Sustainability & Ethical Sourcing (FAQ Page)
At The Clandestine Underground sustainability isn’t a buzzword — it’s built into the way we do business.
We design and produce with intention, striving to create pieces that are not only original and high quality, but also made responsibly from start to finish.
Here’s how we’re doing our part:
✅ Ethical Production Standards
We aim to source garments from WRAP-certified factories, ensuring that every piece is made under fair, safe, and humane working conditions. When we use products made in the USA, we partner with brands that provide living wages, employee benefits, and sustainable in-house manufacturing practices.
♻️ Eco-Friendly Materials & Practices
Our original designs are often printed on apparel made with sustainable fibers, including 100% cotton and recycled polyester blends. We also use screen print transfers from a small business in New Jersey, which sources materials from U.S. companies and operates with a low-waste model.
We only produce what we need. By using screen print transfers and making most items to order, we drastically reduce overproduction and unnecessary inventory waste.
📦 Planet-Conscious Shipping
Every order is shipped carbon neutral, using recycled or biodegradable packaging materials whenever possible. We also reuse incoming shipment boxes to further minimize waste. Behind the scenes, we recycle and compost the majority of our operational waste to continue improving our impact.
🌍 Giving Back
A percentage of every purchase goes toward organizations that support social justice, environmental conservation, animal rescue, and women’s empowerment. Supporting us means supporting meaningful causes around the world.
We’re always learning, growing, and looking for better ways to serve both people and the planet. Thank you for supporting a business that believes in doing things differently — and doing them right.
A few more detailed FAQ's about our sustainability:
What makes our packaging eco-friendly?
-Tissue = printed with soy-based inks, on FSC-certified paper, and is Acid, sulphur, and lignin-free. noissue Tissue is 100% Compostable, Recyclable, and made from recycled materials.
-Tape = printed with soy-based inks, 100% compostable, made from recycled materials & reusable.
-Hang Tags = made from recycled materials & easily curbside recyclable.
-All Paper = easily curbside recyclable.
-PolyMailers / Apparel Bags = made from a combination of PBAT, a bio based polymer which is compostable, and PLA which is made up of plant materials such as regular field corn and wheat straw.
What do we do daily to be more eco-friendly?
We recycle as much as we can, all cardboard / curbside recycled plastic / glass we can recycled curbside in our city. However, we still recycle thin plastics that are not curbside recyclable by taking them to plastic drop off points (we have some at Lowes & Walmart, but there are so many more just consult Google). We also compost all of our materials we receive that are certified compostable after we are through - however we try to lengthen the lifespan of our products we use as long as possible to reduce waste.
What else do we do with our products to be more environmentally conscious?
We are adamant about supporting other smaller businesses when we purchase Wholesale products. This is a key factor for us in being more environmentally conscious because it lowers the production of large companies who are constantly putting out the largest emissions of toxic chemicals and gasses into the atmosphere. We support smaller wholesale Blank tshirt companies, apparel distributors & artists, and anywhere else in our daily lives when we can!
A FEW OF THE BRANDS WE WORK WITH AND THEIR SUSTAINABILITY PAGES:
- Los Angeles Apparel - Social Responsibility Page
- Lane Seven Apparel - Sustainability Page
- 613 Originals - About Us Page
- American Apparel - Sustainability Page
- NoIssue - Sustainability Page