First Base
Living and working in Bondi, Australia, in 2013 designer Alison Cotton hit a cross roads and felt the desire to reconnect and create something that was about getting down and stripping away all of the things in life that seemed unnecessary and getting back to basics. She wanted to take her love of surf and sports culture and build something that was clean, simple and iconic, just like Bondi Beach. That something was First Base.
Simplistic and functional design, black and white and bit of grey, straight talking, ballsy and real, that is what First Base is all about. But First Base is more than just a brand, It´s a lifestyle blending the love of surf and skate culture with clean and thoughtful design principles. First Base, designed in Bondi, is ethically produced in China, in factories that are WRAP (Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production) compliant ensuring transparency across the supply chain, something that is essential to the brand´s ethos surrounding the ethical production of garments. Beting ethically produced is important to First Base because it is about basic human rights being met. At First Base they believe that the more companies and people initiate these audits and ensure safe and fair working environments for all, the sooner it will become the norm. By accepting to work with factories that do not provide ethical conditions for their employees would be the same as condoning the practice. As a result, First Base is committed to only working with factories that are operating in an ethical fashion and it is of absolute importance to First Base to continually monitor the supply chain to ensure the best working conditions for everyone involved with the brand. The WRAP certification has 12 key principles that must be met:
- compliance with local laws
- prohibition of forced labor
- prohibition of child labor
- prohibition of harassment and abuse - compensation & benefits
- reasonable hours of work
- prohibition of discrimination
- health & safety
- freedom of association
- environmentally conscious
- customs compliance
- security
The factories are audited bi-annually to ensure these standards are upheld and First Base´s team also visits these factories annually so they can physically see how business is being done.
First Base chooses to use 100% certified organic cotton to help reduce the use of pesticides in the cotton farming industry to protect our water supplies and prioritize the health of the cotton farmers. They also choose to use 80% recycled nylon in their high performance activewear, to decrease the amount of plastics in the ocean and landfills. By working with a mill in Italy that utilizes recycled yarn produced by Econyl and blending it with Lycra, a fabric is being created that offers all the performance properties of virgin nylon but without the waste. By 2018 this fabric will also be used in the swimwear collection.
All polyester bags that First Base uses are made from D2W biodegradable plastic that degrade within 3-5 years and they use 100% recycled paper for all the packaging and office supplies including swing tags, invoices, care cards, postage bags and even the string on the swing tags. But that's not all. They recycle ink cartridges, use eco-friendly cleaning products, limit the usage of air conditioning and heating devices and have dedicated recycling bins for paper, glass and plastic.
#itscooltobekind
Based: Sydney, Australia
Ships to: Worldwide
Products: Activewear, basics, outerwear, swimwear, sweats.
Mission: Produce activewear with iconic and clean design paired with high quality and authenticity while not losing out of sight the ethical and environmental factors. And make girls butts look primo.
Vision: Everyday, do better, be better, than yesterday...and enjoy every moment of it while at the same time effect positive change.
