As a brand founded in rural Leicestershire, the countryside has always been close to our hearts. But for the countryside to stay as wonderful and beautiful as it is, it needs protecting. At Joules, we understand that a large part of our environmental impact comes from the materials used in our products, and we’ve been working hard to make them more sustainable.

Cotton is the biggest natural material used in the fashion industry and makes up over 50% of the raw materials used in Joules products.

Our target is that 100% of our cotton is sourced as more sustainable cotton by end of 2022, which means sourcing cotton through either certified organic routes, or cotton grown through the Better Cotton Initiative.

We’re proud members of the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) supporting sustainable cotton practices. The BCI 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. They train farmers to use water efficiently, care for the health of the soil and natural habitats, reduce the harmful chemicals and respect the rights and well-being of workers.

By supporting BCI, we’re ensuring that the BCI farmers are learning sustainable farming methods rather than ensuring the traceability of cotton in our products.

We’re thrilled to say that we have already met our sustainable leather target with 100% of our leather footwear and accessories being sourced from Leather Working Group certified tanneries.

The Leather Working Group (LWG) is an independent group of tanneries, brands and chemical suppliers that has worked to develop and maintain best practices and auditing protocol for the leather manufacturing industry. Joules works with the LWG to ensure that the tanneries which provide the leather used in our products work to social and environmental best practices.

We are working really hard to reduce our use of synthetic materials, however where they are needed we are working to move to recycled sources.

Our target is for 100% of polyester and polyamide to contain recycled content by end of 2022. Our toasty Snug Coat and Snug Gilet are some of the many pieces to be made entirely from recycled material which reuses waste that could otherwise have gone to landfill.

To support this target, we are proud to have joined the 2025 Recycled Polyester Challenge, committing to sourcing 100% recycled polyester in order to support the industry in achieving an overall increase to 45% by 2025.

Viscose is a material made using wood pulp and our target is for 100% of the viscose we use to be from sustainable sources by end of 2022.

We’re shifting to LENZING™ ECOVERO™ viscose where fibers are derived from sustainable wood and pulp, coming from certified and controlled sources. We’re also making sure that, where possible, the viscose we use is produced using eco-responsible production processes.

Our target is for 100% of our denim to use eco-washing techniques by end of 2022.

The fashion industry gets through a lot of fresh water and denim is one of the thirstiest products we make. By switching to better washing techniques, we’ll reduce water, energy and chemical use during washing by over 80% versus conventional methods.

We’re incredibly proud of the hard work we’ve done, what we’ve already achieved and how ambitious our targets are. However, you won’t catch us resting our arms on the fence post! There’s still lots more to do and you can bet your boots we’ll be squirrelling away in the background. Meeting these targets is just the beginning as we’re constantly looking for even bigger and better ways to look after the planet.