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        A quick guide to our material's advantages and potential impact

        Organic Cotton


        Origin: Brazil, India, Egypt
        Certificates: GOTS, Oeko-Tex, OCS 100

         

        • Cotton is a natural seed fiber.

        • Cotton is the most common natural material used today in garment production. It is durable, breathable, absorbent, and soft. Cotton is ideal for dyeing and printing. The material is also biodegradable and hypoallergenic.

        • Conventional cotton generally has a high environmental impact. It requires a vast amount of water and depletes the soil. To increase production, harmful pesticides, and fertilizers are used, polluting the grounds and waters.

        • Baserange only sources organic cotton, as we want to ensure that no harmful chemicals are used in the entire production process, water consumption is controlled and workers' rights are also preserved.

        • Organic cotton promotes and enhances biodiversity and biological cycles and is beneficial to human health and the environment. Even though the properties of organic cotton fiber are not as good as regular cotton fiber, the production of organic cotton is growing.

        • There is also a lot of cotton that is certified organic, that may not actually be organic, as it is mixed with conventional cotton. This is because the demand for organic cotton is big, but it grows much slower than conventional cotton and droughts are becoming more common.


        Bamboo Lyocell


        Certificates: FSC

         

        • Lyocell is a manmade fiber made of natural regenerated cellulose.

        • The lyocell fiber spinning process is a green technology that eliminates toxic chemical use and chemical reactions and substantially reduces air and water emissions.

        • Lyocell is made from wood pulp that’s harvested from tree farms that are FSC certified, sustainably managed and traceable. The tree farms have been established on land unsuitable for food crops or grazing.

        • Lyocell is made of eucalyptus or bamboo trees that don’t require irrigation or pesticides and grow fast.

        • Lyocell fiber production itself is more environmentally friendly than cotton production due to its closed-loop process. This means that up to 99% of the water and solvents used are recycled and reused.

        • Amine oxide is one of the solvents used in the production.

        • Production plant emissions are significantly lower in comparison to many other human-made fiber operations.

        • The closed-loop process used to manufacture Lyocell fiber does not require bleach, which is commonly used in the production of other fabrics.

        • Sea cell is a similar fiber made from seaweed and sea algae. It reputedly has therapeutic qualities.


        Bamboo Viscose


        Origin: China
        Certificates: Oeko-Tex, FSC

         

        • Viscose is a manmade fiber made of natural regenerated cellulose.

        • The cellulose we use comes from bamboo or aloe vera

        • Baserange’s bamboo is sourced from FSC-certified plantations. No chemical product is used on the plantations.

        • Yarns are certified Oeko-tex, meaning the production process is approved as environmentally and socially responsible.

        +

        • The advantage of bamboo is that it grows fast, up to one foot per day. It can survive with rainwater as its only sustenance. It also doesn’t require fertilizers or pesticides.

        • Bamboo uses only a third of the water that cotton consumes.

        • As it is 100% cellulosic it is biodegradable in nature. Bamboo fiber decomposes without causing pollution.

        • Breathable, warm, stretchy fiber.

        • It also contributes to the reduction of C02 in the growth phase by acting as a carbon sink. Compared to a pine tree, bamboo can sequester up to five times the amount of carbon from the atmosphere.

        • Processing bamboo viscose requires some harmful chemicals to dissolve the plant and transform it into a paste that can be spun into textile fibers.

        • The cultivation of bamboo must be highly regulated to ensure growers are not adding fertilizer and/or pesticides to increase yields.

        Silk


        Origin: China
        Certificates: Oeko-Tex

         

        • Silk from domesticated (mulberry) silkworms is a strong, naturally organic fiber. It was the first fiber used to make cloth.

        • Regulates body temperature and is flame retardant.

        • Dries eight times faster than cotton, doesn’t use pesticides and has less of an impact on land, water, and air.

        • Rich in protein and amino acids, silk is good for skin and hair. It even aids in hydrating skin and hair. Silk is also hypoallergenic and antibacterial.

