Coalatree has a story unique from many others. You could say they started from the ground up, beginning their journey as a self-sustaining farm in Colorado, USA. About ten years ago, they wanted to create their own workwear, so they launched a clothing line.
Their lifestyle, outdoor apparel, and accessories are created with a focus on sustainability and recycling. Designing gear for passionate adventurers to urban explorers, their range includes clothing, bags and backpacks, hammocks, and blankets.
The company uses a mix of recycled materials from coffee grounds to recycled plastic bottles. They are not only passionate about making great gear, but they are passionate about giving back as much as they can. From helping the homeless with donated blankets to donating their time to cleaning up the environment, the people behind Coalatree have a lot to give.
Coalatree: Recycled Materials
Coalatree uses various recycled materials to create its products.
- Coffee grounds are collected from local coffee shops. You can check out their process for converting coffee into fabrics here.
- Plastic bottles that are collected from local recycling centers.
- Recycled nylon is used in their backpacks, blankets, and some of their clothing.
- They also use organic cotton mixed with recycled cotton.
They have already saved 82 thousand cups of coffee grounds and 140 thousand plastic bottles from landfills.
Certifications
- Fair Wear is a third-party organization that focuses on worker health, safety, and dignity. They perform checks throughout the entire garment process with brands, creating a transparent and honest environment for consumers and workers.
- Bluesign uses strict criteria to ensure that products were manufactured with the best possible outcome for their workers and environmental impact.
Other Kudos
- Coalatree founder and CEO, Charlie Bessey, is passionate about supporting local community programs. Some examples of how they give back are:
- Creating warm blankets for the homeless in Salt Lake City, using any surplus fabrics.
- Supporting the Adopt-a-native-elder program that distributes life-sustaining assistance to indigenous Navajo Elders. In fact, 10% of the sales from their headdress stickers go directly to helping a Navajo Elder.
- Helping local environmental groups to care for trails and wild spaces in the Wasatch Mountains.
- Supporting the Anasazi Foundation, a non-profit group supporting youth through wilderness experiences.
- They also support many other groups like the Road Home, Australia Zoo Wildlife Warriors Worldwide and Cottonwood Canyons Foundation.
- Coalatree only works with facilities that are bluesign® approved. This provides assurance to consumers that the products were manufactured with the responsible use of resources and the lowest possible impact on people and the environment.
- Their factories use dyeing methods that reduce energy and water waste at their factories, and they are working towards zero emissions.
- Coalatree packaging is made from recycled paper.
Recycled Products
Here is just a sample of the products that are available from Coalatree. Head over to their website to see more great products or join in one of their Kickstarter campaigns, like their preorder of the Decaf Denim, and help support their fantastic work.
