Lindsey Brown resort wear sustainability

As a fashion brand, we are consciously aware of what we produce and throw away will be managed for our generations. We would like to share with you our suitability plans, talk you through our vision and future goals and the reasons behind choosing certain fabrics and packaging. Lindsey Brown resort wear continues to support and work with small factories and produce fashion in natural breathable fabrics that over time will decompose. 

 

Our Environmental Impact

Natural breathable fabrics are at the heart of Lindsey Brown resort wear. Not only are silk and cotton fabrics so cool to wear in warm temperatures but the natural fibres over time will break down. None of our collection is made from recycled plastic as these fabrics will not break down and will eventually end in landfill. We embrace new technology and keep up with fabric trends to educate ourselves on where we can improve.

Our Cotton is milled in Casablanca Morocco and our cotton dresses and cotton clothing is made in Morocco, which reduces the carbon footprint from initial fibre production to factory. 

Our Silk is milled in India where we use traditional hand tie dye techniques. We also digitally print some fabrics in small batches. Our collections are only produced to order, and we also order for our own website, so we never mass produce collections. Our carbon footprint is less than high fashion brands.  We choose silk georgette as the main silk fabric for our hand dyed and tie-dyed garments as the matt feel and strong weave, makes it a very durable choice of silk for resort wear. Strong silk fabrics and great quality sewing ensues that your Lindsey Brown resort wear will be in your wardrobe for a very long time. 

Our garments are produced seasonally and shipped from Morocco and India with DHL, as they fly into East Midlands Airport which is 45 minutes from our Leicestershire offices. DHL have a plan to achieve zero emissions by 2050. Now in 2025, whenever we receive shipment imports from Morocco and India, a Go Green initiatives is selected when we  book import and export shipments with DHL. Their Go Green scheme  replaces their traditional jet fuels with sustainable fuel, which in turn helps to reduce greenhouse gasses and gas emissions when flying. 

 

Our Vision and Goals

Our Goal is to improve our plastic packaging and switch to 100% biodegradable bags and compostable boxes by end of 2025. The challenge we face in the UK is the British weather, as we need to protect our garments in outer packaging as cardboard disintegrates in rain. Mid-way through 2025, 100% of our outer plastic packaging now uses bags that are made of at least 30% recycled materials. 

Compostable or Biodegradable? That is the question. Plain cardboard is our box of choice, as it is both recyclable, reusable and compostable. If you remove any labels and plastic tape, it will break down over time which minimizes adding more waste to landfill waste.

 

Our Aim to Reduce Packaging Waste

Since 2020 we have reduced our packaging waste by 50%.  All single use plastic that arrives at our office is recycled, including soft plastic garment bags, which is either reused in house or recycled. Our garments are packed for cleanliness in plastic, and we aim to change all our imported, website and wholesale garment packaging to compostable plastic by end of 2025.  In 2024 we moved from white bleached cardboard packaging to brown standard cardboard boxes.  50% of our outer packaging now uses compostable bags. All cardboard is reused or recycled. We encourage customers to re-use their order packaging and return any unwanted order packaging and paperwork to us which we recycle. The reason we have made a conscious decision to move to plain cardboard boxes is the chemical footprint and plastic coating associated with branded boxes.  

May 2025, we created an online poll to ask social media followers to vote on their preferred packaging. The three choices were :

1) Branded Lindsey Brown boxes

2) Plain Cardboard boxes

3) Neither of the two, not really thought about it.

Results  : 1344 people voted across Facebook and Instagram.

68% plain cardboard, 25% not really thought about it, 7% branded. 

 

2025 Packaging Reduction Achievements

 ·  Protective outer bags are made of 30% recycled materials.

 ·  All cardboard is reused or recycled.

 ·  We encourage website customers to re-use their order packaging and explain. We communicate to customers in our follow up emails what can be reused and recycled. 99% of all website returns are packaged in our original jiffy bags and boxes.

·  We reuse boxes internally to send samples and items to our factories.

· We have switched our wholesale tissue paper packaging from premium to recycled. Made from 100% recycled paper, acid free and 100% recyclable paper.

· 100% of our Import shipment boxes are re used. We donate double ply shipping boxes we receive to local charities, to send goods overseas.

 ·  Our garment swing tickets are printed on paper that can be recycled.

·  Our website orders are packed in BHT and acid free tissue paper.

  

2025 Upcycling Project.

Whenever possible, Lindsey Brown and her team creatively upcycle any non-selling styles into new resort wear garments. We constantly monitor sales and instead of putting a small run into production, if we have a selection of items that aren’t selling, we alter these into better selling styles. We are conscious of our carbon footprint, so all these alterations are made locally, by a cottage industry of skilled tailors and seamstresses who work from home.

·        First Quarter of 2025 we upcycled 10 dresses into smaller sizes and 20 maxi length coverups into knee length cover ups.

·        Silk off cuts have been saved to make into hair scrunchies and scarves.

 

On Going Biodegradable projects.

In 2020 we began to research biodegradable sequins and threads with small British manufacturers. After many wash and wear tests, these sequins started to degrade (in colour fastness and durability) much faster than the standard sequins we use and faster than our strong cotton and silk fabrics. For now, we are continuing to use good quality products, sequins and strong good quality threads that last. With sustainability at the back of our minds, we streamlined our colour palette of beach dresses and their sequin decoration, which in turn reduced production waste. We have also reduced the number of garments that have sequins and opted for embroidery threads. 

