About
| Quick Navigation: | Our Inspiration | How Our Products Are Made | Sustainability | Affiliations |
Our Inspiration
At econscious, we’re all about making an impact on the market, not on the planet. Our company is serving a growing demand for organic and sustainable apparel and accessories that are durable, comfortable, and great looking.
Our founders have decades of experience in internationally-successful clothing companies, and are among the pioneers of organic apparel. This knowledge has enabled us to create the finest quality products using carefully sourced organic and sustainable fibers. econscious has established a market-based approach to sustainable manufacturing, working closely with our supply chain, treating workers fairly, and eliminating the use of pesticides, synthetic fertilizers and other harmful chemicals.
A SEISMIC SHIFT is occurring towards sustainable practices. By purchasing organic cotton products you can be a part of this movement and register your vote for a healthier planet.
The People
Dale Denkensohn
Founder and President
Dale Denkensohn has been a leader in the clothing business for the past twenty years. After helping build a startup sports clothing company, he was recruited by Patagonia to design sportswear. Dale’s inspiration was to approach casual clothing in a technical fashion. “A shirt looks and feels good because the designer developed the right fabric, created the right design, and put them together in a precise way.”
Dale’s research, technical knowledge, and environmental concerns, helped lead Patagonia’s conversion to organic cotton in the 1990s. “It was part engineering and part diplomacy,” he recalls. “We worked with factories and suppliers who at first thought we were bonkers. Now, many of those who understood and followed us have since formed the core of today’s organic clothing industry.”
Leading a social and industrial revolution came easy to a designer who gets involved in every step of the process. “When designing and creating clothing, I like to know what the billboard will look like, how it will be presented to the consumer. I also feel that design has to take place in conjunction with how it’s made. The design process permeates the whole supply chain.”
Dale’s outlook for environmental concerns and benefits achieved through the use of organic cotton led to the formation of econscious. He travels extensively, working with spinners, weavers, knitters, dyers, and sewers. Dale insures that “we know our sources of supply. We must go wherever we need to go to get it done, and to insure the integrity of the process.”
Dale’s personal qualifications are reinforced with a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Ecology and a Masters in International Management.
Dale lives in Southern California with his wife and two sons.
Stefan Bergill
Sales Manager
Stefan Bergill came to the United States from his native Sweden 15 years ago. A self-described “ski bum” who skied and climbed the Alps, Stefan went to work for Patagonia in part because he loved the company’s gear. “I was a total technical geek, I knew every fabric and zipper.” Stefan managed the Dealer Service Department, “making sure our wholesale dealers got the support they deserved,” and developing a solid reputation throughout the industry.
Later, he went to work managing Patagonia’s Beneficial T’s division, which manufactured and sold organic clothing. “I went from the most technical products to the least technical part of the line. That was the last time I said ‘it’s just a tee shirt.’ I realized that it’s not that simple to make a good quality tee shirt and get it delivered on time.”
Stefan is not only an expert in the customer service side of organic clothing, he believes in its larger impact. “Organic clothing is truly a passion for me. We’re helping the world with every shirt we sell,” by promoting organic agriculture, treating workers fairly, and offering a good product that will last.
“It’s not just a tee shirt,” he says. “On a deeper level, we’re saving wildlife, improving water quality, improving the health of our farmers, and paying them a fair price.”
Stefan is an avid outdoorsman, and lives in New Hampshire with his wife and two children.
How Our Products Are Made
| Environmental standards: At econscious our goal is to have the least possible environmental impact while manufacturing the best quality products. We view this goal as a constant process of improvement. Our supply chain is certified by Control Union and Oregon Tilth. All of our apparel and cotton bags are made in factories that have been certified according to the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) and verified by an independent third party. In addition, our domestic warehouse has been certified according to GOTS and verified by Oregon Tilth. This certification has earned 14 of our products the distinction being able to carry the GOTS finished goods label. |  |
GOTS is the most comprehensive international standard for Organic textiles. GOTS ensures the “organic status of textiles, from harvesting of the raw materials, through environmentally and socially responsible manufacturing up to labeling in order to provide a credible assurance to the end consumer.” To review a copy of this standard please click here.
The following is exerted from the Global Organic Textile Standard Version 2.0.
3. Minimum social criteria
3.1. Scope
The following social criteria currently apply to the textile processing level only. As far as a practical quality assurance system for the farm level will be in place, these social criteria also apply for the farm level.
3.2. Employment is freely chosen
There is no forced or bonded labour.
Workers are not required to lodge “deposits” or their identity papers with their employer and are free to leave their employer after reasonable notice.
3.3. Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining are respected
Workers, without distinction, have the right to join or form trade unions of their own choosing and to bargain collectively.
