Percival's Commitment to eco-friendly clothing

We’ve worked too hard to let Percival die. We want to keep this dream going for as long as possible, pass it down from generation to generation as a bastion of menswear excellence. That’s not going to happen if brands and companies continue to use unsustainable practices. Creating sustainable men’s clothing is absolutely vital if we’re going to succeed in our mission, so it’s an issue we take very seriously. And it’s not just about the planet — it’s vital to sustain the human beings who work tirelessly to make Percival happen. We categorically will not compromise on treating people fairly, safely, and with respect — the same way we treat the planet.

Materials and Production

We generally make our products from a single material i.e. 100% organic cotton or 100% organic linen etc. This ensures the quality of our products but also means that they’re more easily recyclable. One day we’ll have technology that makes it easy to recycle blended yarns, but today is not that day.

We also use natural fibres (e.g. cotton, wool, linen, viscose), as they’re biodegradable and more environmentally friendly in clothing production. Very occasionally we’ll need to use synthetic fibres but, when we do, such as in our labels, we use recycled polyester in order to minimise its environmental impact.

Why is organic cotton more ecologically friendly than non-organic cotton? Does it really make a difference? Well, yes. Non-organic cotton farming uses pesticides and insecticides that contribute to the production of greenhouse gases, reduce the fertility of the soil, and may harm the farmers themselves. A large amount of water is also used in the production of insecticides and pesticides. That’s four bad things. Bad x4. A quadruple badness. They can cause declines in certain animal populations, therefore disrupting the overall ecosystem. Cotton accounts for 2.5% of the world’s agriculture, but it is responsible for 16% of insecticide usage. It shouldn’t be that way.

Our 100% organic Jersey cotton is certified by the Global Organic Trading Standard, and it’s grown without the use of pesticides. This certification also ensures that plants are watered at efficient hours e.g. during the evening to avoid unwanted evaporation, which would lead to increased water use. It’s a little more expensive to source as the yields are generally a little lower and the farmers are paid well. Frankly, we don’t mind paying a little extra.

You may have noticed we make fairly limited runs of our products. It’s not just a gimmick to drive up desire and exclusivity — we produce relatively small amounts of our designs so that we can ensure we’re not using more materials than we need to, keeping our carbon footprint as small as possible.

We also use the best fabrics and materials we can find, as they produce better quality items that last longer — it’s far more sustainable to buy one jacket that lasts you a decade, than ten jackets that last you a year each.

Our product developers are genuinely passionate about sustainability and are on constant lookout for planet-friendly fabrics and production processes. We’re not perfect — yet — but we’re en route.

Factories and People

We work with factories that practise sustainable production and provide good working conditions for their staff. One of our long-time manufacturers in Portugal have shortened working days by half an hour and allow their staff to go home at lunchtime on Fridays. They have themed days throughout the year, and beautiful outdoor spaces in which staff can enjoy their breaks. In 2020 they introduced the Happiness Office to deal with the rising stresses of our industry, worsened by the pandemic. They have a behavioural coach/therapist who comes in a few days a week, with whom any employee can book time to discuss whatever has been troubling them. Not only that, but 25%-30% of their energy is expected to come from renewable and in-house energy sources this year.

We use factories based in countries with proper workers’ rights and sustainability, and we try to stick with these same factories and manufacturers. We like to get to know the people on this side of the process and build relationships with them, making it easier to ensure everyone is happy and there is a high level of trust between us and the factories we use. In fact, we’re making plans to get out and visit all of our factories and manufacturers in person.

Design

Some fashions stick around forever, some come and go in the blink of an eye. Certain items are undeniably timeless — a plain white tee, a smart shirt, a well-fitting suit etc. — and these are the items we stock in higher numbers. Much like an undertaker, you’re never going to be out of a job if you’re a shirt-maker. Pieces that are a little more creative and therefore potentially susceptible to the changing winds of fashion, we stock in limited runs.

We’re not a trend-led company, though. We make what we like and we lean heavily toward timeless pieces. We wear-test all of our pieces with our employees to ensure longevity, and we do in-house wash testing to make sure our washing guideline labels are accurate.

The Auxiliary Range and its purpose

Our Auxiliary Range like manny was designed with sustainability in mind. It’s a range of core items that are designed to be worn — high quality everyday wear that will last and last, and continue to last. We’ve been developing this range for almost a year, testing each piece to ensure every neck rib keeps its elasticity, to make certain that each piece keeps its shape after multiple washes. The Reuben Knitwear that constitutes part of the Auxiliary Range is produced from Italian yarn by a small supplier in Portugal, who we’ve used since Day One of Percival. Our waterproof Sherlocks (made locally, in London) and Greysons will outlast you, cut them up into tiny pieces. We haven’t tested them against curses or hexes but we may look into that in the future.

Sustainable Packaging

We work with factories that practise sustainable production and provide good working conditions for their staff. One of our long-time manufacturers in Portugal have shortened working days by half an hour and allow their staff to go home at lunchtime on Fridays. They have themed days throughout the year, and beautiful outdoor spaces in which staff can enjoy their breaks. In 2020 they introduced the Happiness Office to deal with the rising stresses of our industry, worsened by the pandemic. They have a behavioural coach/therapist who comes in a few days a week, with whom any employee can book time to discuss whatever has been troubling them. Not only that, but 25%-30% of their energy is expected to come from renewable and in-house energy sources this year.

