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Any errors of content and translation does not result in liability of DYKKEREN.
This site was created by Dykkeren ®.
DYKKEREN ®and Dive Earth Enjoy and Protect ® are registered trademarks.
dykkeren.com and store.dykkeren.com web sites and their content,
registered or not, are the property of DYKKEREN.
Total or partial reproduction of any pictures, images, texts and so on belonging to DYKKEREN,
for any public use, is subject to the prior written permission of DYKKEREN.
The trademarks, logos and texts mentionned are the property of their respective authors.
Extracts and references to other sites as well as their translation are for information only.
Any errors of content and translation does not result in liability of DYKKEREN.
This site was created by Dykkeren ®.
This page is under construction.
Thanks to come back later.
Dykkeren is a small company. Yet Dykkeren acts.
Technical and economic choices, organic cotton, fair trade, traceability and respect of labour conditions.
But not only.
Ambassador of Longitude 181 Nature, partner of Passion des Requins (French association created by Ondine Eliot to protect sharks), Dykkeren also sometimes shares some of its sales.
Sharks and divers are an old story. And Dykkeren loves sharks! As an essential link of underwater life, sharks must be saved from the threat of extinction that hangs over them. Their protection is one of our first concerns. Dykkeren has been involved several times on this issue: during the 2009 European Shark Week or with the Passion des requins association (creation of the Requins Rescue T-shirt, donation of €5 of the price to the association, several hundreds have been sold).
Not to mention the "Divers love sharks! “ Dykkeren model which clearly shows our position on the matter.
Dykkeren is also committed locally with a highly active involvement in La Place (Fair Trade Platform of Aquitaine – South West of France): events organization in Bordeaux area (France), conferences, work with elected officials and institutions to encourage them to better consume...
Dykkeren is active in other initiatives, like the recent partnership with cave divers for a cleaning operation in and around dive sites in Lot (famous French area for cave diving): Souteux respectueux* T-shirt -, social networks animation, organization assistance…).
*Respectful cave divers
Cotton has been dressing humanity for 8000 years.
Cotton is a natural material, yet its culture causes problems.
By occupying only 2.5% of the cultivated land, it alone uses 25% of the world's pesticides. This so-called "conventional" cotton is rarely present in Dykkeren products.
The cotton used in Dykkeren clothing line has several origins: India and Brazil mainly, Turkey and Egypt for some older models.
No GMO cotton (also called Bt cotton) in our products! GMOs are absent in organic cotton! As well as in fair trade cotton (to prevent producers from being economically dependent).
It takes 3 years to convert fields from conventional to organic cotton. During this period, organic farming specifications are applied to clean up the soils. This organic-in-conversion-cotton is less profitable at first and deserves to be supported. This is what we did through Fair Trade with our first Brazilian cotton products, grown by small producers in Northeast Brazil.
You will also sometimes find the Max Havelaar label on some products of Indian origin, which are organic too.
Because it uses no chemical fertilizers, pesticides or GMOs, uses less water (especially the amount needed by chemical fertilizers and pesticides), organic cotton is the best alternative.
Let's avoid contaminating the soil, poisoning people who live on this crop!
To identify certified organic products, the GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) label is the most common at Dykkeren. It is composed of former labels of the same quality, regrouped in the past few years, while remaining rigorous, even including social criteria for producers (minimum wage ...).
Finally, let us remember as divers that "Everything ends in the sea! » (As our friend Erlendur of the Strýtan Dive Center would say).
Diving cannot be separated from the protection of our playground, including our choices as consumers.
Recycled polyester is sometimes present in our products but we avoid as much as possible petrochemical materials, especially when there is no technical need for it.
Linen, hemp or merino wool are very interesting materials ... Many things remain to be explored by Dykkeren and by consumers.
Textile is one of the most inhuman economic sectors in terms of basic labour rights, right down to the very heart of Europe, as geographical proximity is not a wall against social injustice.
No way for Dykkeren to limit itself to ecological materials without worrying about how our products are made!
From the beginning, Dykkeren chose Fair Trade, offering T-shirts made by Fair Trade Cooperative Univens in Porto Alegre in Brazil. This Brazilian sector has since collapsed.
In fair trade, respect of labour conditions is a founding principle.
Other Dykkeren products come from India, Turkey or Bangladesh, all Fair Wear Foundation certified. FFW is an independent non-profit foundation whose objective is to guarantee labour conditions in textile industry. Through regular inspections, a coaching process for companies in the garment sector towards a code of conduct based on the International Labor Organization (ILO) conventions and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in a partnership with NGO, the Fair Wear Foundation intends to enforce some simple principles:
- Employment is freely chosen
- No discrimination in employment
- No exploitation of labour child
- Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining
- Payment of a living wage
- Reasonable hours of work
- Safe and healthy working conditions
- Legally binding employment relationship
(from Fair Wear Foundation website).
Dykkeren does not manufacture in France, except for clothes personalization (silkscreen, crests ...).
It is a choice.
At Dykkeren, we have always wanted to have the shortest way between cotton fields, manufacturing and final destination.