        • Our silk comes from farms in China, where most of the world’s silk is made. Our fabric supplier has a long-term relationship with these farms and visits them regularly.

        • The Mulberry trees that are grown to feed silkworms sequester carbon from the atmosphere.

        • Sericulture or the silk industry also employs rural populations.


        Wild Silk


        Origin: China
        Certificates: Oeko-Tex

         

        • Wild silk comes from Tussar silkworms. As the name of the fabric suggests, the Tussar silkworms live in the wild. Tussar silkworms feed on the Arjun tree.

        • Due to its short fiber length, Tussar silk is one of the most durable fabrics.

        • Tussar silk is a lot more textured than regular silk.

        • It has the same positive attributes as silk (see above).

        • The process of making wild silk is also known as non-violent, which is when the silk is processed without killing the silkworm. For around 30 days the silkworm grows and munches on castor leaves until it reaches its final size. It then starts to spin its cocoon, which takes another 15 days. Once the moth leaves its cocoon, the silk is processed.


        Linen


        Origin: France
        Certificates: Oeko-Tex

         

        • Linen is a bast fiber.

        • The linen we use originates in France and Belgium, close to the fabric and garment factories we work with.

        • Linen requires no irrigation, and it can be grown even in poor soil where food cultivation would be impossible. It requires no chemicals for growth or for rendering into yarns for textiles.

        • One hectare of flax absorbs more than 3.7 metric tons of carbon dioxide and stores it in the soil thanks to its large root system.

        • Linen is grown in rotation, nourishing the soil for other crops. It is also always non-GMO.

        • A breathable fabric, linen is strong and absorbent. It’s more durable and dries faster than cotton. Its naturally cooling properties make it an appealing option for summer wear and layering.

        • Linen production is almost zero waste, as flax roots are so long that almost 100% are utilized and leftovers like flax dust can be used for wall insulations. The seeds can provide oil for dyes, paint, cosmetics, and floor coverings. The by-products of linen production can also be processed into a pulp used for banknotes or fiberboard.

        • As linen fabric is said to get better and softer with age and each wash, having and caring for a linen garment for a long time is covetable.

        • Its fibers are shorter than those of silk and the fabric is rougher, not shiny.


        Wool


        Origin: Australia, Austria
        Certificates: Oeko-tex 100, Woolmark, SustainaWOOL

         

        • Wool comes from sheep.

        • Merino wool is suited for sensitive skin because it is a soft and breathable material and is not itchy like other types of wool.

        • Wool regulates according to the temperature.

        • The fabric is biodegradable, and it comes from a renewable source.

        • Wool is often seen as the technical fabric of nature without the use of man-made substances because it also absorbs moisture without feeling wet or cold, is antibacterial and has odor-fighting properties.

        • Wool is resistant to static electricity.

        • It is hypoallergenic and fire retardant.


        Hemp


        Origin: Belgium, France

         

        • Hemp is a bast fiber.

        • Hemp needs little help to thrive and most hemp cultivation is done with rainfall and no irrigation.

        • Hemp is grown in rotation, nourishing the soil for other crops. While it grows, it replenishes the soil with nitrogen and other nutrients, while removing toxic chemicals at the same time. Hemp was intentionally grown at the radioactive Chornobyl site to remove toxins and pollutants from the soil.

        • The average tree takes about 10 years to grow to maturity, while hemp can take as little as 3 months to be ready to harvest. Industrial hemp plants absorb more carbon dioxide than trees and store it in the soil thanks to their root system.

        • For hemp production, herbicides aren’t necessary. Hemp also naturally reduces pests, so no pesticides are needed. It returns 60-70% of the nutrients it takes from the soil.

        • When you add processing into the equation, cotton uses around four times as much water as hemp. Hemp can produce over double the fiber yield per hectare as cotton.

        • Nothing is wasted in producing hemp: seeds are used to make oil and food supplements, while the stalks are used for fiber.

