Sea Shepherd has partnered with Australian fashion retailer Cotton On to help raise critical awareness around ocean conservation with a new collection launched online and in Cotton On stores around the country.

In Cotton On’s 30 year history they’ve focused on driving meaningful change via their Ethical sourcing program and sustainability efforts, and through The Cotton On Foundation and their community partnerships. To learn more about the Cotton On Group, check out their inaugural impact report, The Good Report.

Sea Shepherd’s mission is to protect marine wildlife and end the destruction of habitat in the world’s ocean. Since 1977, Sea Shepherd has worked together with people, organisations, governments, and businesses who also want to further this mission. 

Currently, we recognise the main threats to the ocean as;

- illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing

- climate change

- marine plastics, and

- threats to vulnerable and endangered species.

Our work is focused on fighting these threats to our clients; whales, dolphins, fish, seals, turtles, sharks and all other types of marine wildlife. We direct our work by looking at areas where we can achieve the best conservation outcomes for the ocean. 

In order to keep our ships at sea and our crew on the frontline defending the ocean, we have our own merchandise range which is made with environmental, social and ethical standards in line with our Code of Conduct. 

Every person who wears a Sea Shepherd t-shirt or hoodie spreads the word about ocean conservation to their wider community, but we recognise that our own merchandise can only reach so far. Sea Shepherd’s partnership with Cotton On was undertaken to spread the message of ocean conservation to a new audience. Naturally, the 'Cotton On x Sea Shepherd’ range also meets our eco-ethical standards. 

Social Compliancy

- Ethical Sourcing Program. The Cotton On Ethical Sourcing Program, including their 14 Rules to Trade, was put in place to protect human rights and the environment. It covers all four of the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. 

- Modern Slavery. In accordance with the Transparency in Supply Chains Act of 2010 in California, the Modern Slavery Act 2015 in the United Kingdom, the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth) in Australia nationally, and the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (NSW) in New South Wales, The Cotton On Modern Slavery Statement sets out the steps they take to address the risks of modern slavery and human trafficking in their operations and supply chains. 

- Ethical Sourcing Audit and Remediation Program: Ethical Sourcing Program is underpinned by a robust auditing, corrective action and remediation process.

- Supply Chain Traceability Program: Cotton On is committed to transparency at all levels of the supply chain. Currently all of their products can be traced back to supplier and final-stage factory. The next phase of their traceability program has a goal of complete transparency and ability to identify the supply chain associated with manufacturing of that product, from sewing and assembly all the way through to where the raw materials were sourced from.

- Members of ACT: Commitment to Living Wages: Cotton On are members of Action Collaboration Transformation (ACT). ACT is a ground-breaking initiative, bringing together global brands and IndustriALL Global Union to develop the strategies needed to bring about the successful transition from minimum wages to living wages.

Environmental Responsibility

- Factory Environmental Performance: Every Cotton On supplier and factory must comply with applicable national and international environmental laws, standards, and regulations, and they partner with their suppliers to develop, implement, and maintain environmentally responsible business practices.

- Supplier Environmental Audit: The Environmental Performance Audit covers topics across chemical safety, hazardous waste and disposal, wastewater treatment systems and is included in their Ethical Sourcing Audit. 

- Chemical Safety and Compliance, MRSL, RSL: All suppliers and factories must ensure all chemicals are used safely and responsibly. All goods must conform to the European Chemicals Agency Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Reduction of Chemicals (REACH) list of restricted chemicals and Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) Candidate List, as well as the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) Proposition 65 List of restricted chemicals. The Manufacturing Restricted Substances List and Restricted Substances List must be complied with by suppliers for every apparel, footwear and textile products, in addition to those legally required in the country of manufacture and/or sale. Cotton On use the most recent edition of the Manufacturing Restricted Substances List (MRSL) published by ZDHC, and the most recent edition of the Restricted Substance List (RSL) published by the American Apparel & Footwear Association.

- More sustainable fibres and materials: Raw Material and Processing Certification Standards: Cotton On partners with suppliers who are certified to the relevant globally recognised textile standards (GOTS, GRS, RCS, OCS) which assure social and environmental criteria has been met in the growing and processing of raw materials through to manufacturing of the product, validated by third party audit and verification. 

- Packaging and Labelling: Cotton On is working to reduce packaging volume in their business. 

          - Polybags are made from certified recycled post-consumer polyethylene which are 100% recyclable
          - Swing tags are made from certified recycled paper which are 100% recyclable
          - Care labels are made from certified recycled polyester
          - E-commerce satchels are made from certified recycled post-consumer polyethylene, which is 100% recyclable

- Going carbon neutral: Cotton On has committed to achieve carbon net zero by 2030.

Through our collaboration, Cotton On has adopted additional environmental standards for this range, which includes:

 - Suppliers are certified to the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) ensuring every item in range is made with 100% certified organic cotton

- Introduced cold pad batch dying process for the tee’s, which uses less water, salt, chemicals, and used digital print technology on shirts and shorts, which requires less energy and produces less waste than traditional printing methods

- All product swing tags were printed using recycled paper

- The range uses organic cotton rope to replace the plastic kimble which secures the swing tag to the garment

- The shirts and shorts were packed in recycled paper polybags 

We believe that it is critical for our ocean that we engage with companies and ask them to do better for people, the environment and the ocean. Fast fashion is a problem that can only be solved by changing the business model and demanding exemplary standards from clothing companies.

10% of proceeds from the Cotton On x Sea Shepherd collection will help support our direct action campaigns, including combatting illegal fishing in the waters around West Africa. 

Sea Shepherd - For the Ocean.