How green is Katvig?

Katvig is an organic children's fashion clothing company, who fights to set new standards for what children and nature should be exposed to.

Green Barometer, first half year 2012

← Katvig uses environmentally friendly textiles all of which we identify with this logo

Percentage of our products to carry this badge as of SS12/HS12 collection:
our goal: 100%

We are among the world leaders when it comes to a sustainable portfolio of products.
In SS12, 100 percent of the 346 styles in collection has been awarded with a smiley, which means that the clothes are made of environmentally friendly fibres such as organic cotton, Katvig™ R.O.C. and recycled polyester.

Here are the environmentally friendly fabrics we use:

Organic cotton

By using organic cotton the CO2 emissions from farming are reduced, the soil is not exposed to synthetic fertilizers, pesticides or defoliants which all result in a more sustainable environment and healthier product for you.

» Go to Katvig products made with organic cotton

Recycled organic cotton

Katvig™ R.O.C.
Made from recycled organic cotton waste; a new way of making sustainable clothing that gives nature a well deserved break.
A large proportion of organic cotton goes to waste in the process of making cotton fabric. Most of it ends up on the factory floor. From the floor it is swept up and bin bagged. Then it is sent off to the nearest landfill. In other words: good organic cotton goes to waste for no reason. This is a waste of water, energy, land, and all the hard work that went into growing the cotton in the first place.
To help prevent this waste, Vigga invented a new Katvig™ Method for recycling organic cotton and a unique garment material.
Not only does this process make Katvig™ R.O.C. one of the most sustainable textiles in the world; it is also one of the softest. The structure of the fabric is unique and unusually light - it, can only be described after touching it!
Fabric composition: 100% recycled organic cotton noil.

» Go to Katvig products made with Katvig™ R.O.C.

Recycled polyester

This polyester has been produced from recycled PET bottles, a very clean type of polyester. The bottles are cut into flakes, melted and shaped into new fibres. For the shell fabric of one Katvig™ Outerwear jacket 10-15 bottles are used, saving the environment CO2 emissions and the sparse resources of crude oil.

» Go to Katvig products made with recycled polyester

Katvig makes toxic-free clothing:

Katvig you can wear right away

The skin is the body’s largest organ.
A child’s body typically absorbs 60 percent of the chemicals in our clothes. Conventional textiles often contain chemicals such as cadmium that is harmful to your kidneys; formaldehyde that causes eczema; phthalates that disrupt our hormones. It is difficult for our body to excrete these chemicals. Therefore, we advice you to wash regular clothes at least 10 times before you wear them.

In addition to fabrics, we are partial to considered packaging:

Katvig's degradable plastic

It’s a long way from the factory to the business to the shop and home to the one who bought the wares. Normally everything is packed and un-packed and packed and un-packed again. But not at Katvig. Katvig has developed a method where it’s the same bag that the clothes are packed in at the factory, that the one who buys it gets. And in fact, Katvig’s plastic bags are degradable. After 4 years they degrade so they don’t have to lie around looking all filthy in nature, or wherever they may end up. And the logos are printed with plant based ink.

The Katvig degradable bag forms part of our sustainable packing concept, where we already use recycled cardboard boxes to ship our orders in, produce handtags and boxes printed with plant-based ink on more earth-friendly paper choices.

» Learn how it works

3rd party verification

← 3rd party verification of environmental claims are identified with this logo followed by an certifier logo and declaration

Percentage of our products to carry this badge as of SS12/HS12 collection:
our goal: 100%

The overall goal for Katvig is to make a business out of doing good while still doing well. We do our best to deliver transparent credibility to the public and in our marketing.
A total of 74.5 percent of the Katvig™ Spring/Summer 2012 collection is GOTS certified (see below the benefits) and accounts for 93 percent of all our products certified by 3rd party, but what about the defiant procents missing?
We would love to have all of our clothes tested and certified, but that would be really, really expensive. That is why we are fighting hard in Denmark and EU to get the politicians to change the labeling system. Why should the burden of proof rest on us alone, when it’s the others who are doing the polluting?

Made To Katvig Standards
There’s a world of difference to being certified sustainably organic and just being organic.

By default, everything that comes from nature is organic. But because a plant, for example, is grown without the use of artificial fertilizers, it is not at all the same as saying the t-shirt you buy in the store is sustainable; thousands of toxic chemicals are used in the textile business.

But then what if a t-shirt is produced completely without any use of harmful chemicals, but is sown by children or by adults under lousy working conditions or in a factory that discharges toxic substances to groundwater? Is that a sustainable t-shirt?

Katvig uses several types of certificates, each of them focusing on guaranteeing that certain standards and criterias are met.

Here are the certificates we use:

GOTS

OE Blended Standard

The Organic Exchange Blended Standard (OE Blended) is a standard for tracking and documenting the purchase, handling, and use of certified organically farmed cotton fiber in blended yarns, fabrics, and finished goods.

GOTS is the strictest 3rd party verification a company can achieve and therefore also the most coveted certification in the world, but it only applies to natural fibres; it cannot be applied to clothes made from mixed compositions with certain synthetic fibres, which is why we use the OE Blended standard for these. They are however produced on the same fabrics that are GOTS certified.

» Go to Katvig products with the OE Blended certification

UN Global Compact

Katvig supports the United Nations Global Compact, an initiative to encourage businesses worldwide to adopt sustainable and socially responsible policies. The principles behind the initiative are identical to Katvig’s and focus on four areas: human rights, labour, the environment and anti-corruption. It is only natural for us to be a part of this movement.

» Go to United Nations Global Conduct website to see Katvig's Communication on Progress

Danish Initiative for Ethical Trade

In spring 2008 Katvig joined forces with trade organisations, trade unions, NGOs and other suppliers to found the Danish Initiative for Ethical Trade (DIEH). The intention of DIEH is to promote international trade that respects human and labour rights and contributes to a sustainable development in the developing countries.

» Browse the DIEH website