·        After 4 years the biodegradable sequins stated to degrade in vibrancy and colour whilst the garment fabric was still 100% in tact.

·        Through correct care our garments last ten years or more.

·        We continue to educate ourselves on environmental factors, and where we can improve and reduce plastic waste.

 

Giving Back

Since 2017, we have donated spare and unused fabric rolls for creative re-use to Somerset Arts College, where our designer Lindsey Brown studied for her BA Honours fashion degree in printed textile design. Our donations aid the students to produce their sample collections without having to invest in buying fabric themselves.

Textile waste and fabric off cuts in our UK office, are given away to be re cycled into new fabric, so nothing is wasted. Our chosen charity is Loros Hospice in Leicester where we mostly donate any scraps and fabric to be sold or recycled into new fabric.  Every six months we deliver the hand cut fabric to their to crafting charity shop, at their Loughborough Loros store. 

 

Clothing Donations. We have donated clothing to many charities over the years. One charity we partner with is the Your Smalls Campaign, a Leicester based charity who work directly with schools in Africa, providing clothing, underwear and sanitary products to young girls and women in Africa. As we produce plain cotton samples when checking how garments fit before they go into production, we donate these cotton tops and cotton dresses to the Your smalls campaign charity, as the cool cotton is an ideal fabric for the women they support, to wear in hot countries. We also act as a hub for friends and family to drop off their donations as we collect and donate underwear and hygiene products for women and young girls for the your smalls campaign.

In the first quarter of 2025 we collected and donated

·        200 pairs of new underwear for young girls

·        200 bras for women

·        Sensory supplies, musical instruments, paints and art supplies for children with disabilities.

 

Giving Back to the Ocean. Being a resort wear brand, the desire to be by the sea and in a warm climate is always at the back of our minds and Lindsey’s personal passion is the ocean. A charity that we are supporting is Firmm. For every online and wholesale order we receive, we give back £1.00 to the Firmm organisation. If you are visiting Southern Spain, they also fund their research with watching trips, that are not only magical but in line with global marine life guidelines, run by marine biologists. We send a euro payment every six months to Firrmm Spain. 

Their research trips are designed to protect and preserve marine life. Their research into marine life helps to protect our planet. 

 

Green Policy and Green Dry Cleaning

As part of our green policy, we suggest to all our stockists and customers to use a garment steamer to refresh and clean their Lindsey Brown garments rather than conventional dry cleaning, which can often use harsh solvents.

All our cotton garments have a care label advising to hand wash. Hand washing in a sink uses less water and increases the life span of our garments, so it will be in your wardrobe for a very long time.

All silk items have care labels advising to dip in and out of cold water rather than traditional dry cleaning. Steam cleaning with a handheld steamer at home is our preferred method of cleaning silk garments with a Zero chemical approach. Green dry cleaning does not create a chemical footprint.

 

We are aware of our Carbon Footprint

Communicating with our customers is an important part of the buying process at Lindsey Brown. By providing tracking numbers and having a direct conversation with our customers by email or text, we can ask customers if they are going to be home to receive a Lindsey Brown delivery, which in turn reduces unnecessary fuel consumption for re-delivery and helps to reduce our carbon footprint.

Communication is key so our deliveries are received when our customers expect them. Our chosen domestic shipping partner is Royal Mail, with most of our parcels being hand delivered by local postmen on the ground.

·        Royal Mail are committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2040.

·        Royal Mail’s feet on the street approach to parcel delivery makes them the greenest option for parcel delivery in the UK.

·        Our consumers value our personalised approach to delivery and order tracking.

·        Every quarter we assess our delivery options to ensure we are not only offering the best solution for our domestic and export customer’s needs.

·        Whilst we support our local postman and pleased with the reliability of the Royal Mail delivery service that we receive, we fully support the JFSA Justice for sub postmasters alliance formed by Mr Alan Bates. 

 

Instead of Going to Landfill

Against Breast Cancer is our chosen charity for recycling our used office and home printer cartridges. Postage stamps are also recycled and our chosen charity for postage stamp recycling is the RNIB. The Royal National Institute of Blind People receive on average of £20 per kilo for recycled stamps. 

Our aim is to recycle 100% of all the paper used in our office. Non confidential documents are recycled in-house, so where possible, the printing paper is used twice. Confidential documents names and addresses have to be shredded, and the paper waste is recycled. Orders are printed in a low usage mode to reduce ink waste

We abide to the data protection act of 1998, where it relates to this agreement of purchase orders from the website. After seven years, we shred the printed order copies. Lindsey Brown resort wear advises customers that all invoices and account information, if held, is kept in a secure environment in head office. Lindsey Brown resort wear advises customers that data will not be passed onto a third party without willing consent. All copies of customer orders can be obtained from Lindsey Brown Resort wear, at the customers written request.

Lindsey Brown resort wear is registered with the ICO the UK Information Commissioner's office since 2010 for correctly holding any customer data.  Our registration number is Z2326632

 

Our Sustainability Time Plan

2010 - We registered with the ICO.

2017 - We started to donate fabric to Somerset college of art.

2019 - We made our fist donations to your Smalls campaign.

2020 - We started to research biodegradable garment embellishments.

2021 - We changed our swing tickets to card that can be recycled.

2022 - We changed from nylon garment attachments to string cords that can decompose.

2023 - We changed from white bleached boxes into brown single ply boxes that can be recycled.

2024 - We started our upcycling six monthly projects.

2025 - We switched to compostable outer packaging.

2025 - We create a public poll to ask people to vote on their packaging preferences.