        • The fiber is naturally UV resistant and absorbent and is also known for its anti-bacterial, anti-mold and insulative qualities.


        Ecovero Viscose


        Origin: Austria
        Certifications: EU Ecolabel, FSC, PEFC

         

        • We use Ecovero viscose.

        • The bleaching is chlorine free.

        • The wood fibers are fully traceable to sustainably managed forests in Europe.

        • 60% of the trees used come from Austria and Bavaria where the fabric is also produced.

        • Nearly all chemicals used during production are recovered and reused.

        • The whole supply chain from production to disposal has a low environmental impact, which has been certified by the EU Ecolabel.

        • The production requires up to 50% less water and up to 50% less CO2 emissions than generic Viscose.


        Modal


        Origin: Austria
        Certifications: EU Ecolabel, FSC, PEFC

         

        • Modal is a rayon fiber that is known to be durable and flexible.

        • We only use Lenzing Modal, which is made by a process that recovers and reuses byproducts.

        • The wood fibers are fully traceable to sustainably managed forests.

        • Modal is made of beech tree pulp that doesn’t require irrigation.

        • The fabric biodegradable. It is made by spinning tree cellulose and soaking that in sodium hydroxide.

        • Producing modal requires 10-20 times less water than cotton and uses fewer chemicals than conventional viscose.

        • The fabric also resists pilling and doesn’t shrink or crease, it gets stronger when it’s wet and doesn’t lose its shape.

        • Micro modal is a lighter, softer and finer version of conventional modal.

        • The fabric is biodegradable.


        Recycled Fabrics


        Origin: France, Portugal
        Certifications: GRS, Oeko-tex

         

        • The process of making recycled fabrics requires firstly for the material to be sorted into clothing that can be reused and clothing that is too damaged to be reused and is therefore recycled. Clothing is then sorted based on fiber contents and color. It is a labor-intensive process, which is why only less than 1% of clothing ends up being recycled into new material.

        • Making recycled fabric uses less energy, dye, and water than virgin materials.

        • It also reduces the amount of fabric going into landfill and keeps materials in circulation for longer.

        • Recycled cotton is made from pre-consumer textiles such as cotton scraps, factory offcuts, or deadstock from virgin cotton fabric production. Recycled cotton is often paired with virgin cotton to improve the quality of the finished fabric, as recycled cotton often has lesser yarn strength.

        • Recycled wool yarns are shorter and easily break during production. We combine recycled wool with other fibers, like polyamide to make the fabric more durable and reduce waste in production.

        • Wool is the most recycled fiber and was the first fiber to be recycled: the recycling of wool has been done since the 19th century.

        • Wool has the potential to last at least 30 years and be recycled two or more times.

        • Recycling wool results in reduced methane emissions from sheep, reduced land use and water pollution from washing wool.

        • The wool we use is recycled in a closed loop system, meaning fibers are turned into yarn to create new products of similar quality and use to the original.

        • Recycled wool saves 11kg of CO2 and 500l of water per kilo compared to virgin wool.

        • Recycled polyamide has all the good qualities of virgin polyamide with a reduced environmental impact.


        Deadstock Fabric


        • Deadstock fabric is also known as pre-consumer waste or post-industrial waste.

        • It is the material left over from the production of collections.

        • We have small quantities of leftover fabric that we use to make new unique pieces. As the quantities are small, these pieces can usually only be offered in smaller batches.

        • Deadstock fabric is made up of cutting leftovers and roll ends from our most used fabrics. We also take apart samples, rework them and redye them to create new pieces.

        • We ask factories what the fabric quantities are and see what we can produce from them.

        • There is always 10-30% of the fabric that is cut away and discarded during the cutting process. These leftover materials are not damaged in any way but are too small for full-scale production.

        • The practice of using deadstock prevents fabric from ending up in landfills.

        • It reduces environmental impacts by choosing to use deadstock instead of virgin material.

        • If deadstock is genuine surplus and not deliberately overproduced fabric, using it is a sustainable practice.



