Our Eco Office
WHAT WE KNOW
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The fashion industry is the second biggest polluter in the world, behind only oil. Hard to imagine, right? Pollution and global crisis aren’t quite the first things we think of when we’re deciding which outfit to wear in the morning, but perhaps it should be. Did you know that to produce one cotton T-shirt takes around 700 gallons of water? And that’s before it begins it’s lovely life with you, who will continue to wash and care for it. In creating that one T-shirt, the cotton must be watered, perhaps fertilized with dangerous chemicals and then harvested. It will be cleaned, combed, dyed, woven, knitted, sewn into the simple T-shirt we all know and own. It will then be packaged, shipped, hung up for sale and finally find its place in your wardrobe. The life of that one T-shirt is quite astronomical, and as a result, so is the footprint it leaves behind.
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Here at TWOOBS // HTL HQ, we’ve established an Eco Office Initiative. We believe change is made through our everyday choices, which is why we thought we’d share some of the everyday commitments we’ve made, to choose to be a more environmentally friendly office!
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ENERGY
/Solar Panels
Did you hear? Rooftops aren’t just for fantastic parties! At least not at TWOOBS HQ. We also have solar panels installed to generate and monitor energy we create ourselves to use throughout the building!
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Energy - Saving Light Switches
Sucker for leaving the lights on? We’ve all been there. That’s why our office is kicked out with motion-activated lights so we’re not using unnecessary energy.
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Heating // Cooling
There’s only one thing worse than working in a freezing office, and that’s knowing how much energy is being wasted on it! In our building, each room has its own control panel to adjust the temperature so we’re not wasting unneeded energy on air conditioning throughout the whole building.
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Natural Light
We love to stare and admire our TWOOBS all day (gets the creative juices flowing!), so what better place to display them, then below our 4 fantastically large windows where the sun comes flooding in and we can see them in all their glittery glory. No filters here, just some el natural office lighting.
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Zip Tap
Did you know?!
- A zip tap is three times more energy efficient than a traditional hot water urn.
- Doesn’t accumulate the water wastage that comes with using kettles.
- Prevents the use of plastic cups used with traditional water coolers.
- AND gives us a quick fix for our office tea addiction. Winning!
Transport
Although we each loveee our pink office, sometimes you can just get more done from home, ya know? That’s why, when it’s efficient, we work from home and save ourselves and the planet from all that nasty Melbourne traffic!! We also have a lovely office bike rack to encourage everyone in the building to cycle to work!
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RECYCLING
Tree Hugger
We seriously doubt Mother Nature intended for her lush green forests to be chopped down just so we could dry our hands, which is why we’ve made sure to make the switch to high-speed, cool air hand dryers, which have the lowest environmental impact.
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And while we’re on the paper topic - Who gives a crap? Well... they do! Who Gives a Crap Toilet Paper is 100% recycled and 50% of profits are donated to organisations which help build toilets around the world for those without. Did you really need to know what loo paper we use, I hear you ask? Well, when it does this much good, yes! And just like the toilet paper we use, our tissues are forest friendly, made with 100% bamboo.
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Non-Toxic Cleaning Products
We also use a range of non-toxic products for all the everyday cleaning around the office:
Eco Store Dishwashing Liquid - The bottle is made from 100% recyclable and renewable sugar cane plastic, and the detergent is made from natural, plant-based ingredients and essential oils!
Thank You Hand Wash - Every product from Thank You’s Personal Care range helps to provide water and sanitation services to those around the world without access to these basic necessities. Their hand wash is also vegan friendly, not tested on animals and free from palm oil!
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Recycling Bins
Recycling can be a tricky business, so we make sure to have lots of bins throughout the building, clearly labelled with what can and cannot be recycled. Each garbage bin is also biodegradable. It doesn’t get any easier than that!
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Reusable Cups
Everyone in the TWOOBS // HTL office has their own monogrammed Frank Green reusable cup, in classic HTL pink of course! So we can feel totally guilt-free about splurging on a takeaway soy chai (Well, almost). Checkout how you can custom make your own Frank Green cup for your work team!
