David Nieper is totally committed to supporting the local economy and constantly looking to reduce the impact our business has on the environment.

Here are some examples of what we do to make our business a sustainable and efficient one and help protect the environment for the future:

Green manufacturing
• Our factory and offices here in Alfreton are designed to help us reduce our carbon footprint, cut waste and minimise the use of energy.
• Our solar panels produce 155,000 kwh, enough electricity to run almost the entire factory.
• Rainwater harvested in roof tanks supplies some 90% of our internal requirements.
• As part of our waste management project, all paper, card and plastic is recycled, and all kitchen waste composted.

Green suppliers
• Because the environmental credentials of our suppliers are hugely important to us too, we carefully source our fabrics from responsible European companies. For example, our fabric producers in the Alps use seaweed dyes and natural glacial water, and the lace we use is produced by companies employing machines in multiple family homes. This helps us reduce travel miles in supply and promotes sustainable manufacturing.
• We have achieved Royal Mail’s highest level of accreditation for ‘sustainable mail’. Even the materials used for our catalogues and packing are from sustainable sources, recycled or from FSC managed forests.

Green employment
• We believe strongly in local recruitment and training to provide secure jobs for the immediate community, and to provide the skills and expertise that secure the future of the UK’s fashion industry.
• Our town centre location means many of our staff walk to work, and we work actively with the local council to plan long-term sustainability and development of local employment.

Green business model
• From design to despatch, every step in manufacturing one of our garments takes place at our Derbyshire site. Removing the supply chain between operations means no road and air miles are needed until delivery to the customer by local post. Even web design, catalogue printing and photo shoots are handled in house.
• Manufacturing our garments locally rather than sourcing it overseas avoids long lead times and cuts out the wastage resulting from high volume runs. Less than 1% of our stock is waste.
• Modern cutting and high quality control standards minimises fabric waste and ensures our customer returns are less than a sixth of the standard rate.