As the threat of climate change looms large, Australia-based start-up company Kusaga Athletic has turned to crowdfunding platform Kickstarter to launch what it claims is the ‘Greenest T-shirt on the planet’, a British fashion website has reported. Kusaga Athletic says that a regular cotton T-shirt needs 3000 litres of water to make, whereas its ‘Greenest T-shirt’ requires less than 1 per cent of that because the T-shirt is made out of its revolutionary fabric, Ecolite, a unique blend of two natural fibres that is biodegradable, compostable and sustainable. Highlighted as an ‘eco-friendly’ tee, Kusaga Athletic is looking to bring its plant-based and sustainable fabric, which it claims is softer than cotton, cool like linen, and has the same technical capabilities of polyester to market by asking for 15,000 Australian dollars via crowdfunding site Kickstarter. Kusaga Athletic co-founder Graham Ross said: “We all know climate change is a big problem, so big it’s hard to know what one person can do to make a difference. “Not many people realise it can take 3,000 litres of water to make a single cotton t-shirt. With a staggering two billion t-shirts sold every year worldwide we figured it was a pretty good place to start to help mitigate climate change. We think given the choice between similar products, people will choose the option that’s better for the environment.” In return for backing the campaign, Kusaga Athletic is offering backers to become part of their Tribe, which includes a shout out on social media, and the chance to receive a T-shirt before anyone else. Pledging more than 500 Australian dollars will allow the backer to become a product tester, allowing them to be the first to discover the brands new fabrics, while 1,000 Australian Dollars will make the backer a Kusaga Athletic ambassador for 12 months. The campaign closes on December 4, currently they have attracted 149 backers and raised 13,970 Australian dollars, the campaign needs 15,000 Australian dollars to be funded. The Greenest T-shirt is Kusaga’s first direct-to-consumer retail offering, currently they supply eco-friendly apparel to Earth Hour Global/WWF and pioneering eco-events company Endurance Evergreen. In addition to Ecolite, the apparel brand also has other future eco-friendly fabrics including Ecosoft, a high-performance textile that is ideal for everyday use, Ecomesh, a lightweight fabric that offers ventilation and elasticity, and Ecodry, an athletic performance fabric that is high-stretch and breathable.
