognise our environmental and social impact. So, we’re hoping that Salvage Yard will be a new and exciting way for us to fight against the pandemic of fashion waste, reduce the volume of clothing sent to landfill, and move towards greater circularity.
Check out the collection here: The Bleubird Salvage Yard