Bivolino and Our Planet

 

By creating, buying and sharing at Bivolino, you go Green & Social !

 

At Bivolino we are constantly looking for ways to further reduce our environmental and social impact. Please find here what we do and how we do it.

 

1. A Sustainable Business Model - Green Digital Clothing

 

Bivolino provides a vision of the future which encompasses the evolution of digital clothing supply chains, from design to retail, that minimize returns and, in turn, reduce waste. This “webified” supply chain is the “Googlification” of the apparel industry and trade (referring to the book ‘What would Google do?‘ from Jeff Jarvis) focusing on e-configurators, digital design toolkits, online dressing facilities and the development of "controlled" virtual shopping communities. Waste can be controlled as part of a lean manufacturing, or sustainable initiative. Technology also plays a role in developing a more sustainable supply chain. Bivolino uses sustainable technologies including computerized sketching, CAD pattern design, digital grading and marker-making, digital printing and computer numerical control (CAM) single-ply cutting. In fact, any technology which allows the product to remain in digital form until later in the process is considered to be more sustainable. Why is it more sustainable to create and buy a garment in a digital form? Surely you need to see real product samples? Whenever a physical sample is created, waste is introduced into the process. At Bivolino, you indeed create and buy a shirt which is digitally displayed and configurated, without real samples.

The business model behind this is described as “Mass Customization”. Special focus goes to the biometric sizing technology (patent Nr EEC-EP1341427 & US-7346421) which experiences only 5% complaints: no shirts must be returned (zero return).

 

2. Transport Carbon Footprint –the Ecolife vzw study 2012

 

www.ecolife.be

Introduction

In this study Ecolife calculates the transport carbon footprint of a shirt according to these six alternative cases:

 

 

De berekeningen van de 6 verschillende gevallen leidden tot:

 

 

Case 2 Bivolino:

Consumer-driven (made-to-measure custom-fit) shirts produced in and around Europe and sold 'online' has a far lower CO2 emission (transport carbon footprint) then off-the-rack shirts sold through (e)shops (case 1+2+3 versus 4+5). It is also obviousthat business models flying-in the shirts from far east has a very negative impact on the environment(case 6).

Click here to PDF - studie (English)

 

 

Since 2008, Bivolino customized shirts are individually or duo packed in a new biodegradable branded bag. The bags are manufactured in a famous environmental-friendly plastic material, the Ethylene Vinyl Acetate or also called EVA. Its applications and performance are very similar to PVC while reducing the risk of infringing any toxicity regulations. It is biodegradable after a period of maximum one year with no pollution to environment after disposal and incineration. This green packaging approach is reinforced by the will to reduce packaging waste. Bivolino has made significant progress to reduce excess packaging in its shipments to customers and has introduced additional types of recyclable packing materials to protect items while in transit. Each Bivolino shirt is packed in a bag to protect its high quality fabric.

 

 

Our Bivolino offshore manufacturing plants have received the SEDEX label in 2015. This means a recognition of our ethical performance! The following points have been successfully audited:www.sedexglobal.com: empowering ethical and responsible supply chains !
1. Employment freely chosen
2. Freedom of association
3. Safety & hygienic conditions
4. Child labour
5. Wages & benefits
6. Working hours
7. Discrimination
8. Regular employment
9. Harsh or inhumane treatment

 

 

Bivolino also offer organic cotton (Classe B) which is more sustainable than conventional cotton.