        Our production network


        Factory; Turkey

        Fact Sheet Turkey


        • Family-run and established in 1949.

        • Can provide GOTs, OCS, Oeko-Tex, Sedex & BCI certificates.

        • They use a natural dyeing process thanks to plant-based pigments.

        • Rainwater from the factory roof is collected and used the dyeing process.

        • Reduced usage of ground water.

        • They use water based inks for printing.

        • Promotes fibres grown in healthy soil in an attempt to reduce pesticides.

        • They have developed their own Ethical Standards handbook.

        Fibre usage
        Organic cotton (Brazil), modal (Belgium), Silk (China) & merino wool (Australia). 



        My husband and I have been working together now for 35 years. We are the only integrated silk producer in Turkey, which means that we have had to learn everything by ourselves and in turn to teach the people who work for us. We have no one to ask questions of. It is difficult work, and we have to give 100% of ourselves – but we do it out of love, because we are a family.

        My husband’s father started working with silk in 1949, when everything was done by hand. Back then he wove fabrics for the local farmers. Now the factory is a beacon in our community. We know most of the people in the town, and they recognize me and my husband and our kids. We feel responsible for the younger generations. We organize different activities to teach school children about textiles, and some of the children who spent time with us while they were in school will eventually come back and work here.

         

        Tugba Mert, Ödemiş, Turkey


        Introduction

        We are in southwestern Turkey, in Anatolia. It’s rural, Mediterranean; Blandine says it looks like a French village. This area is one of the biggest suppliers of milk in the country. The soil is rich and black and many people around here grow vegetables or raise animals. My grandparents were farmers. But one grandfather— my father’s father — had a disability with his legs and he wasn’t able to do agricultural work, so he taught himself to weave silk. He had a very good reputation as a talented weaver, and my father learned from him.

        It was always my father’s vision to do only natural fibers. When my parents started the factory in 1984, they built it up from zero, learning by trial and error. Often when I was a kid, they were at work. My mother learned how to dye fabrics. In the 1990s there were other silk factories in Turkey but after China joined the market, all the factories stopped working in silk because they couldn’t compete. Other factories turned to viscose or polyester, but my father stuck to silk and linen. He stuck to his concept. My parents’ factory struggled a lot during those days, but now we are the only integrated natural fiber factory left in Turkey.

        Family Business

        After 2000s my brother had an education in textile engineering and we began to grow the business more. We started to attend international exhibitions and we found customers in Europe. I do garment production, my brother started to be responsibe from the management of the factory and our supply chain in terms of yarns and fibers and he is also doing the daily dyeing. My brother’s wife works with us in sales; my husband started here as an engineer, and he works with planning. Since covid, my father and mother come into the business less often but they still support us in terms of future plans and investments. Today, 80 percent of our business is fabric production, selling fabrics to garment factories. The rest is garment production, working with customers like Baserange, who we have worked with since 2012.

        It’s not a new thing for us, sustainability. It’s what we have always worked toward and what we are always working toward. We always worked with natural fibers. After 2015, we got organic gold star certification for our factory and it helps us. We have a water treatment plant in our facility; after we use the water, it’s cleaned. It can be used on a farm—it’s that clean. We have a gas filter in our factory too. We clean the gas before it goes out to the air. We have audits—four times a year people come to check if the gas filter and water treatment are working correctly.

        When Baserange comes to visit, we show them our new collections, any new things we have to offer. We talk about our environment, our workers’ life. We have workers who have been here for five, seven, ten years; they like to spend time with them. We have a close, long trustful relationship.

        Materials and the Supply Chain

        We don’t buy raw materials from places we don’t know. We want to know their certifications and how they source it. We have a long-term cooperation with all our suppliers and we check their certifications often.We’ve never used polyester or any artificial fabrics. We always use silk or linen which you can wear as long as you want. The fibers are compostable. And compared to polyester or others they need less water. The cotton we use is only organic; it has a lower carbon footprint.

