Andy Lunt of T Shirt and Sons, Westbury, Wiltshire

T Shirt and Sons is currently the only Soil Association certified organic textile printer in the world. Andy first approached the Soil Association with the idea of certified organic printing in 1998. He went on to speak at the Soil Association conference in 2005 which was attended by all interested sectors of the textile market including dye manufacturers, ink manufacturers, retail brands, leather tanners, wool producers and NGOs. In 2006 T Shirt and Sons became the first textile printer to be awarded a licence by the Soil Association. T Shirt and Sons have won numerous awards including runner up for ‘Best Garment Decorator of the year’ award 2008.

• Can you give a short history of how you got to where you are now, including why and when you ‘went organic’?
  My brother, Jon, and I started in Bath nearly 20 years ago from a small lockup working long hours for little reward, we now employ 20 people in our Westbury factory and have recently bought a second factory nearby to accommodate our planned growth for this year. We have also embarked on setting up a print facility in Turkey, close to the source of our organic cotton, to further streamline production and allow us to compete for lucrative contracts within Europe and America.
  
  Twenty years ago I used to get asked if we could print on unbleached t-shirts. My clients didn’t ask whether the garments we used were organic or what happened to them before or after they were ‘unbleached’. The idea of organic cotton hadn’t entered their minds and the idea of an organic print would have been met with complete scepticism. The truth then was that there was nothing better than an ‘unbleached’ garment to offer the socially conscious customer. Manufacturers weren’t really interested in a t-shirt that had been organically produced. They were concerned with only producing the cheapest garment. Of course now things are very different. The social and environmental consumer has come of age and with it a rapidly growing demand for any product that can be sustainably produced. We now have requests for ‘harvest-to-high street’ organic production and now it is possible to trace all of the processes and raw materials used. Every part of the journey is scrutinised to produce that ‘perfect’ garment.

• Can you describe a typical day in your life?
  Coffee, dog walk, say hello to all the staff in the factory and office, check my emails, meetings, lunch optional, business development, dog walk, supper, smile.

• Who are your customers and where are they?
  We service a huge spectrum of different clients, thankfully more and more are demanding organic t-shirts. Here are a few of our regular customers:
  Charities - Cancer Research, Christian Aid, Animal Aid
  Retail brands - Katharine Hamnett
  NGO’s - Greenpeace, Environmental Justice Foundation, BTCV
  Music festivals & events - Glastonbury Festival, Womad Festival
  ….and of course the Soil Association

• Organic principles – why do they matter?
  We need to look after the planet, its environment and its inhabitants. I believe that the textile industry has a huge part to play in this. By reducing the petrochemicals, the pesticides and the insecticides that are used in cotton production we can do our bit to help. I also know that it is possible to run a successful and profitable business organically and ethically.

• What does the Soil Association mean to you?
  For consumers to have confidence in any organic brand it is imperative that there is a trusted accredited body. The Soil Association is this. With its extended global agreement (GOTS) it has also brought together all the important accreditation bodies and ensured a unified standard for every country. As the demand for organic products increases it is important that we have strict rules in place and that all industries understand the need for accreditation in order to give our customers this confidence.

• What is your greatest achievement?
  I feel proud to say that T Shirt and Sons pioneered organic printing. We now have regular international enquiries and have become a global brand as a result.

• How do you plan to progress in the future? What is your vision?
  I would like to see all textile printers becoming organic and it becoming the norm. We are developing ink systems, process systems and production methods that will enable all printers to become organic. We don’t intend to keep it a secret because, as everyone knows, competition is healthy and is necessary for the market to truly develop. We are currently partnering with a print company in Turkey to set up an organic print shop there.

• If you were starting all over again, what would you do differently?
  Nothing! Because of all the mistakes we have made and problems we have encountered we have learnt more than we ever could have imagined.

• What is the most important lesson life has taught you?
  Anything is achievable as long as you have the passion for it.

• What is the key to your success?
  Persistence and hard work.

• What single thing would most improve your life?
  A few more hours every day.

• Any unusual hobbies or past careers?
  I used to be a fireman before I started printing T shirts and now, in my spare time, I work with an established artist and we exhibit across the globe. I’m off to Tokyo this weekend for an exhibition!

• How can the organic market be improved?
  With organic food there is an obvious and direct benefit to the consumer. They eat it! But with organic textiles there is no perceived direct benefit to the consumer. Only the producer and people involved in its production appear to benefit. Consumers need to fully understand the value of organic textiles to everyone as a global community. This responsibility lies with the retailers who need to start putting ethics before profit. We need to see an end to ‘cheap’ products and to revalue the human cost of non-organic production.

• How important is energy efficiency to you?
  It is vital. As everyone is aware, we have limited resources on our planet and energy efficiency is crucial for us to have a future. We have recently embarked on a pilot scheme with the Carbon Trust and Defra, footprinting the process from the field right through to the finished printed garment. We are working with a brand called Earth Positive who produce an organic t-shirt in India using wind and solar power. Our early calculations have shown a reduction by almost 90% on a standard non-organic t shirt. We hope that this again will set a standard for all textile production.

• What’s the main benefit of being organic for you?
  Being organic is now the core principle of our business. Our organic production has grown considerably over the last two years and we have recorded a 25% increase in total sales in the last 12 months.

• What other organic ventures do you admire and why?
  Abbey Home Farm in Cirencester: Pioneers of the organic food world, Hilary and Will Chester-Master have been setting a fine example to us all. Their 635 hectare farm has been feeding and educating people for years...

I also take my hat off to companies like Continental Clothing who are pushing the boundaries of ethical and organic production in textiles.

• Supermarkets – good or bad?
  Like any bad habit we think we need them.

• What is the biggest threat to what you do?
  Consumers.

• What is your favourite meal?
  A fresh Thai salad…followed by Green and Blacks almond chocolate.

• I’d like to be remembered for…
  Not just one thing, everything.

• When were you happiest?
  Walking my spaniels on a spring morning...

• What would be your ‘Desert Island’ luxury?
  My wife.

Find out more: http://www.tshirtandsons.co.uk/