High-quality, ethically sourced materials
Inks
The inks we use do not contain ozone-depleting chemicals such as CFC’s and HCFC’s, aromatic hydrocarbons or any volatile solvents. They don’t contain lead, heavy metals or any toxic chemicals whatsoever (not even white spirits like other water based inks on the market). The inks are safe to use on underwear, swimwear and even baby clothes.
Plywood
We hand print onto Australian hoop pine (Araucaria Cunninghamii) that is a native Australian species that grows in Queensland and New South Wales.
Hoop pine is 100% plantation-grown, and is independently certified to the Australian Forestry Standard (AFS) and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).
The timber is used for speciality timber products and is one of the few timbers in the world that can be used with foodstuffs. Before plastics, the timber was used extensively for butter boxes. It is still used for making baby cots and some wooden toys.
Fabric
We print onto 100% linen made from flax (Linum Usitatissimum). Flax is a 100-day crop that grows with natural rainfall and requires minimal fertiliser. In almost all cases pesticides are not required given that flax is rarely troubled by insects – its pale blue flowers only last for one or two days.
After being processed the fibre may be bleached or kept natural before being spun into yarn or woven linen fabric. It is an excellent fabric to print on.
We recommend a hand wash the first time then gentle machine wash after that. Some shrinkage will occur given the fabric has not been pre-shrunk. Avoid tumble drying.
Linen ages very well but can be a bit unruly early on. After the first couple of washes the fabric will be quite crinkly, so just pull it into shape a bit before hanging up to dry. Ironing while still slightly damp or using a steam iron on the back gives excellent results.
T-shirts
Blue Lawn Designs use AS Colour t-shirts made from 100% combed organic cotton, pre-shrunk to minimise shrinkage. Cotton is grown without the use of herbicides or pesticides and are GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) certified.
Summary of AS Colour social compliance
The Business Social Compliance Initiative
AS Colour has recently joined the Amfori BSCI initiative, a leading supply chain management system that supports companies to drive social compliance and improvements within the factories and farms in their global supply chains.
The Better Cotton Initiative exists to make global cotton production better for the people who produce it, better for the environment it grows in and better for the sector’s future. BCI aims to transform cotton production worldwide by developing Better Cotton as a sustainable mainstream commodity.
OEKO-TEX® Standard 100 certification is designed to ensure the effect the dyeing industry has on the environment is minimised and the garments are safe for consumers as well as the people who make and sell them.
For further information see the AS Colour ethical production guide.
https://www.ascolour.com.au/content/ASCOLOUR_ETHICAL_PRODUCTION_GUIDE.pdf