        Our linen is grown in Belgium, but China spins it into yarn so we import linen mostly from China. We also import some fibers, like hemp and cotton blends, we get fibers from Europe and blended yarns in Turkey too. We try to find nearby suppliers in terms of organic hemp and organic cotton, different compositions. If we can, we get it nearby, it’s quicker and easier. For some materials, we still don’t have a chance to get it from Turkey. it’s a developing industry.




        Next Steps

        We want to put solar panels on our rooftops, which are very big, and will produce more electricity than we need. (The leftover energy we can sell back to power other homes in the area.)

        We are starting to work more with hemp, which is becoming a bit more popular recently. It looks like linen but its more sustainable than linen. I know Marie and Blandine are interested— I just sent them some samples— maybe for some jerseys in coming seasons.

        At the moment, the pandemic is making it difficult to find raw materials on the market and prices of cotton, for example, increased a lot in the past month. Factories produced less last year during covid and the demand is starting to get higher but it will even out later, I think.

        In the meantime it seems the pandemic is also making people think more about sustainability—keeping away from fast fashion. Doing it the right way creates value for everyone, from the yarn supplier to the user.


        Ödemiş

        Aysun


        Sezer

        Yuksel & Rahime


        Gulten Mert

         

         

        Gulten Mert, wearing her sample books and Ole Dress.


        I started working with colors and fabrics in 1984, when I married Tugba’s father. This had been his father’s company, and he inherited it when his father died in 1981. A few years later, we married and began working together. Back then, we only worked with silk; it wasn’t until the 90s that we incorporated linen and wool – but even then, we only used natural fibers. In the beginning, we operated out of our home, using four or five old machines to produce small quantities for the local market. We saved up and eventually bought the land where we are sitting now, and began building the factory in 1988.

        My specialization is working with color. My favorites are the plum and mustard tones, and natural palettes of beige and ecru. I have a system for playing and experimenting with color, and I rely on my own vision. Creating color has to do with how you view the world, how you evaluate or interrogate it. I live and see the world when I look at my colors and when I experiment with them.

        My husband and I have been working together now for 35 years. We are the only integrated silk producer in Turkey, which means that we have had to learn everything by ourselves and in turn to teach the people who work for us. We have no one to ask questions of. It is difficult work, and we have to give 100% of ourselves – but we do it out of love, because we are a family.

        My husband’s father started working with silk in 1949, when everything was done by hand. Back then he wove fabrics for the local farmers. Now the factory is a beacon in our community. We know most of the people in the town, and they recognize me and my husband and our kids. We feel responsible for the younger generations. We organize different activities to teach school children about textiles, and some of the children who spent time with us while they were in school will eventually come back and work here.

        We feel a responsibility to contribute and empower our community. We have the opportunity with this place to give back to the people of our town. The community is as tightly knit as a family. The local kids are my kids. We are not just employers and employees. We collaborate and have similar lifestyles, and we all work here together to improve ourselves. We eat in the same kitchen, and the same food, and we celebrate each other’s birthdays. We are a family.



        Factory; Portugal

        Fact Sheet Portugal


        • We work and regulary visit a cluster of factories & knitteries in the Porto area.

        • One of the factories is part of the Supplier Ethical Data Exchange (SEDEX).

        Fibre usage
        Linen (Belgium), silk (China), yack wool (Mongolia), merino wool (France) & cashmere (Nepal).



        I am here with Fatima, head of the factory Pereira. When Fatima and I were growing up, Portugal was very poor and we all had to learn to make our own clothes. We would learn after school how to sew and stitch; if we wanted to go to a party, we had to make our own dress. I think women have a real feeling for clothes, women are the primary consumers, women understand what is comfortable, what is nice and what is not. Sometimes polyester feels awful, or has an odor, for example.

        There are more women working the machines in the factories, and there are more women in all parts of the business now. The mentality is different.