Finally, as cotton is not grown in France, its transformation far from producing countries or neighbouring countries can be debated. After all, why remove opportunities for added value to these equally legitimate countries? Especially since we are not talking about an exclusive know-how of the French artisan heritage.
Dykkeren most often opts for silkscreen printing.
1000 year old technique invented by the Chinese, silkscreen printing is aesthetic.
It allows chiselled designs or large regular patterns. It lasts in time, cracks sometimes, living with its support giving it a vintage charm, unlike transfers that give a plastic effect that we do not like at Dykkeren.
Silkscreens are made in France (Aquitaine), in workshops chosen for their expertise, their commitments (one is an historical member of Imprim'Vert® and very aware of waste resulting from its industrial processes management, others certified Oeko-Tex® Standard 100).
Geographical proximity counts: we like to meet the people we work with, understand their craftsmanship and the complexity of their techniques to get the best results.
On June 8, 2009, World Oceans Day, Dykkeren, still very young, became an ambassador for Longitude 181 Nature. Because it was obvious.
Association created by François Sarano, oceanographer and former Cousteau teammate, Longitude 181 Nature has developed a guideline for responsible divers. This guideline encourages scuba divers to think about the impact of their activity on the underwater ecosystem and their relations with the populations of the countries they visit.
Dykkeren joins a copy of this guideline in every sent parcel (and for the many customers who come back, we feel that they already know by heart the main principles of this guideline! ;-))
For the "Dykkeren loves sharks!" operation, we gave Longitude 181 nature 10% of our turnover for 15 days.
But it's not just a statement. As divers, our practices have long been concerned with the environment (underwater or not): alternative kicking techniques to avoid acting like wild boar underwater, trashnet to pick up waste – a long time before creating Dykkeren by the way! - the one we use is made in organic cotton, what about yours ?, abolition of disposable tableware ... Our buddies can testify that we annoy people with these questions !: - D
The simple manufacture of a T-shirt shows the complexity of the textile industry and its impact on the planet. Dykkeren wants to be aware of these issues in order to minimize the negative impacts and to promote the positive aspects.
The "Respect code" present on some Dykkeren products allows us to trace the entire production chain.
Dykkeren also offers EarthPositive® products in its range.
Here as well, the approach aims to be ecological, ethical and especially global: organic cotton (India and Turkey), guaranteed Oeko-Tex ® Standard 100, clothing manufacturing (India and Turkey) in respect of labour conditions. All manufacturing process is thought to neutralize greenhouse gas emissions (renewable energy, measures for a minimum ecological impact of the culture of the cotton up to the transport of finished products).
Dykkeren selects the manufacturers of its products on strong criteria: fair trade (paying a fair price in the context of a long-term commercial relationship), respect of labour conditions, commitment for environmental cause, transparency.
Let’s face it, it's economically binding. However, Dykkeren will always prefer investing in ethical and qualitative products rather than spend money on communication to sell products far from its values.
No risk wearing Dykkeren! The Oeko-Tex® Standard 100 guarantee is there to vouch for the effects of textile components on health. This certification guarantees the materials harmlessness. It is issued for one year by a designated institute which makes tests in a laboratory to detect banned or regulated by law substances but also substances which are concerning for the health according to current but not yet regulated knowledge (extracts from Oeko Tex® website).
All our textile products are Oeko-Tex® Standard 100 except Brazilian fair trade products. Even if it is not always officialised by a certification (the certification has a consequent cost for workshops), ink used in screenprinting is Oeko-Tex ®.
Dykkeren won the Agenda 21 trophy of the Gironde departmentin November 2010 in the Business category for its "responsible commitment [...] (fair trade and organic textiles) and awareness of customers and partners on the challenges of responsible consumption ".
Initially, Agenda 21 is an action plan for the 21st century adopted by 178 heads of state at the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992. The values and recommendations conveyed by Agenda 21 have been applied at various local levels.
Concerning companies, their social responsibility is evaluated. No precise specifications at Dykkeren but a concern for continuous improvement in the proposed products and company functioning, as well as a financial commitment especially for the protection of underwater biodiversity.
That award was a confirmation of the relevance of our choices.
Greenwashing (...) is a marketing method using the ecological argument. The companies using greenwashing thus give an eco-responsible image, though far from reality ... The practice of greenwashing is misleading and can be likened to false advertising (translated from Novethic French definition).
In short, sorting your waste in the office or reusing packaging is good, but it is not a process and certainly not enough to transform a brand into an eco-responsible actor.
Dykkeren will not cheat you. There is still progress to be made but our actions are numerous, on all subjects, and our commitment is sincere.
We invest in products rather than in communication.
Dykkeren tries to favour ecological and ethical solutions for its operations (administrative, logistic ...), as much as possible and according to the state of its knowledge,
Three letters for three principles to remember.
RRR - Reduce Reuse Recycle, is a line of conduct for Dykkeren, for both ecological and economic reasons.
Packaging is often recycled cardboard or reused as needed, adapted to the size of the shipments (how many half empty boxes do you receive in your online purchases?).
Flyers are printed by providers equally committed .
Our office supplies are environmentally friendly (even the scale for our parcels is sun-powered!).