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Kowtow

Organic clothing essentials made with certified Fair Trade cotton

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Kowtow
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Kowtow's Sustainability Rating:

Good

Where Kowtow is doing well: Kowtow uses a majority sustainable fibers in its garments. Kowtow helps keep garments out of landfill by offering repair and takeback services. Kowtow uses plastic-free packaging.

Where Kowtow can improve: Kowtow could share more details on its emission tracking and targets.


  • Raw Materials

    Kowtow uses majority low impact fibers in its garments, including organic cotton, GOTS-certified fibers, and OEKO-TEX certified fibers. As of January 2024, it does not use high impact synthetic fibers.


  • Energy Use & Production

    Commons could not find information on this brand's energy use.


  • Packaging & Distribution

    Kowtow uses 100% plastic-free packaging, including FSC-certified materials and recycled cardboard. It has undergone specific efforts to minimize its packaging. However, the brand does incentivize rush shippng by offering free express shipping with purchases over a certain amount.


  • Repair & Care

    Kowtow has a repair program. It also gives detailed and environmentally conscious care instructions for its garments.


  • Take Back Programs

    Kowtow has a take back program that accepts its own brand's clothing for recycling purposes.


  • Slow Fashion

    Kowtow is not a fast fashion brand. Commons could not find further details on its production strategy. For a small brand, we assume they have some limits on overproduction due to their scale of operations.


  • Marketing

    Commons is currently evaluating Kowtow's marketing emails.


  • Transparency & Reporting

    Kowtow has a prominent dedicated sustainabilty webpage that has details on materials, supply chain partners, circularity, and labor practices. It also has a sustainability report last published in 2022. However, the report focuses on general sustainability information and does not contain information on the company's emissions or energy strategy.


  • Emissions Tracking

    Commons could not find information for emissions tracking.


  • Emissions Targets

    Kowtow has a short-term goal to become climate positive by 2024 by purchasing carbon credits to offset more than 100% of its unavoidable emissions. It is not clear if Kowtow has achieved this goal.


  • Supply Chain & Labor

    Kowtow publishes the names and locations of its supply chain partners. It has a supplier code of conduct, though it is not shared publicly. Its suppliers are audited by third parties and have received key labor certifications, such as Fairtrade.

Our ratings are based on a scale from 1 (harmful) to 5 (best). How we rate →

View sources

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/2182/6091/files/Kowtow_Impact_Report.pdf?v=1682554529

https://us.kowtowclothing.com/pages/circular-design

https://us.kowtowclothing.com/pages/plastic-free

https://nz.kowtowclothing.com/blogs/common-interest/kowtow-sustainability-strategy

https://us.kowtowclothing.com/pages/circular-design#sticky-tabs-3

https://nz.kowtowclothing.com/pages/repair-programme?_pos=2&_sid=2fc99bf80&_ss=r

https://us.kowtowclothing.com/pages/responsible-business

https://us.kowtowclothing.com/pages/transparent-manufacturing

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Category

Clothing


Sustainability information was last updated in November 2024.

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