         

        Maria do Céu Pinheiro, Porto


        Débora Ramos

        The agency is a family business. Since I was little I was in the business, more or less. Even after school I’d come to the office and help with the quality cards, so I basically grow up here in the company. My mother and I, we work closely with the local factories and with the clients, to communicate plans and to solve any issues that might come up during production.

        Maria: In textiles, every day we have challenges or little problems to solve. Blandine worked with me when she was at Surface to Air on many collections, many products. We made jeans, we made T-shirts, we made outerwear, bags, shoes—it was a massive production. She was a very hard worker and very precise. After she left, she came to me and said, Maria, I would like to make some underwear for something new I’m working on, Baserange. When you start a brand in this area you need to try to define yourself. She had been in a brand that was very tough and demanding. Now she is in her own company so it’s different. Now it’s very fluid.

        I have been in this business for 21 years. And I will say that nowadays it is easier to work with contractors than it was 20 years ago, 10 years ago. The way of working has changed. Over a decade ago, we were not yet talking about sustainability the way we are now.




        Changes in Portugal

        Maria: Thirty and forty years ago, in Portugal we had very big factories with hundreds and of people inside and these were mostly run by men. About 25 years ago, when bigger suppliers went to India and China, many of these factories in Portugal closed down. The ones that remained adapted themselves to make smaller quantities, with a smaller number of workers.

        Today as an agency we work with dozens of contractors , some who make very big orders, some who make very small orders. We work with Baserange, we work with couture clients, we work with companies who need 2,000 pieces, clients who need 100 pieces.

        Débora: In the past in Portugal factories did lots of big quantities but now we do lots of we are specialized more in good quality and also doing small quantities. We are seeng more sustainable-minded brands come here, people who want confirmation that their products are being made by fair labor and that, for instance, the dyes are not going back into the river.

        In the early 2000s, it was all about meeting deadlines for the fairs. People were giving us things super late and they wanted them on specific dates and we were rushing around to fulfill those dates. I think now people work with more calm. They say oh you have three months to do this, so what are the dates you need? I used to work 12-hour days; now I work the standard eight.

        Smaller Factory Relationships

        Maria: Pereira is one of the small factories Baserange works with for many years— a family company. Fatima’s husband started the business, then she took over and her daughter joined. Many of the fabrics Baserange uses for the pieces here are very fine and not easy to work in the machines. They may fly about in the machine, for instance, but Fatima will adapt this by creating little tools made out of metal so so we can make the binding very nice and straight and make sure it sews correctly. Imagine, for instance, you want to do a binding on a bra and we want it 0.3 mm, so she will create a metal adaptor to make sure it is precise.

        Debora: Replica, another factory, does more of the loungewear, the heavier pieces, the sweats, the bigger dresses. Marie will send me the new colors and fabrics and spec sheets and we start to assemble the garment for approval. Here, most of the fabrics are made by machines so sometimes we can’t replicate a handmade garment exactly. But if we can’t, we try to propose a different option that will work. If there are any issues, they usually happen in the beginning so we have time to find a solution.


        Sustainability Measures and Goals

        Recycling and Reduction

        Debora: Pereira is hoping to install solar panels in the future; Replica has solar panels and sells any surplus energy back to the electric company. They have recycling for paper, glass, plastic, but also for fabric waste. And at the end of a season Baserange will ask, what colors do we have left and I’ll say, oh you have this in velour or bamboo and so they’ll do a set with just those leftover colors. Once we did bras with a cup in one color, a cup in another color, and the elastic in a third color. I think more and more, clients are thinking like this.

        Baserange has switched from plastic to crystal paper, and I have clients who do socks or other small items and instead of doing one pairper bag, we’ll insist on at least 10 per bag. They still don’t have electric trucks yet here, but at least when we have deliveries, we try to make sure to consolidate several deliveries in one load, so it’s only one go.

        Supply and Demand

        Debora: We’re always trying to present new fabrics. The hemp we have is a dried fiber that gets more stiff, so it’s not so mellow, not so open. We have a solution here but right now it’s still a little more expensive so lots of my clients are saying let’s try this for future seasons when it gets more in my target price.

