We’ve always been open about the efficacy of our PRE-ORDER system. Every year, we publish TWOTHIRDS’ overproduction rates in our Eco Reports. We go even further to publish our production volumes at the Speak Volumes Campaign, something unheard of for most brands.
Deep down, we always knew that reducing overproduction via PRE-ORDER and our No Thread Goes To Waste policy was having a major positive impact. Still, we didn’t always have the scientific evidence to prove it. Now we do, thanks to an incredible new carbon footprint study of our bestselling Kiritibati jeans.
What has also helped is that more evidence is beginning to emerge about the negative impacts of overproduction in the fashion industry. The European Environment Agency recently concluded that average overproduction rates in the sector currently stand at 21%. With these new proven benchmarks to work from, the positive impacts of our PRE-ORDER system —which reduces overproduction to between 0% and 4% annually— are becoming easier to quantify.
What is a carbon footprint study?
This life cycle assessment methodology evaluates the environmental impacts of a product — in this case, our bestselling Kiritibati jeans — throughout its entire life cycle, from raw material extraction to disposal.
However, the post-consumer phase was discounted for this study, focusing instead on what’s known as cradle-to-doorstep, which means from raw material extraction to a customer’s door.
The study was carried out by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland as part of the European Union’s CRAFT IT 4 SD project in conjunction with MODACC, the Catalan Fashion Cluster that TWOTHIRDS is a member of.
What were the findings?
While we always knew that shopping the slow fashion way would have positive environmental impacts, we were blown away by the study’s findings. The main one was that:
“Avoiding overproduction through a PRE-ORDER model leads to an estimated carbon footprint reduction of 20%.” This is compared to shopping for a pair of jeans online from a regular fashion or fast fashion store.
Another interesting finding was that, “Within the production process of a pair of jeans, 81% of the emissions are related to raw material extraction, production processes and production-related waste.” This shows the importance of only using low-impact materials and operating a hyperlocalised supply chain.
Last but not least was the fun fact that:
“The total carbon footprint of a pair of Kiritibati jeans (cradle-to-client) amounts to 5.38kg CO2e, comparable with 10 cups of cappuccino.”
Other benefits of PRE-ORDER & No Thread Goes To Waste
While the study lends scientific credibility to what we have always known to be true, it does not encompass all the positive impacts of PRE-ORDER and No Thread Goes To Waste, as these aspects lie beyond the scope of a climate impact assessment.
Perhaps one of the most crucial impacts of PRE-ORDER is that it encourages conscious consumerism, as customers are forced to take it slow and wait between 2-8 weeks for their new clothing. The impact of a mindset shift like this should never be underestimated, but it is hard to quantify in a study like this.
While the study references our No Thread Goes To Waste policy and the positive impacts it creates alongside PRE-ORDER, it’s worth reiterating just how important this commitment is. It obligates us to find a home for every piece of clothing we make so that, unlike other brands, we never incinerate or throw away excess stock.
Next steps
This is just the beginning of our efforts to increase the transparency of our products and supply chains, as we not only search for the data that proves the worth of our slow fashion approach but also give us pointers as to how we can get even better at what we do. Watch this space!