We use factories based in countries with proper workers’ rights and sustainability, and we try to stick with these same factories and manufacturers. We like to get to know the people on this side of the process and build relationships with them, making it easier to ensure everyone is happy and there is a high level of trust between us and the factories we use. In fact, we’re making plans to get out and visit all of our factories and manufacturers in person.

Our efforts towards sustainable packaging

Some fashions stick around forever, some come and go in the blink of an eye. Certain items are undeniably timeless — a plain white tee, a smart shirt, a well-fitting suit etc. — and these are the items we stock in higher numbers. Much like an undertaker, you’re never going to be out of a job if you’re a shirt-maker. Pieces that are a little more creative and therefore potentially susceptible to the changing winds of fashion, we stock in limited runs.

Sustainable Shipping

We’ve massively reduced our air freighting in the past two years. We use sea freighting from China and Vietnam, and truck freighting from Europe. Less than 5% of our stock is now air freighted, and this is only done as a last resort due to delays in production or late additions or changes to a style. We’re always aiming to improve even further on this and to cut out air freighting altogether when possible.

You can help make our products even more environmentally friendly by recycling that packaging, and perhaps using green-friendly dry cleaners. Here are a few suggestions for our London-based Perci People: Oxwash, Ebury Dry Cleaners, Blanc.

How to be more sustainable with clothes?

There are so many ways to be more sustainable with your clothes, whether that’s through how you go about purchasing them, how you care for them, or how you dispose of them. The fashion industry is responsible for 10% of global greenhouse gases, and 20% of global water wastage — those are pretty monstrous figures, so it’s important that we all do what we can to bring this figure down. That’s us, that’s you, that’s everybody. We’re going to take you through some of the ways that you can do your bit, and show you what we’re doing to minimise our environmental impact.

How to get rid of clothes sustainably?

A good way to rid yourself of clothes you’ve grown out of (physically, emotionally, or tastewise) is to donate them to charity or a second-hand store. There is no shortage of places to donate your clothes, and you can find them on just about any high street. Just pop your head in or send an email and most second-hand places will be happy to help you unload your unwanted clothes on them. This means that clothes live a longer life and help to slow the tide of fast fashion.

How to recycle clothing fabric

Clothing banks will usually point you in the right direction in terms of separating fabrics. Often, however, this is done manually by skilled workers. Another option is to reuse clothing fabric e.g. torn up old tee-shirts as cleaning rags or turning old jumpers into cushion covers… Listen, we think your gran had a point, that’s all we’re saying.

Which clothing fabrics are recyclable?

Pretty much all of them, although it’s much easier to recycle materials that are organic, made of natural fibres, and aren’t composite materials i.e. are made of one single material. Even polyester clothes can be recycled, which we’ll get into now.

What happens to recycled clothes?

That polyester we were on about — what they do is they break it down into smaller and more manageable pieces, then they form little pellets that can be used to make just about anything, including new clothing. A similar process takes place with other more organic materials, minus the pellets. Materials are cut into smaller pieces and then processed into usable fabrics or yarn.

Where can I recycle unwearable clothes?

You can recycle clothes you no longer have a use for in all sorts of places. You can find a list of recycling locations near you right here.

Where to recycle fabric scraps in the UK?

You can recycle fabric scraps in the same places you recycle clothes — they’re all going be chopped up and repurposed anyway. Here’s that link again.

Why is it important to recycle fabric and clothes?

Impact on the environment

You’d think we want to encourage you to buy as many clothes as possible, being a menswear brand. And we do. But that’s because Percival’s clothes are built to last and are made with as many sustainable materials as possible. If clothes are constantly being replaced due to wear and tear or shoddy manufacturing/materials, then the global clothing carbon footprint just increases and increases. If the clothes that are being manufactured are made sustainably and properly — so they’ll last you more than the average 2.2 years — that problem is alleviated somewhat. If clothing is made from sustainable fabrics, using sustainable practices in the first place — even better. Certain materials are more environmentally friendly than others e.g. organic cotton uses less water than its non-organic counterpart, whilst also avoiding pesticides, making it more recyclable and minimising carbon emissions. Learn more about the benefits of organic cotton.

How can clothing brands be more sustainable?

They can use recyclable or reusable packaging, like the compostable ziplock bags we use for shipping clothes via couriers who actively seek net-zero carbon neutrality. Brands can also produce smaller quantities of their pieces, meaning that waste is minimised. Using sustainable materials such as the organic cotton mentioned above, wool, linen etc. is important. This minimises environmental impact at the start of a garment’s life, meaning that the eventual impact will also be lesser.

How are sustainable clothes made?

Small production runs, efficient cuts of material, as little shipping as possible in the production process, local manufacture, environmentally friendly, easily recyclable, and biodegradable fabrics — there are myriad factors that go into the production of sustainable clothes.

Percival’s commitment to sustainability

We generally make our products from a single material, ensuring the quality of our products and making them a little more easily recyclable. Our 100% organic Jersey cotton is certified by the Global Organic Trading Standard, and it’s grown without the use of pesticides. This certification also ensures that plants are watered at efficient hours e.g. during the evening to avoid unwanted evaporation, minimising water use. We also lean heavily toward timeless pieces and wear-test them all with our employees to ensure longevity.

In terms of shipping — we use sea freighting from China and Vietnam, and truck freighting from Europe. Less than 5% of our stock is now air freighted, and this is only done as a last resort due to delays in production or late additions or changes to a style. We’re always aiming to improve even further, and any suggestions are welcome!