        Maria: Often it’s the client who brings us something new and asks us to source a certain material and then the factories seek it out and make it work. We developed a biodegradable poly bag, and when we started it was expensive. It still costs more than a normal plastic bag but now that more brands are using it, the cost is getting cheaper and cheaper. After one year we see the prices are much better because everybody was buying it. It was the same way with organic cotton. It’s a bit like when you buy a new iPhone. As more people notice and ask for these things, the prices go down.


        Abílio

        Debora


        Maria

        Susana



        Fact Sheet France


        • Family-run and established in 1949.

        • Can provide GOTs, OCS, Oeko-Tex, Sedex & BCI certificates.

        • They use a natural dyeing process thanks to plant-based pigments.

        • Rainwater from the factory roof is collected and used the dyeing process.

        • Reduced usage of ground water.

        • They use water based inks for printing.

        • Promotes fibres grown in healthy soil in an attempt to reduce pesticides.

        • They have developed their own Ethical Standards handbook.

        Fibre usage
        Organic cotton (Brazil), modal (Belgium), Silk (China) & Merino wool (Australia). 



        Factory; France

         

        From Herding Goats
        to Running a Company

        Our mill is near the Pyrenees, but it all began in Texas, actually. In the early 1980s, I was a young engineer in agriculture. I had grown up on farms, but I wanted to be able to investigate other things I knew nothing about then, like textiles. I got interested in mohair and at the time Texas was one of the best places producing it. So I went to Texas in 1982 with my husband and I bought my first goats there. The goats arrived in France six months later because they had to come through Canada — quite a journey. In 1983 I began to breed the goats and make my mohair by the industries in the area. My entire flock now stems from this first importation.

        I began to learn everything about textiles — from raising the goats to dyeing, spinning the yarn, everything. After some years I heard about a local sock factory that was closing because they owner could not pay the bills. He’d laid off all of his workers, about 20 of them; the machines had been sold to Turkey. I thought this factory should not disappear, so I decided to make an offer. This was around 2007. Suddenly I was no longer a farmer and a breeder. I was at the head of a textile company.

         

        Myriam Joly, founder and owner


        The Ability to Choose Clients

        Soon after the stock market crash the demand for “made in France” went up, up, up. People would hear about us and seek us out — that meant we could choose who we wanted to work with. We have to have money, of course — that’s what “keeps the motor oiled,” but it’s not the only thing. We wanted to share something deep with the people we work with. That was always important. And when we met Marie and Blandine, in around 2014, it was — tout de suite! — very good business together. I liked very much the materials they used, the way they work to keep fashion socially and ecologically engaged.

        First we made socks for them, then we made pullovers. We use an integral wool garment machine that means there is no waste. We have the technology for this, but you can’t force the cut to be so precise in wool. The designs that Baserange was making were adapted to this technology — because you have no seaming, it’s very comfortable. The comfort is more important than the precision of the measurement. And Marie and Blandine were open to this.

        The mill is for 70 percent for Missegle — we sell by order only, mailorder and internet — and 30 percent is for other clients, like Baserange. We built our business slowly. We use sometimes mohair, yak, cashmere a little bit, silk a little bit, wool, blended material for the socks. Our fundamental material is still mohair, but for pullovers, we would use merino wool — 95 percent recycled wool. Ten kilometers away is a mill where we source recycled yarn and wool. I am making my own alpaca yarn. My neighbor spins for us. I have raw alpaca and my knowledge of the material grew by trial and error.

        Sustainable Action

        This is a critical period for the earth, these next 20 years. I think we have to do more than our best. How can we be more efficient environmentally? At the mill, 80 percent of our electricity is solar. All of our buildings are made of wood reclaimed from the countryside. We try to reduce plastic. If the knitting isn’t working we go back and reuse the material.

