Our values to care for people and planet drive us to create the best organisational model possible. This is why transparency is more than simply reducing our carbon footprint or ticking some sustainability boxes, transparency is embedded into the fabric of who we are at Reemi. 

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There are so many things to take into consideration around what we believe to be what a sustainable business looks like. Everything from using traceable materials, to paying workers a fair wage, to decreasing our carbon footprint, to using an inclusive diverse range of models. We want our product to empower you, to care for your body and to help empower and educate women in places that need it most. 
 

Everything that we do begins with our values, which inform each and every part of the process. Our commitment to these values results in the strength and success of our impact.

Use the diagram below to find out more about our values and all the steps along the way that lead to the impact of our work.

We’re committed to showing you everything, the good, the bad and everything in between.

It’s important we communicate the hope and beauty of the people we serve. 

We believe in always asking the question, “can we do it better?” 

We have seen the power of community and we are here to build it. 

Hold us to the highest standards, because that’s where we want to be. 

We aim for all of our raw materials to have the lowest impact on the environment, while also functioning to the highest standard. We spend hundreds of hours on responsible sourcing and researching innovative technology because we want the best for our planet, and we also want the best for your bod. 

PUL

Our leakproof layer is the most environmentally-friendly PUL currently on the market and is a world first for period underwear. It’s made from recycled polyester and is recyclable with very high performance in breathability and waterproofness.

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TRIMS - BRAND LABEL

The brand label sewn onto the middle of the elastic waistband is made from recycled polyester.

TRIMS - ELASTIC WAISTBAND

We want to be upfront that elastic isn’t great, but neither is lace. We’re always searching for alternatives. We switched from a lace waistband to elastic to ensure longevity of our product. We wanted to have a waistband that won’t stretch and lose shape over time. It’s really important for us to create something that has the best chance at being around as long as possible. 

ORGANIC COTTON

Our t-shirts are made from 100% organic cotton certified by traceable GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard).

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Organic Cotton Benefits:

• Raw Materials: Organic cotton crops are grown without pesticides, insecticides, herbicides or genetic modification and while using less water. These toxins are harmful for farmers and workers, us as consumers, and entire wildlife ecosystems. 

• ​Production: Through GOTS all textile processing units, manufacturers, and traders are all themselves certified by GOTS. This includes raw cotton suppliers, spinners, dyers, knitters, printers, and factories.

• ​Biodegradable: There are only natural fibres in this fabric, which means it is biodegradable but we have not yet confirmed if this is certified for home composting.

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Why Non-Organic Cotton is a Concern:

Worldwide, the impact of cotton farming is creating negative impacts both ecologically and socially. Non-organic cotton farming uses more toxic pesticides per acre than any other crop. These chemicals are harming our planet—stripping the land of nutrients, contaminating our waterways, and risking the health of the people who grow it.

Raw Materials: Incredibly high water usage and impacts of harmful chemicals on the environment and health impacts for farmers.

Production: No standards for processing units on water usage, dyes, chemicals or energy usage. 

Sociological: There’s a known impact on the worker’s health, and suggested links to increasing rates of farmer suicide due to the pressures to purchase high-priced GM seeds.

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ASColour Organic Cotton:

AS Colour is also part of the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI), and Amfori/BSCI

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Worker well-being is central to our work. Our team has been trained and continues to get advice from our ethical consultant to ensure that we are working towards best practice, both from factories where we order products and the factories we partner with. We know what questions to ask, what signs to look for and which precautions to take when entering a building.

NINGBO, CHINA

Our underwear that is available for commercial purchase is made in Ningbo, China. 

• Employees: 95

• ​Female Employees:  65

• ​Employee benefits: Workers continued to be paid during COVID-19 lockdown and all employee benefits are in compliance with China labour law.

• Has a workers committee:  No representatives 

• Very low annual worker turnover - 6%

• Certifications:  SMETA by Sedex

• Last audited:  August 2020

• ​Powered by hydropower

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Why Ningbo, China? As a tiny business, it’s really hard to crack the apparel industry. Minimum orders of fabric, typically start at 5,000m (a 5k run!) and minimum orders of products can start at 20,000 units. It took us a long time to find a certified factory that was willing to do a much smaller run for our first product.

NARANGANJ, BANGLADESH

Our organic cotton t-shirts are made by AS Colour in Naranganj, Bangladesh

• Years working with AS Colour:  8

• ​Employees:  377

• ​Female Employees:  163

• ​Employee benefits: They operate a social programme which provides the occasional meals for workers and their families and participated in Reemi’s first menstrual health education programme. 

• ​Has a workers committee:  Yes

• ​Certifications:  Oeko-Tex, Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS)

• ​Last audited: January 2021

HOPLUN, BANGLADESH

The period underwear we distribute as part of our menstrual health education programmes is manufactured by our friends at Hop Lun in Bangladesh.

• Part of the HIGG Index - All Hop Lun factories have their Higg scores verified by an independent third party. They are part of the SEDEX Members Ethical Trade Audit that manages labour, health and safety, environment and business ethics. 

• BSCI. 

• GOTS certified

• Global Recycled Standard certified. 

• Oeko-Tex certified

• Digital wage payment system and transparent wage grids. Their vision is to have all employees on a living wage. 

• Financial literacy training for all employees.

• Working overtime is always voluntary and is compensated in line with local laws and paid at a premium of 150% - 400% of regular compensation. 

• All Hoplun suppliers must sign a code of conduct.

• Hop Lun’s vision is to move towards a circular supply chain, where virgin raw materials are substituted with recycled, or zero impact equivalents.

• In 2019, Hop Lun signed the UNFCCC Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action at the Fashion Summit in Hong Kong. By signing the charter, Hop Lun commits to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030 in line with the ‘Paris Agreement’.

• Initiatives like free eye screening and eyeglasses to all employees in Bangladesh. 

• We endeavour to sea-freight as much as we can, however due to delays on our timeline we’ve had to airfreight a percentage of this season’s stock for our stockists. 

• We offset our freight carbon emissions

• All of our packaging is plastic-free

• We use paper carton tape instead of plastic

• Your Reemi come packaging in recycled and recyclable packaging. The courier bags we use are compostable. 

• No single-use plastic individually wrapped poly bags around each underwear. Sadly, single use poly bags for each item are common practice in the garment industry. We use a recycled (non-virgin) plastic box liner instead of individually wrapping each garment. 

• No swing tags or plastic garment tags

• We use a compostable underwear liner for hygiene purposes

• Without you we couldn’t do this so thank you! You’re helping make an impact on women all around the world. 

• We intentionally use diverse, inclusive people in our photoshoots to ensure that we're representing the enormous range of bodies out there in the world. 

• Our Reemi team is female-led. We are a living wage certified organisation, registered charity and take care to look after our team with our well-being fund. 

• Longevity - we believe reusable products are the future for our planet. Having Reemi’s can save our beautiful planet from being filled with tampons and pads that can take 500+ years to break down. 

• Please wash your Reemi in cold water. Washing has a high carbon footprint and your Reemi’s do need to be washed after each use, but we can limit the carbon footprint by using cold water. 

• End of Life - To be honest we’re still working on an end of life solution for your Reemi's. Our yarn that we purchase from Lenzing for our Tencel Modal is compostable but we do get this yarn dyed so we are looking into whether or not it can still be composted. Our PUL is made of recycled plastic - unfortunately this product doesn't break down naturally, but it's necessary to have to ensure your underwear is leakproof. When we find something better we’ll certainly be investigating alternatives whilst balancing the longevity of the product and the function of the underwear.