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And what good would the cup be if it wasn’t filled with eco goodness? All the coffee pods used in the office are both biodegradable and compostable.
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Think Before You Print
We always try to minimise printing in the office (Thank you Google Docs!), and all printing paper that is used is 100% recycled.
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Flora, Fauna & Water!
How cool is this? On both our balcony and rooftop, in amongst all our lovely flora and fauna, we also have apple and lemon trees! Fresh lemonade anyone? And to keep our fruits fresh, we have a water tank on site to capture rainwater and irrigate the gardens!
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TWOOBS
We recently partnered with Melbourne-based recycling company, Save Our Soles to recycle a number of TWOOBS which had reached their life span and were no longer wearable. We can now all rest easy knowing our old TWOOBS are being kept out of landfill and instead will be used to make things like playground matting for schools, retail stores and gyms!
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DO GOOD, FEEL GOOD
Sun & Soul
Picture it. A gorgeous summer’s day in Melbourne. You take a deep sigh as you send off that email you’ve been dreading all morning. You stroll on up to the rooftop balcony and pick yourself a crisp apple for a snack, fresh off the tree. You sit and enjoy the sun before getting ready for some rooftop Yoga, taught by your in-house Yoga Teacher and TWOOBS founder, Jess. Need we say more?
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All Pets Allowed
We don’t believe animals should ever be involved in the making of something you wear, unless it’s a big wet puppy smooch of course, wear those with pride! That’s why TWOOBS HQ is a completely pet-friendly office! It’s a paw-fect arrangement.
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Vegetarian Catering
In case you hadn’t noticed, we also love to hold events and any excuse will do! For every event, we always make sure that the catering is vegetarian, cause how good are veggies, right?
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Verve Super
Did someone say girl power? At TWOOBS, our preferred superannuation partner is Verve. Designed by women for women, Verve is the only superannuation fund in Australian which dedicates 100% of its resources and focus to servicing women and promoting ethical investment.
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Educate
We’re always wanting to better our knowledge of sustainability and discover more and more ways that we can improve our supply chain. That’s why each of us at Team TWOOBS has signed up to Fashion Revolutions’s Future Learn program! The free online course offers 4 weeks of content covering the fashion’s future, with specific regard to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Find out more here!
/As a team, we’re super proud of the commitments we’ve made to operate a more sustainable business, but there is always more to be done! That’s why we’ve put together 4 key goals to guide us as a team and as individuals, to make decisions that matter and to do business with purpose. Good intentions leads to informed decisions which makes positive impact.
1. Be Conscious
In everything we do, we aim to make conscious and informed decisions. We understand we won’t be perfect eco warriors all day, every day, but by being conscious and aware of our actions and beliefs, we will make everyday decisions that are better for the environment and for people.
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“What you do makes a difference and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” - Jane Goodall (Ethologist & Conservationist)
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2. Continue to Learn
Despite our in-depth knowledge on many things; dogs, fashion, great Melbourne cafes... we understand that sustainability is an ever expanding area. We aim to commit ourselves to constantly adapt and deepen our knowledge of sustainability. To continue to learn and be open to new ideas and concepts.
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“If you don’t understand, ask questions. If you’re uncomfortable about asking questions, say you are uncomfortable about asking questions and then ask anyway.” - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Author)
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3. Strive to Educate
Just like sharing your latest great restaurant find with your friends, we believe it’s important to share what we know and what we learn. We aim to educate and share our knowledge on sustainability, so that everyone can be informed and make conscious decisions in their lives. Sustainability affects everyone, therefore everyone has a responsibility to share and to learn.
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Malala - “When the whole world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful.” (Activist)
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4. Every day is an opportunity
Every day is a new opportunity to make a difference in the world and it’s an opportunity we will strive not to miss. Each day we make thousands of decisions, and each one should be seen as an opportunity to do good and make a positive impact in the world.
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“The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.” - Robert Swan (Environmentalist & Polar Explorer)
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We are constantly looking to improve our practices in our office in order to minimise our environmental footprint. If you have any suggestions or questions, please get in touch with us at welovepandas@twoobs.com and read more about sustainability in our supply chain here.
