Carbon neutrality has been at the forefront of many major brands such as Gucci and Reformation; paving its way towards reducing climate change. However, London-based knitwear brand Sheep Inc. believes that being carbon neutral is not enough; in their eyes, carbon-negative is the only solution.
It is well known that the fashion industry produces more carbon emissions than aviation and shipping combined; hence why the co-founders of Sheep Inc. believe it is vital to becoming carbon negative and designed the brand to set a standard for which all should aspire. In an interview with The Telegraph, co-founder Edzard van der Wyck said “If you look at how fast the [fashion] industry is growing versus how many companies are committing to carbon neutrality, it’s going to be massively outpaced.”
He goes further to explain how brands adopt new materials as a way of fitting the sustainability criteria but that many are just greenwashing. “You can sell something made out of organic cotton and suddenly you’re considered sustainable. Organic cotton is better than cotton but it’s still a problematic material to use in your product.”
How does Sheep Inc. differ from other brands? They only sell one product which is a 100% biodegradable jumper made from certified merino wool. Although the wool is sourced from New Zealand, and despite being quite the distance from their base in London, the material transport is said to only account for 1% of Sheep Inc.’s total carbon footprint.
So how do Sheep Inc. achieve carbon negativity? The answer is carbon-offsetting ten times the impact of each sweater sold and investing in biodiversity projects all over the world. These biodiversity projects include emergency programs, such as the deforestation of the Amazon, where Sheep Inc. has ensured 9000 square metres of the Brazilian Rainforest in the Acre state of the Amazon have been protected.
This concept of carbon-negative is highly advanced compared to most other brands that are only just transitioning towards carbon neutral. “The good thing about this idea of becoming carbon negative is it’s accessible for every [brand] and that’s the point we’re trying to make,” Wyck told fashionista. “We’re the world’s first carbon-negative fashion house, but we don’t want to be the last.”
Sheep Inc. goes even further by incorporating another core pillar: transparency. Each sheep has a tag in their ear which is connected to an NFC label that is attached to every sweater sold. By simply scanning this label with a smartphone it allows access to your sweater’s journey; providing the exact details of which sheep provided its wool. And this entire process is summarised perfectly with the name “Sheep Inc” aka Sheep Included.
When asked about Sheep Inc.’s end goal by the Evening Standard, Wyck replied “Our aim is to push the industry, fashion or otherwise, to do more. And to do it now”.
