We strive to create a lasting impact on our customers while maintaining a minimal impact on our environment.
Let’s Talk About Greenwashing
What is it exactly? Greenwashing is a popular technique clothing companies have deployed over the years to entice environmentally-conscious consumers into believing the company’s garments and production practices are more sustainable than they actually are. At Good Rapport, we believe our relationship to this planet is as important as our relationship to our customers. That’s why we are committed to acting on, not just talking about, sustainable practices.
Our Commitment to Creating Sustainable Garments
Sustainability is an ongoing journey of education and practice. Good Rapport refers to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as a guidepost for how best to direct our initiatives. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries - developed and developing - in a global partnership. They recognize that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests. We specifically focus on goal number twelve, “ensure sustainable consumption and production practices”. Sustainable fashion uses textiles that are manufactured, constructed, and marketed in a responsible and conscious way that acknowledges and accounts for their environmental and socioeconomic impacts. So how do we implement this at Good Rapport?
Made In New York City
As a Woman-Owned Business, Good Rapport takes pride in supporting other women-owned businesses. Especially those that help us bring beautiful and sustainable garments to our customers. We’ve partnered with the women-owned manufacturing company Grace Apparel Production to design and manufacture our garments right here at home in New York City.
Manufacturing in NYC allows us to:
- Produce closer to our core customers and thereby reduce our emissions when transporting products
- Ensure better working conditions for our factory workers
- Produce garments in small quantities and avoid overproduction
Recycled & Deadstock Fabric
Our garments use all deadstock or recycled fabrics. Deadstock fabrics are the leftover fabrics of other fashion companies who overestimated their needs. Recycled fabric is the result of recovering textiles and reprocessing the material into new, useful products. In other words, we give materials new life and avoid some of the energy/waste required to create fabrics from scratch. This also means that our product releases are never guaranteed to be restocked since we can never ensure the same fabric will be in stock for future use.
Wool
We aim to utilize natural, durable textiles such as wool. Wool is biodegradable, breathable and versatile; typically made from the fleece of sheep, goats, alpacas, rabbits and camels. Wool is one of the most sustainable fabrics that can be used in fashion and we proudly source our wool from Italy.
Cupro
Cupro is a regenerated (man-made) cellulose fabric derived from cotton waste. Cupro is made using the tiny silky cotton fibers, known as linter, that stick out of the cottonseed and are too small to spin. The linter is dissolved into a cuprammonium solution, which is a mixture of copper and ammonium, dropped into caustic soda, then spun into fiber. Cupro is vegan and cruelty-free - it has all the positive qualities of silk without being as high-maintenance.
Garment Bags
When purchasing a blazer or set, you will receive a Good Rapport reusable garment bag to protect your clothing as you travel or move about. This is our replacement for packing paper and plastic slips that ultimately go straight to the landfill.
Boxes
While a fancier box may have better represented the quality of our products, we chose to stick with the raw kraft material and minimal printing because boxes with gloss, ink, foil, etc. are less recyclable. We also hope the simplicity of the box will allow you to easily reuse it.
Hang Tags
We’ve partnered with Botanical Paperworks to produce seed paper hang tags. Once you receive your garment and cut off the hang tag, plant it in soil and a beautiful flower will bloom.
Poly Mailers
Our packaging was thoughtfully designed with sustainability in mind. All of our polymailers are 100% biodegradable.