Kowtow

Kowtow works with mainly Indian manufacturers, and became B‑Corp certified in 2022 with a score of 101.3 (the required score being 80, and the maximum being 200), and since inception have only worked with Fairtrade certified companies which ensures ethical activities of the brand, and direct protection of the workers’ rights. All their garments are certified by Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (FLO) which empowers farmers to secure better cotton prices, and made in a fully traceable supply chain working with only Fairtrade-certified farmers and manufacturers from seed to garment. They also have maintained their relationship with the same manufacturers over this time, and visit them regularly. Their manufacturers are also SA8000 certified, which encourages socially acceptable practices and are audited by certification bodies accredited by Social Accountability Accreditation Services (SAAS), which guarantees minimum wage, social security funds, pension funds, paid holiday leave, sick pay, medical insurance, subsidised lunches, overtime pay and workplace unions. Their manufacturers are also certified SMETA (Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit) and WRAP (Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production) organizations.

Their organic cotton is processed using only GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) allowed inks and dyes which are free of toxic substances and ensures no harm on the workers handling these substances.

Kowtow’s sustainability strategy states the goal to give customers the option to round up purchases to contribute to a charity by the end of 2020, however this has not yet been implemented.

But overall Kowtow is ahead of the game, with supporting social charities including the Red Cross Refugee settlement programme and Women’s Refuge, and providing financial support to an orphanage in India near their manufacturing supplier. 

This brand works exclusively with 100% fairtrade organic cotton, which is a natural, biodegradable and renewable source without the use of harmful chemicals. The cotton is grown on small lots alongside food crops to feed the farmer and promote soil fertility. Then the garments are washed using GOTS allowed washing products, which ensures the sustainable use and treatment of wastewater. They actively seek to reduce materials sent to landfill, using virtual reality technology in the design process to reduce use of resources. 

The linings and trims of these garments are also chosen carefully, with nickel-free metal tacks, and buttons made from agoya shell and corozo nut. In 2022, they replaced their elastic with natural rubber, finished in an organic cotton casing and their fusibles are now made from 100% organic cotton. All their trims are GOTS approved or tested by OEKO-TEX for harmful substances. As such they are really on point working with only biodegradable fabrics and trims.

They are working on operating as a zero waste and plastic free workroom, and their packaging is entirely recyclable and 0% plastic, using only Forestry Stewardship Certification (FSC) or Global Recycled Standard (GRS) certified cardboard and paper fibre, printed with soy-based and petroleum-free inks. FSC ensures better management of the forests and the local communities that rely on them.

On top of all those areas they are excelling at Kowtow also supports environmental charities such as Take 3 for the Sea, and Trees that Count, and hold bi-annual staff tree planting days and community beach cleanups with their customers. They have a comprehensive sustainability strategy with environmental goals, however many goals for the end of 2022 have not been achieved yet, including for example the goal to provide customers the option to offset their carbon footprint at checkout. This brand also has a global supply chain, which makes them unable to check their fossil fuel energy use.

Kowtow strongly believes in closing the loop, and that they are responsible for what they produce and ensure all garments can be prevented from ending up in a landfill. They make solely 100% organic cotton garments. heir design team is really passionate about exploring the versatility of, and to design with the whole lifecycle of a cotton garment in mind. The monomateriality also ensures recyclability at the end of use. The nickel-free metal tacks used in the fastenings can be taken back and repurposed into new materials at their end of use. Kowtow’s packaging as well, as mentioned above, is designed to be fully recycled at the end of use.

They have a repair program, which is free for all minor repairs, and a small fee is charged for larger repairs for which they use the Japanese patching technique Sashiko. The latter option not only repairs the garment by strengthening it but also renews it with a new design, making it beautiful as well. Since the inception of the repair program in 2019 Kowtow has repaired over 500 garments, and they also regularly host repair workshops in their stores. Already in 2019 they have implemented a Take Back programme, and they are researching solutions to attain full circularity. 

Kowtow is located in New Zealand, their garments shipped out of a store in Auckland, close to their main store, and their production conducted in India. Transportation of their products has not been mentioned, however considering their global nature it can be assumed that their transportation includes high carbon emissions.

Kowtow does not mention the use of animal products in their main materiality, however they use agoya shells as buttons, which are sourced from oysters and have historically been used as buttons and are a natural and renewable resource.

Kowtow uses organic cotton, which is a breathable, durable and easy to care for fabric. They conduct their design process in house, allowing the team to determine every stitch, weave, print and colour, which means every design is unique. This process takes 18 months from initial concept to delivery, hence slow fashion is at the core of every garment.
They have achieved their 2022 goal to provide concise instructions on how to extend the life of garments through caring and repairing. They had also set a target to make a series of care and repair videos, however this is not to be found on the website yet. They make up for this by providing an email to be reached out to for repair service and questions, which along with the timelessness of the garments ensures that they stay durable and usable for a very long time.

Kowtow is very transparent about all their activities, and makes their processes easy to follow by the customers, with each product page stating the material and production and certifications. However they do not provide proof of most of their certifications, except for GOTS, which can be found on the GOTS directory. They include a sustainability strategy which makes it easy to track their goals for the upcoming years, however they have not stated the achievement of their specific 2022 goals anywhere on the website yet. They have also not provided specific names or districts of their suppliers, which makes it hard to verify the fairtrade nature of these suppliers, but you can find them on the GOTS website. Their B‑Corp certification also includes a link to their official page on the B‑Corp website, which shows the progress they have made through the years.