Our sustainability work

We are truly committed to shaping a beautiful future for generations to come. That’s why, we create design made to last. Formed with much passion and care, in every seam and delicate detail. With caring comfort for the children who will wear it. Our timeless and nostalgic styles outlast trends and span the seasons. Nearly everything is made using materials with less environmental impact than conventional ones. Meaning that all cotton is certified, and we use as much recycled materials as possible.

Our wish is for every Newbie garment to hold cherished memories of several children. Forever weaved into the seams. Garments to pass on like treasures, ready for new memories to be made by younger sisters and brothers. And, along every step of the way, we aim to lessen our impact on the planet.

Did you know that more than 80 per cent of a garment’s impact on the environment is actually decided at the drawing board? With wise choices all the way from fibre choice to finished garment, we can use less resources.

One of the fashion industry’s biggest challenges is achieving the transition to a circular economy, which basically means closing the material loop so that the materials that circulate are safe for people and the environment, and so that the amount of waste generated is kept down.

Newbie is a part of the KappAhl group and at the headquarters in Mölndal, Sweden, all designers, buyers and pattern-makers are busy producing about 8,000 unique items annually. Looking to a circular future, the aim is for the environmental footprint of each product to be as small as possible.

Five sustainability criteria that guide our efforts

To ensure that every step in the process is as sustainable as possible, we make use of our Sustainable Product Scorecard. This is based on five criteria, which guide us in making sustainable decisions at every stage of the design process through to a sale-ready product.

1. Choice of material. The materials we choose are crucial from a sustainability perspective. By using organically grown cotton, recycled polyester or Tencel™, for example, we reduce our use of water, energy and chemicals, as compared with conventionally manufactured materials.
2. Circular fashion. Will the material and the details in the garment be recyclable at the end of its wearable life? If we can answer “yes” to that question, we will be contributing to circular fashion consumption.
3. Design and useful life. How can we extend the useful life of the garment? This may mean timeless design and using quality materials that last a long time. But also features such as reinforced knees, or intentionally designing garments with high second-hand value.
4. Materials consumption. With careful thought about how we design, construct and lay out patterns, we can minimise how much fabric we use and reduce fabric wastage.
5. Processes such as printing, dyeing and various industrial pre-washes may cause serious environmental impact. Here we need to take care to reduce the volume of water and chemicals used by opting for more sustainable techniques.

The Sustainable Product Scorecard and the five criteria allow us to rate the sustainability of products before they go into production. They also serve to guide our product development, allowing us to manage and rate the effect of our sustainability efforts at product level.

 We have strict requirements in place regarding quality, the use of chemicals and child safety. We want you to be confident that our products are safe for all who come into contact with them, all the way from fibre to wardrobe.

Newbie is a part of the KappAhl Group and our chemicals requirements are explained in more detail here, and our requirements on suppliers here. We have employees on site in our manufacturing countries, who work to ensure that all suppliers comply with our strict requirements, and that those who sew our clothes work in a safe environment.

• Carefully assessed children’s products

All our children’s clothing undergoes risk assessment and is safe to wear. We comply with product safety legislation all the way from design to production, with extra tests, for example, of buttons, chemicals and materials.

Every children’s product undergoes testing for potential or hidden risks in the form of loose or sharp parts, cords or drawstrings. Our outdoor clothing for children has detachable hoods to minimise the risk if the hood catches on something.

• What happens to non-compliant products?

If, in spite of all the product safety measures, any product proves unsafe, we will withdraw it from our stores and urge customers to return it.

If the products fail to comply with our health, safety or environmental standards, they will be incinerated to ensure that they cause no harm to human health or the environment.

Products with minor defects, for example different sleeve lengths or the wrong print, will be sent for recycling whenever possible.

• Have you found a defect in any of our products?

We will work to rectify the problem as soon as possible, and are grateful if you contact us to describe the problem, via our customer service.

• Product Policy

Our Newbie brand is associated with affordable fashion, design and quality. It also stands for responsibility, consideration and assurance. Sustainability is part of everything we do and our goals are set very high. We conduct our business with a long-term view and do our utmost to work proactively in all areas with a focus on quality, the environment, safety, working conditions and social issues.

From a product perspective, this means that our customers should feel satisfied and confident with Newbie products and their progress though the entire production process. We comply with current laws and work actively to develop and improve our products. We make decisions every day, choosing solutions to ensure that our products maintain high ethical and moral standards.

• Ethics and morals

Newbie strives to ensure that our products are the best that they can be, whilst also demonstrating a responsible and mindful attitude, without causing offence.

Ideas about what can be considered to be offensive vary from time to time as well as between people and cultures. Our intention is to use hindsight first and to listen to public opinion.

• For example, we exclude products and prints that are associated with racism, sexism, drugs, occult symbols and/or politics.
• We don't sell children's clothing that could be seen as provocative, or for example which have references to sex.

Newbie communicates with our customers in a variety of ways about how and where we work. This includes on our website and on our products, which are labelled with their country of origin.

• Health and safety

Newbie’s products must not entail any risks to our customers or to those involved in the production process. We participate actively in research and development to ensure that products and processes are safe.

• All of Newbie’s garments meet stringent requirements on the use of chemicals.
• Sandblasting, which is used in the manufacturing of denim, is not permitted in our production process.
• Our work with child safety complies with the Swedish Product Safety Act. This includes extra inspections, for example, of buttons, chemicals and choice of materials.
• The products in our collections undergo thorough tests, both in our own laboratories and in external laboratories.

• Animal welfare

Our commitment to protecting the rights of people affected by our business also extends to animal rights protection. We work actively to ensure that products containing leather, feathers, wool or other animal materials do not come from animals that are mistreated or under threat of extinction.

This means that:

• None of our products contain angora, mohair or real fur.
• We do not accept mulesing, which is a practice in wool production where an area around the sheep’s tail is cut away to prevent flystrike. Nor do we accept the clips that are used as an alternative to mulesing.
• All items made from animal hide are by-products of the meat industry and come from cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats and pigs. No animal is killed solely for its hide.
• We never use down plucked from live birds. Instead, we buy down and feathers that are by-products of meat production.
• We do not permit animal testing.