• What kind of packaging do you use?

We use the most minimal packaging possible. Our mailers are from ecoenclose, and the protective paper was destined for the recycling bin, but we saved it. The tape is recycled. All tags are attached with scrap threads. 

Personally, I can say that I think extravagant packaging is cute and all, but I chuck it out moments after the package arrives. And I kind of hate that and suspect I'm not alone. We don’t want this business to have that frivolous sort of impact, so the standard packaging is the very least possible. If you are sending your item as a gift and want a bit more flair please do contact us and we can try to put something together.

• Is shipping carbon neutral?

Soon it will be! We're just researching options we like. It's very important to us as a company that is so reliant on global shipping.

• Why are there no photos of your staff?

This is incredibly important to us. We do hope to eventually have little blurbs written by my staff, but of course now we are only in phase one so those are a bit of a moot point at the moment. But we will never exploit the folks we hire. Just because someone is in a bit of a pickle does not mean that we need to document it in order to give them a boost. They still very much deserve their privacy. The first group of group of employees will specifically include LGBTQ+ individuals in a country that they are unsafe in, so we will keep their identities private for their safety as well as their dignity. They shouldn’t be paraded about, it’s very common and very gross.

• Why are there no photos of the founder of the company?

Annette here. For the time being I have decided to keep my face private. Not because I want to stay private for myself especially, but because I will be interacting with folks who are not safe *because* they are not safe. I don’t want to put anyone in danger by association with me, since of course the location we’re working in could easily get out (and inevitably will be out there to some degree when we begin shipping from there). I do not want anyone to be able to follow me and harm my workers. 

Just to be clear though I am a white cisgender woman.  

• Why do you only hire people for a short period of time?

Partially because of the amount we pay. The pay is quite high for the time and experience involved, and since we are trying to be a company for social good we want to spread things out a bit. Perhaps we don’t need to have 5 folks who are very well off when we could have 10 folks who are doing well. Also, we do hope to have more portable operations in future, perhaps working with various organizations to efficiently funnel cash into their work.  

• What's the deal with the tips on the checkout page?

Those will be for our workers. At this point those funds go directly toward our ability to move into phase two, but when we begin phase two those funds will go directly to our employees. The company will make no money off of tips, we will just subtract processing fees, pool the money, and divide it among our staff. It's not treated as a donation come tax day, we're not quite so fancy just yet. We wanted to have a way to achieve very efficient direct giving. You're certainly not obligated to tip, workers are making more than a livable wage, it just helps them out even more!

• How do I care for my beautiful new shirt?

Fantastic question! You should hand wash your shirt in cold water, and hang to dry. *Never* put it in the drier. With the addition of the embroidery you are now dealing with two separate materials and weaves on one shirt, although all items are pre shrunk the possibility for distortion too high if you put it in the drier. Do not iron it either, in my experience they line dry quite nicely. Treat your new shirt like the treasure it is! That being said, the embroidery itself is what some might call “excessively robust” (just look at the back of your shirt, it lays flat and won’t itch, but you can see those threads are weaved into the pattern). It’s not going to unweave itself, it’s good and in there, let it be its glorious self by treating it thoughtfully. If you must machine wash it put it in a garment bag, we don't want anything snagging your art!  

• I can see threads! Is my embroidery unraveling?

Deep breaths! It is extremely unlikely that your shirt is unraveling. We tie the threads off, and then weave the remaining threads into the back of the embroidery. We do this to create smoother lines and minimize thread visibility when the item is worn. If you see an errant thread you can just tuck it back into the threads on the back side (we use a very small crochet hook for this), or simply leave it if it doesn't bother you. If your embroidery is genuinely unraveling I'd be gobsmacked, but would love to help you out. Please contact us if any shocking nonsense is happening.

• Where'd you get the shirts you embroider? Are they produced ethically?

Our shirts come from an producer that uses no sweatshops and ethically decent policies. While we would love to have the ability to produce shirts in house that's just not a realistic possibility at the moment. Upcycled items come from thrift stores or various online shops.

• Some yellow/blue dust/ink is on my shirt behind the embroidery, what gives?

That's from the transfer paper, or, less likely a water erase pen. We use these to transfer the design to the shirt, and work off of that. No freehand here! All ink/dust will wash out on the first wash, we just didn't rinse it thoroughly enough here (sorry!). It's worth noting that this has never actually happened, at least that we've been told, but it's important information to have out there. 

• My shirt looks a little funny after a wash, there's some puckering happening. How can I improve it without ironing it?

Personally I [Annette] find that gently tugging at the fabric around the sides of the embroidery re-situates the troublesome threads quite nicely. If it really needs a tidy I go around it with an iron and smooth down the fabric inside the design with the tip of the iron. I do not find I need to do this often, typically a gentle tug is just fine on a shirt that isn't terribly wrinkled. I don't recommend ironing straight on the design, just around it.

• Do you accept returns?

Since we are such a small company, and a business trying to accomplish some social good, we ask that you take your time when shopping, and do not order multiple sizes when you only intend to keep one item. Accurate measurements are listed with each item. Extensive returns will ultimately impede our ability to achieve our goals; we ask our customers to make thoughtful purchases. 

If your order has not begun processing and you need to cancel, we would be happy to oblige. However, there will be a small cancellation fee, depending on the form of payment you used.

If your item arrives damaged or defective we will replace it. Please photograph the item and contact us within 24 hours. 

Items that have been customized are final sale. This means if you contact us for a customization that item cannot be returned. We're happy to customize, just want everyone to be aware that after that is completed it isn't a standard item any longer and cannot be restocked. No returns, no exchanges. 

All returns are for store credit and must be initiated within 15 days of receipt of the item. All items must be in like new condition with no indications of wear. Once we receive your item we will inspect it and issue a store credit. We do not cover return shipping costs, refund initial shipping charges, or provide return shipment labels. We ask that you consider tracking and insuring your package as we will not take responsibility of the item until it is in our possession. Please contact us to initiate the return process. 

Our quality standards are very high and we will support you if your item needs some repairs after cumulative wear and tear. You’re not just abandoned, if anything comes up, even years after purchase, we can do our very best to talk you through repairs.   

• What's the deal with duties?

All taxes and duties incurred are the responsibility of the customer. We aren't yet at a point where we can sort things out beforehand.