PEOPLE + PLANET
Social Responsibility
The Aurelia Label is committed to a positive social impact through our efforts to support all workers in our supply chain. We have extensively researched the most compatible swimwear manufacturers for our business, who share our social and environmental values and foster an ethical workplace for their employees.
Our partner factory in Indonesia pays their workers above-award wages, allowing them to negotiate their own contracts and salaries at up to three times the standard rate. These workers are also annually paid an extra month's salary, work no more than fourty hours a week, get paid for voluntary overtime, and get a meal allowance. Additionally, all workers and their families are provided with comprehensive health insurance.
The workplace culture of this factory is further improved by optional free weekly Zumba classes and soccer practices, regular free business English training, workplace training, and tutorials about waste management for the home and workplace.
The factory also donates proceeds from each swim piece made to the betterment of their local community, including ROLE Foundation, BALI WISE, and SOS Indonesia, which collectively support cleaner oceans, women’s business education, and supplying food to people in need.
Environmental Responsibility
All swimwear in the SS23 collection is made using either American REPREVE or ECONYL yarns. These fibers derive from plastic bottles and ocean waste, including ghost fishing nets to support a circular economy and reduce the demand for new plastic production. These fabrics are printed with eco-ink, providing a less toxic alternative to conventional digital printing dyes. All swimsuits in the Dopamine Edit are made in a solar-powered factory, to significantly reduce the use of fossil fuels within our production process. Additionally our t-shirts and tote bags are made from organic or recycled cotton and can be collected by the factory to be recycled again after use. (QR codes attached to garments for more info). The Aurelia Label releases small-batch production runs on a limited fashion calendar to prevent overproduction.
In addition, The Aurelia Label packages our products plastic-free, utilising materials that are compostable, biodegradable, recyclable, and even plantable. We also deliver our products through Sendle, a carbon-neutral delivery service, to counteract the emissions released by transportation.
To further reduce our environmental footprint, The Aurelia label donates $1 from every swimwear sale to the restoration of the Great Barrier Reef. This combats the effects of climate change on the reef through projects such as coral stress tests and coral IVF.
For a more in-depth look at our sustainability processes, take a look at our climate credentials.
Meet the team behind our swimwear
Transparency
At The Aurelia Label, we acknowledge we are not perfect, and we aim to be transparent about where we need to improve, and our plans and goals to do so.
Our jewellery is an example of this; our jewellery materials have evolved from brass to gold-plated findings and gems, which are better quality and longer lasting. Additionally, we have introduced some recycled silver, which has been hand-crafted in Sydney. While 100% of our jewellery is assembled in Sydney, the majority of materials and components are produced in China. We have been unable to successfully trace the supply chain of these materials to determine the conditions of the production processes and the collection of the raw materials. This is an issue we aim to eliminate in upcoming collections, with a goal to work with artisans to produce our jewellery components. UPDATE: I am happy to share that our jewellery has since become more sustainable. All shell jewellery has been sourced from verified suppliers, who collect discarded aqua-cultural by-products for re-use in the jewellery finding industry. Additionally these suppliers ensure that no endangered or threatened shell species are used.
Alternatively, all other products in our store are either handcrafted in Sydney or produced in our ethical partner factories in Bali and the United Kingdom.
Another issue that we aim to improve is our limited size inclusivity. Our most recent collection features sizes XS to XL, which is an improvement from our previous collection, which only featured sizes S to L. Yet we want all women to have the option to feel empowered in our swimwear, and aim to improve our sizing with each new collection. As our label grows, so will our financial viability to increase our sizing and be more accessible for all.
Have a question, query or suggestion? We’d love to hear from you!
Email us at theaurelialabel@gmail.com
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