Our print to order t-shirts, hoodies and sweatshirts are produced on 100% organic cotton and printed with dyes that are not harmful to the environment. When we began looking at expanding our offering of products, as well as being able to offer high-quality graphic prints, we considered what materials we wanted to print our exclusive graphics on. For t-shirts and sweatshirts, we knew that being able to offer organic cotton was important to us. We have also expanded our range of print to order tote bags to include 100% organic cotton tote bags for some of our most popular graphic designs.
We are committed to seeking out more sustainable products and production processes and our ever-expanding collection of print to order products is a reflection of our commitment to this, while also trying to meet the wants and needs of our customers.
Why Print to Order?
We can offer a more expansive range of graphics as part of our print to order collection. One reason why we don’t offer this entire range in store is simply that we don’t have the space. We would love to be able to offer all of our exclusive graphic designs in store and on the online shop but we need to prioritise those designs that are relevant to the shows currently on stage, and those designs which have proven to be most popular with our customers.
However, there is also another practical reason for not carrying stock of all our designs and instead offering them on a print to order basis only. Simply, the less we produce, the less risk we run of having waste that needs to be disposed of at the end of a season, or when a play or designs proves less popular than others. We bring designs in seasonally to accompany the productions currently on stage in the Globe Theatre or the Sam Wanamaker playhouse and keep ranges of our most popular designs available in store. But we introduce new ranges for Shakespeare’s lesser-known works and even introduce customer requests as print to order when we have the capacity to do so.
What Is Organic Cotton?
Organic cotton is cotton grown without the use of harmful pesticides and highly toxic substances. By growing cotton without the use of harmful chemicals, farmers not only protect the soil, ensuring that future growth is possible, but they also ensure that the growing environment is safe for the humans interacting with the cotton and ultimately the humans wearing and then disposing of the cotton garments.
For cotton to be labelled as organic, it must not only be grown without the use of harmful pesticides, but it must also be grown from seeds which have not been genetically modified.
How do products get certified organic?
For a product to be called organic, it must go through a government regulated certification process. As the term ‘organic’ is legally controlled, a product such as organic cotton cannot be called organic without first meeting strict government conditions.
Companies who choose to sell and promote their products as organic cotton can go one step further and track the movement of the cotton from fibre to final product, ensuring further piece of mind for their consumers.
Organic products are monitored by accreditation bodies who carry out further checks to ensure that certification bodies are acting as promised and the product being offered is indeed organic.
Why are we choosing organic for our print to order textiles?
We are choosing organic cotton garments because we are committed to offering more sustainable textiles option to our customers. We are looking not only at what products we are offering, but also how and where these products are being produced when we decide what we will bring into our online shop offering.
Ensuring that the products that we have for sale are of the highest quality, as well as responsibly made is at the forefront of our minds when bringing new product options to our customers.
We are listening to our customers when they ask us for a wider size range, more fit options, and even just a request for more products with their favourite designs printed on them. Send us a message if you have an idea for a quote that you think would work and we will be happy to look into whether it is the right fit for our collection!
You can contact us at shop@shakespearesglobe.com
Sources:
Organic Cotton Certification - Textile Exchange
Organic cotton | Fashion and textiles | Soil Association