The employer adopts an open attitude towards the activities of trade unions and their organizational activities.
Workers representatives are not discriminated against and have access to carry out their representative functions in the workplace.
Where the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining is restricted under law, the employer facilitates, and does not hinder, the development of parallel means for independent and free association and bargaining.
3.4. Working conditions are safe and hygienic
A safe and hygienic working environment must be provided, bearing in mind the prevailing knowledge of the industry and of any specific hazards.
Adequate steps must be taken to prevent accidents and injury to health arising from, associated with, or occurring in the course of work, by minimizing, so far as is reasonably practicable, the causes of hazards inherent in the working environment.
Workers must receive regular and recorded health and safety training, and such training must be repeated for new or reassigned workers.
Access to clean toilet facilities and to potable water, and, if appropriate, to rest areas, food consuming areas and sanitary facilities for food storage must be provided.
Accommodation, where provided, must be clean, safe, and meet the basic needs of the workers.
The company observing the code must assign responsibility for health and safety to a senior management representative.
3.5. Child labour must not be used
There must be no new recruitment of child labour.
Companies must develop or participate in and contribute to policies and programmes which provide for the transition of any child found to be performing child labour to enable her or him to attend and remain in quality education until no longer a child; “child” and “child labour” as being defined by ILO.
Children and young persons under 18 must not be employed at night or in hazardous conditions.
These policies and procedures must conform to the provisions of the relevant ILO standards (C138, C182).
3.6. Living wages
Wages and benefits paid for a standard working week meet, at a minimum, national legal standards or industry benchmark standards, whichever is higher. In any event wages should always be enough to meet basic needs and to provide some discretionary income.
All workers must be provided with written and understandable information about their employment conditions including wages before they enter employment and about the particulars of their wages for the pay period concerned each time that they are paid.
Deductions from wages as a disciplinary measure are not permitted nor must any deductions from wages unless provided for by national law without the express permissions of the worker concerned. All disciplinary measures should be recorded.
3.7. Working hours are not excessive
Working hours must comply with national laws and benchmark industry standards, whichever affords greater protection.
In any event, workers must not be required to work in excess of 48 hours per week on a regular basis, and must be provided with at least one day off for every 7 day period on average. Overtime must be voluntary, must not exceed 12 hours per week, must not be demanded on a regular basis and must always be compensated at a premium rate.
3.8. No discrimination is practiced
There is no discrimination in hiring, compensation, access to training, promotion, termination or retirement based on race, caste, national origin, religion, age, disability, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, union membership or political affiliation.
3.9. Regular employment is provided
To every extent possible work performed must be on the basis of recognised employment relationship established through national law and practice.
Obligations to employees under labour or social security laws and regulations arising from the regular employment relationship must not be avoided through the use of labour-only contracting, sub-contracting, or home-working arrangements, or through apprenticeship schemes where there is no real intent to impart skills or provide regular employment, nor must any such obligations be avoided through the excessive use of fixed-term contracts of employment.
3.10. Harsh or inhumane treatment is prohibited
Physical abuse or discipline, the threat of physical abuse, sexual or other harassment and verbal abuse or other forms of intimidation must be prohibited.
Sustainability
CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY
Corporate Responsibility is woven into the fabric of econscious. It informs and inspires our business model and our practices every day. We are part of a worldwide movement towards “responsible capitalism,” providing goods and services while embracing the “Three E’s” of sustainability, which are: Ecological Sustainability; Social Equity; and Economic Vitality.
The traditional corporate business model focuses on a single goal – “increasing shareholder value.” For some corporations, this means laying off thousands of workers to drive up stock prices. For others, it means polluting groundwater because the fines are cheaper than the costs of cleaner processes. Those practices are changing, as a new type of corporation rediscovers a very old idea – that commerce can exist as a force for social and cultural progress, where everyone affected by a transaction can benefit.
Ecological Sustainability
In 1987, the World Commission on Environment and Development created a definition for sustainability. It reads: “To meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Put another way, sustainability recognizes that the planet’s resources are finite, and that if we want to be responsible stewards of the earth, we have to use those resources wisely, so they last indefinitely.
To act responsibly in this regard, corporations have to look beyond the inflow of materials and the outflow of products. We have to examine the impacts of our business up and down the supply chain. We have to demonstrate leadership to our suppliers and partners, and embrace ecological sustainability as a continual process of improvement.
It takes one-third of a pound of fertilizers and pesticides to produce the average cotton t-shirt. By working exclusively with organic farmers, we can keep millions of pounds of chemicals out of the environment, which has a positive impact on watersheds, wildlife and humans. Organic farming also has a global warming correlation; chemicals are manufactured and transported using fossil fuels, and organic farmers use less water.
