I started Jackalo because I was tired of watching kids' clothes fall apart after a season — and ending up in a landfill. Kids grow fast and play hard. That combination shouldn't mean we're buying and throwing away clothes at the rate we do.
So today felt like a good day to talk about what we're actually doing about it.
First: a new post I wrote on organic cotton
I've gotten so many questions about our fabrics over the years — "is organic cotton actually better, or is that just marketing?" It's a fair question. So I wrote an honest, no-fluff answer.
The short version: it does matter. Significantly. For the farmers growing it, for the water supply in the regions where it's grown, for the chemicals (or lack thereof) against your kid's skin, and for what happens when they finally outgrow it.
For kids with eczema or sensitive skin in particular, there's a real case to be made.
The bigger picture at Jackalo
Organic cotton is important, but it's only part of the story. Here's what else we're doing:
We first design clothes to last. Reinforced knees, extra-long inseams, bartack stitching at stress points. Clothes that can't be destroyed don't end up in landfills.
We are pushing the boundaries on reclaimed materials. More to come on this soon. I hate to be vague, but we've got exciting things coming. Stay tuned!
TradeUP. When your kids outgrow their Jackalo pieces, send them back. We'll clean them, repair what needs repairing, and resell them in our Pre-Loved collection at a discount. Anything that can't be repaired gets recycled responsibly. You get store credit. The clothes stay out of the waste stream.
We fix what breaks. If a Jackalo item rips within six months of purchase, we repair it free. Because that's how it should work.
We offset 100% of our carbon emissions from farm to your front door — production, shipping, all of it — through our partner SimpliZero.
Our packaging is recycled or compostable. We avoid plastic wherever we can. When we can't, we use recycled plastic.
We recycle our production scraps. The fabric offcuts from making our clothes get recycled or upcycled into accessories. Nothing goes to waste if we can help it.
We give 1% of annual sales to environmental organizations through our membership in 1% for the Planet.
None of this is magic. It's just choices — made consistently, across every part of how we operate.
If you've got outgrown Jackalo pieces sitting in a drawer right now, today's a good day to send them back.
Thank you for being part of this. Every purchase, every trade-in, every piece that gets worn by a second kid instead of going to landfill — it adds up.
Your Friend,
Marianna
