Parts Of Mini Rodini Sustainability Report 2023

A note from founder and creative director of Mini Rodini Cassandra Rhodin.

'The clothing industry is a very dirty business as we all know by now. One of the worst industries of all. Heavy on chemical use, slave labor, and has a huge impact on people and our planet. Our promise at Mini Rodini is to try our best to be the most sustainable option, and we are not compromising with quality nor design. We also demand the same standards from our partners, meaning that sometimes they have to develop and push their work with better production in order to be able to work with us. As long as we produce a much better product than what’s on the conventional market, I feel like Mini Rodini has a reason to exist. As an independent company we have the ability to hold tight to our core values. We believe we have the power to change and we lead our company in the direction towards the future we wish for.'

Mini Rodini certifications:

There are many certifications for textiles and fibers available on the market. We work with some of the strictest and most extensive certifications like GOTS and GRS. This ensures that the entire production process from raw material to final product is monitored and certified, including working conditions and quality control like color fastness and shrinkage. 87 % of all styles produced in 2023 were certified on a product level, the remaining 13 % was made out of certified materials.

The Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) is an international certification that demands strict environmental criteria on the entire manufacturing process. GOTS certification ensures that an external auditor evaluates all phases of production after harvesting; yarn production, processing, manufacturing, packaging and branding. Importantly, GOTS certification does not only include environmental and chemical criteria throughout the whole process, but regulations on social criteria such as work environment, wages and working hours are also covered. Certification also ensures technical quality parameters like colour fastness and shrinkage for the finished product.

Global Recycled Standard - GRS

This standard is an international, full product standard that sets requirements for third-party certification of recycled input, chain of custody, social and environmental practices, and chemical restrictions. Polyester and polyamide are the most common recycled fibres but cotton, wool and others are also applicable.

TENCEL Lyocell

A good semi-synthetic alternative to viscose and conventional cotton is TENCEL™ Lyocell. It is a regenerated fibre spun by reconstituting cellulose, often taken from the beech or eucalyptus tree. These fibres are extracted from sustainably grown wood using a unique closed loop system which recovers and reuses 99 % of water and solvents, minimizing the environmental impact of production. The fibre is 100% biodegradable. TENCEL™ Lyocell is a branded fibre from LENZING.

Organic Content Standard OCS

The Organic Content Standard (OCS) is an international standard that sets requirements for third-party certification of organic input and chain of custody. GOTS requires 70-100 % organic fibres in the product, OCS blended requires only 5 % organic content. This means OCS is a good alternative certification when controlling the organic content that is blended with other fibres. Organic cotton is not the only organic material covered in the standard – organic linen, organic hemp, organic wool etc. are covered as well.

ECONYL

Econyl is a high-quality fibre made from regenerated nylon, making it perfect for swimsuits and sportswear. Econyl is produced from nylon waste such as fishing nets and other textile industry waste that is then regenerated into new fibres. Mini Rodini’s swimwear has an UV protection of UPF 50+ solely from the fabric construction, not from additional treatment, resulting in a longer lasting end product able to be used and re-used by several kids.

Children's Safety:

It is essential that all our products are safe and free from toxins. Each garment is evaluated in a risk assessment where we identify children’s safety, quality and chemical risks. The risk assessment helps us identify which garments require more extensive testing which are then performed in third party laboratories. Our children’s safety standards, chemical restrictions and general quality measures, are based on available standards in all our selling markets.

Chemical Management:

Chemicals are a necessary part of each step of the textile production chain, from making the yarn to the ready garment. It is however essential that the chemicals used in these processes aren’t harmful to the environment, the workers using the chemicals or to the consumer. This is why we at Mini Rodini have very strict chemical policies, controlling both how chemicals are used as well as which chemicals we allow in our products. We have created an extensive Restricted Substances List (RSL), a list which is updated regularly and signed by all of our suppliers. This list covers all chemicals on the EU’s REACH list and even goes beyond their requirements to cover all our global selling markets. We require regular factory audit inspections, where we check that each facility is maintaining a good chemical management procedure to ensure workers are always safe from any risks caused by poor chemical handling. As an extra safety measure, we conduct random chemical tests for each season, to ensure our RSL is upheld. We are members of The Chemical Group/RISE, which is a platform for textile brands to get regular legislation updates and tools to improve chemical management even further.

Mini Rodini production:

Being a sustainable brand is not only about the product and what materials that are used but also, and just as importantly, about how it was made. We at Mini Rodini are committed to make sure that our products are made with as little negative impact as possible on the environment and the people making the garments. This includes paying living wages, avoiding over production and trying to keep our carbon emissions as low as we can. In other words, having a responsible production process.

Responsible Buying:

Overproduction is a big environmental issue that we work actively to avoid. To let clothes go to landfill or be burned just because they were not sold within a season is something we would never tolerate in our company. Any item that isn’t sold is saved in our warehouse for future opportunities such as our Treasure concept (see section 10.2 Mini Rodini Treasures). We also carefully calculate our buying for each season, to avoid any overproduction.

Fair Wear Membership:

Mini Rodini has been a member of Fair Wear Foundation since 2016. Being a member of Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) means that we take responsibility in supporting the suppliers we work with so they can maintain a good labour standard. If we find that a supplier has trouble living up to these standards, we create joint plans together with the suppliers in order to support them to improve. This way we can develop and support our suppliers which will lead to stronger and more transparent partnerships, and eventually a more sustainable industry. As FWF members we are accountable to share the improvement plans and their progress, through the annual brand performance check (BPC). Our partnership with FWF has also supported us in one of our living wage projects in Turkiÿe that we share together with four other FWF member brands.

Your can read more about Mini Rodini's amazing work here.