Sustainability

OUR VISION

DEA stands for quality, well made, forever garments. Our vision is to create Heirloom pieces. We love the idea of our leathers having several lives, and being able to elevate the wardrobes of our customers for years to come. From the very beginning, our approach has been slow fashion, sustainability and focus on our environmental impact. As our business grew and awareness developed, we became aware of the impact and mark left on the countries where our products are sourced and made. We wanted to reduce our consumption, reuse materials and recycle where possible. That process required us to break down our supply chain and rebuild it with our planet in mind. 

After many years of research, innovation and testing with our factories, we are proud to launch our first sustainability conscious collection for 2022. This collection features leathers made from deadstock skins and upcycled post-production waste. Each garment manufactured enables us to use materials that otherwise would have gone to waste and contributed to landfill. We have always had a focus on slow fashion, but with 2022 we wanted to increase our impact. Moving forward our collections will have a large number of carry over styles and will be produced bi-annually.

DEA's 2022 collection is the first step towards a fully sustainable future for the brand, and we could not be more excited!

 

 

FAQ

DEA leathers and environmental sustainability: 

We are doing everything we can, and have definitely come a long way! Our mission is to have DEA become are brand that not only is made of 100% recycled leather, yarn and fabrics but to have each factory we work with having a fully sustainable accredited process.

We appreciate your patience and encouragement in guiding us through the process and your support for the future.

 

Tanning process:

The Tanning process is the cleaning, preparing and dying to create the leather.  The standard process consumes significant amounts of water and some of the dyes can contain harmful chemicals. 

By moving to a plant-based process known as vegetable tanning and drum dying, we are able to use natural materials to prepare our leathers such as roots, barks, leaves, flowers, fruits and vegetables. This process leaves our leathers in a more raw state and allows them to naturally change appearance over time. It significantly reduces both water consumption and contamination to marine and wildlife. In our 2022 collection, we have been able to increase our use of plant-based leather tanning by 80% and will continue to seek cleaner and more sustainable options moving forward with both our packaging and shipping materials.

 

Recycled fibres and fabrics:


Every style made in 2022 will use 100% recycled polyester thread and our lining will be constructed of recycled fabrics that have been deemed as waste and discarded by the fashion industry.

Perma Core ECO 100 by A&E is an ethically manufactured, core spin, industrial sewing thread which features completed recycled continuous filament core and fully recycled polyester staple wrap. This sewing thread is apart of all DEA 2022 garments.

Our zippers are manufactured by RIRI and are the Nation Recycled Zippers. The zipper tape is made from post consumer polyester waste, such as water and shampoo bottles. This process breaks down the plastic bottles by pulverisation and pelletization to turn the particles into recycled yarn and then into the zipper tape. 

For 2022, each of DEA's garments will save 4 plastic bottles from ocean and landfill. 

 

Zero waste movement in manufacturing: 

One of the biggest changes DEA has implemented in our manufacturing is up-cycling leather off-cuts and material. We are currently working through existing stock levels with our old methodology of producing, but from 2022 will solely be manufacturing with deadstock skins and post production waste. 

Excitingly we are now producing accessories! This allows us to up-cycle off -cuts and use most, if not all of the leather skin. We consider every possible avenue of life that our leather can go down, and want to ensure that we reduce wastage in our own manufacturing process. 

 

Fair trade: 

The Fair Trade Agreement is an arrangement designed to help producers in growing countries achieve sustainable and equitable trade relationships. Members of the fair trade movement add the payment of higher prices to exporters, as well as improved social and environmental standards. 

When it comes to Fair Trade we ensure that our factories operate under fair working conditions and that all workers are under fair working agreements. 

 

Packaging: 

As the world moves out of the age of single use plastics, we understand that everything we do needs to be considered in its life cycle and how it will impact our planet. This is why DEA has banned single use plastics in both our homes and workplace. We want to pass this same message onto our customers so have implemented a new storage and shipping procedure. 

Your DEA pieces are stored and shipped to our retail partners in compostable bags. If you purchase directly from DEA online, you will also receive your garment in a 100% compostable shipping satchel.