Sustainability & Responsibility

Table of contents

Sustainability 

Sustainability is important to Happy People Pickleball. We’re getting greener every step of the way, while still providing you with the quality products you deserve!

Around 85% of all textiles produced by the fashion industry end up in landfills, making it a major contributor to environmental damage. What’s more, one in every five items produced by the fashion industry reaches landfills without being worn even once.

As Happy People Pickleball works with on-demand suppliers, we only produce items that are ordered, avoiding textile waste from overproduction. Our printing partner’s high-quality printing tech creates almost no wastewaters and uses less energy than standard industry printers. 

Production 

Each product you see offered is made on-demand—once you place an order, it is produced specifically for you. This avoids overproduction and textile waste, and continuously works toward greener production.  

This way we get to take care of you and the planet we all share!

Printing technology and materials 

About direct-to-garment printing.

Note: This method is typically used for products with high cotton fabric content, like t-shirts, hoodies, tote bags, etc. 

Our clothing designs we choose are fulfilled using various methods. Many of the products are printed with the direct-to-garment (DTG) technique, which is a printing method where ink is first sprayed directly onto the garment, and then it soaks into the fabric. It’s like printing on paper, but on clothing. 

Kornit printers are used. The printers generate almost zero wastewater and use less energy than standard industry printers, which lowers our carbon footprint. 

The inks used for printing are Oeko-Tex™ certified, vegan, water-based, and free of harmful chemicals.

Embroidery 

At Happy People Pickleball, we embroider our products with Oeko-Tex™ certified threads, meaning they’re safe for both adult and children’s clothing.

Compared to printing, embroidery is generally more durable and produces less environmental waste.

Eco-friendly product materials

There are a lot of reasons why a product or material could be considered sustainable.

Currently, at Happy People Pickleball our eco-friendly product collection consists of items made of at least 70% organic or recycled materials, or a mix of these materials. 

Product packaging 

At Happy People Pickleball, all apparel products are packed in post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic mailers. The amount of PCR in the packaging will differ depending on where your order gets printed, but it’s at least 50% for the outside poly mailer bags and at least 30% for the inside (clear) bags used in multi-item shipments. 

PCR packaging is made from everyday items, like used plastic bags and bottles. This material protects your order just as well as regular plastic bags, however, choosing PCR over first-use plastics reduces the environmental impact plastic has on our planet.

OEKO-TEK Certification

OEKO-TEX® certification is one of the world’s leading labels for textile safety, and it proves that the certified products are free from hazardous chemicals. We’ve listed the label in the product description of the products that hold this certification. We also use OEKO-TEX® certified inks and thread for embroidery designs.

Are your products vegan?

Most of the items in our catalog are free of animal products. All Stanley/Stella products and a few other items from the eco-friendly collection are also PETA-Approved Vegan. If the product carries a PETA-Approved Vegan certificate, it’s mentioned in the product description. 

Currently, we carry two products containing wool fibers:

  • Snapback hats
  • Classic Snapbacks

If the product contains animal-derived materials, it’s mentioned in the product description.