Ecological sustainability is perhaps most directly expressed in agriculture. We all have to be fed, clothed, and sheltered every day. Agricultural products – from our farms and forests – are all around us. By educating ourselves and making conscious choices about what we consume, we can join a worldwide movement towards a safer, cleaner, and healthier world.
Social Equity
Treating people fairly, honestly, and ethically is a cornerstone of corporate responsibility. It begins in our own backyard, paying employees a decent wage, offering a safe and healthy work environment, and encouraging employees to grow in their work and their lives.
Social equity also means that we work with our vendors, subcontractors, suppliers and business partners to make sure that workplace conditions are safe, that workers are not harassed or abused, that all workers are treated with respect, and that our products will never be made with forced labor or child labor. We require documentation of socially equitable practices, and we inspect our overseas partners to ensure they comply.
Being successful and having a social conscience are mutually supportive goals. Respecting human rights, and striving for fairness, respect, and justice are values that enrich our lives as well as the health of our company.
Economic Vitality
The tenets of Corporate Responsibility dictate that we look carefully at the economic impacts of our business. We provide high quality products and services at competitive prices, but we look beyond our financial success. We consider the ethical, legal, and cultural implications of what we do. If we contract with a farmer and pay him a fair price for his organic cotton, we make an impact on his entire community. If we act ethically and contribute to the economic success of our business partners, we improve the quality of life for those communities and for society as a whole.
Responsible corporations enjoy a myriad of economic benefits. Using renewable resources ensures more reliable access to materials, minimal costs for environmental compliance, and greater customer loyalty. In addition, most responsible corporations give back to their communities in a variety of ways. This can include support of international movements, such as “1% For the Planet,” and support for community efforts, by encouraging employees to volunteer and support good causes.
For us, it’s about, “doing well by doing good.”
Resources
If we agree that “what we’re making” is of equal importance with “how we make it” we accept that corporate responsibility is an ongoing process of testing, examining, and improving our practices. For more information about corporate responsibility, we offer these resources.
Business for Social Responsibility
www.bsr.org
International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements
www.ifoam.org
The Institute for Market Transformation to Sustainability
http://mts.sustainableproducts.com/standards.htm
Redefining Progress
http://www.redefiningprogress.org
The Center for Corporate Citizenship at Boston College
http://www.bcccc.net
Affiliations
econscious is affiliated with some of the world's leading sustainable trade organizations. Please take a moment to learn more about our affiliations:
| 1 % for the Planet 1% For The Planet was launched by Yvon Chouinard, environmental activist and founder of outdoor clothing company Patagonia, Inc., and Craig Mathews, owner of Blue Ribbon Flies in 2001. An alliance of businesses committed to leveraging their resources to create a healthier planet, members recognize their responsibility to and dependence on a healthy environment and donate at least 1% of their annual sales to environmental organizations worldwide. One percent of every purchase you make supports environmental non-profit organizations. |
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| Now you can support 1% FOR THE PLANET in a whole new way — by shopping at the 1% WEBSTORE. They’ve got all kinds of great stuff for sale, all branded with 1% FTP logo. So you can live a little bit greener every day and help show your passion for the environment. They’ve got clothing and apparel, gear, accessories, household products and more. Everything they sell is from a 1% FTP Member company, and many of the products are made of sustainable or organic materials, or are recyclable or biodegradable. The 1% WEBSTORE is even operated by a Member company—New Headings, LLC. Plus, the carbon emissions of all shipments are offset by NativeEnergy, another Member company. So take a few minutes to browse around. Rest assured, every purchase will make a difference. |
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| Organic Exchange Organic Exchange is a 501(C)(3) charitable organization committed to expanding organic agriculture, with a specific focus on increasing the production and use of organically grown fibers such as cotton. Their long term goal is to grow the amount of certified organic land farmed for fiber production by 50% per year. Achieving this goal will allow us to have a positive, significant, visible and measurable impact on the world. |
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| Organic Trade Organization The Organic Trade Association (OTA) is the membership-based business association for the organic industry in North America. OTA’s mission is to promote and protect organic trade to benefit the environment, farmers, the public, and the economy. OTA envisions organic products becoming a significant part of everyday life, enhancing people's lives and the environment. |
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| Co-op America Co-op America is a not-for-profit membership organization founded in 1982. Their mission is to harness economic power—the strength of consumers, investors, businesses, and the marketplace—to create a socially just and environmentally sustainable society. |
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| Renewable Choice Renewable Choice is a national leader in providing clean tech products to organizations and individuals around the country. The company's sole mission is to provide opportunities to help move our society toward a more sustainable future. Renewable Choice is an employee-owned company, headquartered at the foothills of the Rockies in Boulder, Colorado. |
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