        And my other challenge is to keep it going, to bring more young people back into manufacturing. Everyone speaks about reindustrialization, but it means nothing if people are not working these machines. Both my sons worked elsewhere and then they returned to the business — they are very interested in what they are doing.

        The human aspect is very important to me. I think life is very short for everyone and the working life is very long. So I want the people working with me to have the best conditions. The first thing is to make them proud and conscious of what they are doing, of their impact on society, their contribution. We have about 40 workers. Each one is very important inside the mill but each person is important in society too. That is my credo.

        In practice that means I am very attentive. I try to help each person be their best in their job. We have profit sharing — 20 percent is coming back to the workers. We do other things together — exercise classes in the mill twice a week. When Blandine or Marie or another customer comes to visit, they are very proud to show what they have made. This is the way it should be when you work — to walk away feeling that you are somebody important.

        Next Steps

        Yak fleece is a material I’ve appreciated a long time and for many years have mixed with mohair. We also want to use wool from yaks, because it is a stronger fiber. Four years ago we made a visit to Mongolia to meet with the breeders— we try to buy directly from them. Each time I visit people who are close to nature you notice how they have deep serenity and simplicity. And it was interesting to see how they care for the animals and how they comb the yak fleece; we want to use it for socks, for example, because it is a stronger fiber. And when the border opens again and they can come visit us in France, I want them to see how we work with the mohair breeder to choose the fleece, how we use the fleece. Maybe there are some things that can be adapted to their product.

        We are also thinking about making something important with the yak herders — not to help them, because they don’t need the help — but to help sustain a way of herding and living that will make their children want to be nomads too. It’s important that everyone has a good life in this.

         


        Elisa

        Myriam


        Ludivine

        Jacques


        Fibre origin map



        Baserange is commited to use the most ethical materials possible and non-toxic dyes. To fulfill the promise made to the consumer, we use recognized certifications. Thanks to this, our suppliers are often controlled on their social and environmental commitments. What do those certifications correspond to?

        GOTS

        GOTS is a certification for textiles containing a minimum of 70% of organic fibres. It also limits chemical pollution through measures such as mandatory waste water treatment for any wet-processing.

        OCS 100

        OCS verifies the presence of between 95-100% organic material. It does so from the fibre stage to the finished garmet through indepedent inspections, to ensure that any labelling of a product is correct.

        STANDARD 100

        STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX® is a label aimed at eliminating harmful chemical substances throughout a garment, from textiles to buttons etc. The goal is to render the certified product ecologically harmless.

        GRS

        GRS is a certificate to ensure correct labeling of recycled material. It further regulates chemical usage, social conditions in the spinning, weaving, dyeing, printing and stitching phases of the production.

        FSC

        FSC consists of a set of strict criteria for responsible forestry to benefit bio-diversity, workers right and forest conservation. FSC is applicable to our wood-based semi-synthethic yarns.

        REACH

        Reach is an EU-regime that regulates chemical and hazardeous substances to benefit human health and the environment. Besides clothing REACH covers everything from cleaning products to electric appliances.

        GOTS OCS 100 OEKO-TEX GRS FSC REACH

        Bamboo

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        Modal

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        Linen (woven)

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        Linen (knitted)

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        Silk (woven)

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        Silk (knitted)

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        Cashmere

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        Merino

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        Recycled Wool

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        Recycled PA (Econyl)

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        Cotton

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        Organic Cotton (jersey)

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        Organic Cotton (woven)

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        Organic Cotton (knitted)

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        The people we learn from


        The first factory we worked with really made us think about what it means to be “sustainable.” They’d say, it’s good you’re getting these certifications, but what about these other things? They showed us their processes — how they clean and reuse water, how they cut the fabric so as not to consume too much. This was the beginning of what has been a constant dialogue.

         

        Marie-Louise Mogensen


        Régine

        Workers in Turkey


        The factory in Turkey


        Mehmet

        Babeth

        Maria


        Murat


        Babeth & Marie

        Yıldız


        Fatima, Porto


        Ana

        Sezer