FABRICS.

Fabrics matter on so many levels. From form and function to baseline impact - the fabrics that we choose to source and work with are a huge piece of the tapestry that is SHEMA. That’s why we are so intentional to choose and source in a way that preserves and protects the environment. We find fabrics that are created through ethical labor practices; we see this as such an opportunity for impact. Sourcing ethically is more expensive - but it means the difference between protecting and preserving the environment and empowering people or degradation and exploitation. We’ll take preservation and empowerment over that any day. We love fabrics that move and stretch and breathe and carry innate anti-microbial properties - we want to clothe people with fabrics like these - and ones that we can rest assured are a small part of the solution and not the problem.

NATURAL FIBERS

BAMBOO

We love Bamboo. Bamboo fabrics are incredible - unbelievably soft, wonderfully flowy, naturally antimicrobial, and are made from a quick growing, naturally renewable resource. Bamboo fabrics -however - aren’t always green. The production process can be energy and chemically intensive to break down the bamboo fibers in creating the fabric; that’s why it’s imperative that bamboo fabrics be produced with a closed-loop system: water used in the production is recycled and the chemicals are then kept within a closed loop and not released into the environment. We source bamboo fabrics that come from organically grown bamboo forests that are processed in closed loop, energy efficient way. Our bamboo rocks.

ORGANIC COTTON

Cotton is king - and for good reason. It’s soft, breathable, durable - it’s been the staple of our favorite T-s for our whole lives. But cotton has a dark side to it. The Organic Trade Association (OTA) considers conventionally grown cotton to be the world’s “dirtiest” crop due to the heavy insecticide and chemical burden it places on the environment and communities in which it is grown and processed. Cotton covers 2.5% of the world's cultivated land, yet it accounts for 24% of the world's insecticide market and 11% of the sale of global pesticides; or $2.6 billion worth of pesticides [making it the most pesticide-intensive crop grown on the planet].

 So for our cotton, we have committed to always using organically grown cotton fabrics. Cotton makes for classic, soft, long-lasting garments and lends essential light-weight durability to the bamboo tri-blend behind our signature Venture hoodie. When you feel our cotton fabrics and tri-blends containing cotton, you can rest assured it’s organic all the way through. This is an easy way we can ensure a beneficial impact in the communities where the organic cotton is grown and can continue to contribute to an industry that looks for alternatives to damaging chemical pesticides and toxic processing. We want to have the best cotton possible - and that’s why it has to be organic.