When we were looking for someone to supply our clothing, we didn’t just want to bulk-buy a load of cheap gear and use this as a money-maker.  That’s when friend-of-the-band, Gaz Kirkham, came to mind.  His company, Vinyl Bear started in 2014 and – way ahead of its time – prioritised using quality, sustainable clothing.  Over the last 2 years, they’ve gone even further, pushing their suppliers to become more and more for more eco-friendly.

As a result, they’ve been able to introduce recycled clothing into their range and some of their hoodies – including ours – are made from a mix of organic cotton and recycled polyester.  The T-shirts and long-sleeved shirts are made from 100% organic cotton and this clothing is GOTS Certified, VEGAN approved and Fair Wear approved.  The design is screen-printed using eco-friendly, water-based inks, meaning that no chemicals are used or washed down the sink when they clean the screens after printing.  The yellow stripe IS printed using vinyl… but it’s a tiny amount, so we really hope you don’t hold that against us?  (Otherwise, we’d have to redesign our new logo, website etc…).  Zero plastic packing finishes the whole thing off.

All of this means that the manufacturing of our clothing is as sustainable as we can get it and the quality means they’re made to last.  This is reflected in the price, but we’re big believers in buy cheap, buy twice.  When you ARE ‘done’ with our clothing (like you’re not going to treasure it…) you can even return it!  They have partnered up with another company called Renewsewcials who take your unwanted clothing and turn them into something else, brand new!!

Good eh?

So, you can be confident that you – and we – are doing our bit for the planet and, when you’re stood in a field in Glastonbury in 2047 with your ‘vintage’ Reads T-shirt, you’ll still look great 😆

What are you waiting for?  Head to our shop and grab yourselves some eco-friendly clobber.