Soil to Soil - Soul to Soul

 We all generate waste of some description.

When we do, we might use the expression “throw it away” in the same sentence.

 In recent years though there has been a surge in the amount of us questioning where this place “away” actually is.

The clear truth is it doesn’t’ exist. When we throw something away it just becomes someone else’s problem.

In the UK in 2020 the UK exported a shocking 0.54 million tons of plastic to other countries and every year 700 tonnes of clothing goes to landfill.

But hiding things out of sight doesn’t solve the problem that is mounting in landfills around the world.

The solution needs to be built in at the start, to all the things we use in our life and no less importantly this needs to be applied to our clothes.

From conventional cotton production, which uses a staggering amount of pesticides, to petroleum-based toxic dyes, to exploited factory workers, there are many reasons that it is past time to transform the way our clothes are produced.

When we started Bedstraw + Madder we always envisaged a circular model, utilising resources, eliminating or repurposing waste whilst creating pieces that could return to the earth at end of life without contaminating it in the process.

The regular polyester elastic that is used in most knickers can takes up to 200 years to biodegrade. Where does that leave future generations?

We achieved our vision with our first product, our farm 2 fibre knickers which we call “soil to soil” – a term developed by Fibreshed, (an organisation who we partnered with in India to grow our cotton) which alludes to the close connection to the landscape that growing what you wear brings you.

It also refers to the ability of our knickers to return to whence they came.

The use of natural rubber elastic means that our knickers will compost back to the soil within 6 months. Images speak louder than words. 

This is week 6 of being in the home compost. We already have separation from the elastic and large holes developing. 

Over the next few months we will be sharing our composting videos via our instagram channel.

Looking for a gift that doesn’t cost the earth? Check out our knicker range.