Zeroº — Scientifically Better
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INtroduCING

Zero° for a better planet.

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Zero°

Zero New Plastic

Zero Net Carbon Emissions

Zero Waste


Ministry of Supply Zero° is our commitment towards a more sustainable future. We believe that through science there is a better way:

Recycling Materials, Reducing our Carbon Footprint and Reusing Garments.


 

The 4-Step Method to Zero°: We’re focusing on improving our footprint across several dimensions by…


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Step 1:

Measure

Evaluating our existing footprint through rigorous analysis and collaboration within the industry.


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Step 2:

Reduce

Reducing where we can by minimizing waste, recycling and innovative materials


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Step 3:

Offset

Offsetting what we can’t through innovative energy projects.


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Step 4:

Certify

Certifying and sharing our process with other like-minded brands in our industry.

 
 
 
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Clothing production is one of the biggest contributors to carbon emissions. We want to change that.

The apparel and footwear industry is one of the top contributors to global carbon emissions, contributing 1.7 billion tons of greenhouse gases - over 8% of the global annual carbon output according the United Nations, which is more than aviation and the shipping industries combined. This is due to the significant energy used for extraction and production of materials as well as the operation of factories, largely powered by coal. We believe that through science, there’s a better way.

 
 
 
 

Our COMMITMENT

We are Climate Neutral. We call it going Zero°.


“Our commitment to the planet is serious and with the help of some great partners, we’re reducing our footprint through innovation. We will offset the cost of every carbon emission that we have contributed since our original inception in 2012.”

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-Gihan Amarasiriwardena

Co-Founder, Ministry of Supply

 
 

 

 
 

STEP 1:

Evaluate our Carbon Output

We’ve calculated the carbon emissions created our largest product line, shirts. We’ve found that the biggest contributors for our production are materials and transport.

 

 

Normal Dress Shirt v.s. Aero Shirt v.s. Aero Zero° Shirt

Analysis from the MIT Consulting Group with data from Stockholm Environment Institute, ECTA, UK 2019 GHG Report and Systain.  Typical dress shirt based on fabric milling and production in Fuzhou, China and local electric emissions intensities.  Aero…

Analysis from the MIT Consulting Group with data from Stockholm Environment Institute, ECTA, UK 2019 GHG Report and Systain.

Typical dress shirt based on fabric milling and production in Fuzhou, China and local electric emissions intensities.
Aero Zeroº and Aero Shirts are milled in Taiwan, now with solar power and local electric emission intensities.
Consumer use includes washing, drying and dry cleaning energy consumption over garments lifespan.

 
 
 

STEP 2.

Reduce

We believe that assessing and addressing aggressive CO2 output is the biggest long-term opportunity for improving our supply chain. By using innovative materials, and employing agile and efficient transportation, we can drastically reduce the biggest contributors to our footprint.

 
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1. Recycled Materials

Reducing our Footprint at Scale

Using recycled polyester can reduce the CO2 footprint of a fabric by over 59% as it doesn’t require the refining and polymerization stages from petroleum. Over the past 24 months, we’ve been working to develop and re-engineer our main product lines with significant recycled content compositions - at least 45%, and in many cases up to 100%. We started with Aero Zeroº, but in the next six months you’ll see Apollo, Composite and Juno become primarily recycled PET. Because of these efforts, this year we’ve shipped 130% more units with significant recycled content, and by next year that figure is projected to be 243%.

Percentage of Total Units Shipped Containing Over 45% Recycled Content

  • % of Units Shipped
  • % of Units Shipped
 

 

2. Bio-Based Renewable Materials

We use several variants of polyester, including PET, PTT and PBT - and with PTT we’re able to use a biological process to convert sugarcane and corn sugars into bio-based polyester. This further reduces our reliance on petroleum-based fibers, and is featured in our Kinetic garments reducing the material CO2 emissions by 10%.

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3. Fabric Waste Reduction

32% of fabric is lost in the cut and sew process of a typical garment shirt.

Fabric Recycling

We recapture excess scraps and send them back to our fabric mill, where it is recycled into new fabric to minimize our biggest source of fabric waste.

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3D Print-KNIT

We use computerized knitting, which is an additive manufacturing process that only uses the material that is need for the garment.

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Built-To-Order

Our Built-to-Order experience for our 3D-Print Knit and Aero shirts minimizes excess and obsolete inventory, allowing garments to be made in the right fit and size on-demand.

 

 

4. Air to Sea Shipping

Shipping by sea versus air reduces the CO2 emissions for a typical shirt by 3.6 Kg. It’s a significant difference that motivates the whole industry to shift from their reliance on air-shipping.

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STEP 3

Offset

For what we can’t reduce right now, we offset through investments in clean energy that powers our factories.

We’ve partnered with CHOOOSE to invest in carbon-reducing projects that are Gold Standard certified.

We’ve chosen to invest in a solar photo-voltaic power project in Haijin, China that powers our factories through the grid.

Our investment will support the operation of 1,400 solar panels, making renewable energy more accessible in our country of manufacture.

You can learn more about this project here.

 
 
 
 

Step 4.

Climate Neutral Certified

We’ve joined several like-minded brands to measure, share and certify our products through Climate Neutral. We’ve undergone the certification process and reached certification in 2020.

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Read more about our other
sustainability efforts

 

 

 

Introducing

Aero Zeroº

The Earth’s First Carbon Neutral Dress Shirt.

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100% Recycled • 0% Net Carbon Footprint

 
 

THE PROCESS

Reengineered from the ground up using 100% Grade 1 recycled polyester and milled under solar power, the Aero Zeroº fabric allows us to make a massive reduction in our fabric footprint.


STEP 1: Melt

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We use a high grade of polyester that is sourced from Japan. Sorting is an energy intensive process, but Japanese recycling protocols minimize incinerated waste by separating recycling into multiple streams. Clear PET bottles have their own stream, which ensures we’re able source 100% Grade 1 Recycled Plastic without contamination.



STEP 2: Extrude

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Recycled PET bottles are ground into chips and are extruded under heated pressure through a nozzle with a bi-component shape that gives the fiber a helical structure creating it’s elasticity.


STEP 3: Spin & Twist

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The filament is a long continuous fiber that is spun onto spools and into intricate multi-tone patterns that are individually dyed. The twisting and spinning process also contributes to the strength, softness and stretch of Aero Zeroº

STEP 4: Weave

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Aero Zeroº fabric is milled under 12.2 acres of solar power at Shinkong’s Dashi fabric mill - one of the most energy efficient mills on the planet. The fabric is woven on the Belgian Piconal Optimax weaving machine - the most energy efficient weaving machine in the industry.