Established in 2012 in Berkeley, USA, Harvest & Mill makes USA-grown organic cotton clothing with a fully domestic supply chain from “seed to stitch.”
1. Environmental
Sustainability
Harvest & Mill’s core environmental strategy is a fully USA-based organic cotton supply chain, plus undyed / low-impact dye options, and plastic-free packaging. The brand shares many process details, but it publishes limited primary data (e.g., total annual emissions, supplier names/addresses, or independent verification files).
IMPACT AREA 01
Materials
& Sourcing
- Harvest & Mill states that it uses 100% organic cotton grown in the USA across its cotton supply.
- It states its supply chain is fully domestic: cotton grown, yarn spun/knit, and sewing done in the USA, with sewing within approximately 15 miles of its Berkeley studio.
- They work directly with organic cotton farmers, heritage mills, and family-owned factories, and claim “fully traceable” production from farm to sewing.
- Harvest & Mil highlights composting/byproducts at the farm level.
- The brand makes comparative impact claims (e.g., “70% less GHG than other sustainable brands,” “53% less energy,” “50% less water”) without sharing a public dataset, product list, or third-party-reviewed report in the provided sources. For transparency, it would be good if they shared, for example, the underlying methodology file.
IMPACT AREA 02
Climate
& Emissions
- Harvest & Mill states it measures impacts using a “globally accepted analysis methodology” and calculates impact metrics per product across its manufacturing process.
- The brand claims a 5× shorter travel distance, stating products travel 34,234 miles less than other sustainable clothing due to the domestic supply chain.
- It states that they try to reduce carbon emissions as much as possible, and then they try to offset 100% of the remaining footprint from manufacturing, supply-chain transportation, studio footprint, and shipped orders.
- It names offset projects: Garcia River Forest reforestation and Capricorn Ridge Wind Farm, and includes project-level impact statements.
- They do not show gross emissions totals, a reduction target, or annual progress reporting. That makes it harder to assess real-world decarbonization.
IMPACT AREA 03
Water
& Chemicals
- Harvest & Mill emphasizes undyed and unbleached “natural finish” fabric options, and says many items are dye-free and bleach-free, including naturally colored cotton options.
- Their black fabric uses low-impact fiber reactive dyes in the USA, and they link this to EPA wastewater discharge laws and chemical safety regulations.
- It states its fabrics are free of specific chemical groups (e.g., PFAS, azo dyes, formaldehyde, phthalates, heavy metals, etc.).
- It frames “non-toxic” as enabled by avoiding wholesalers and knowing where fabrics are made.
- In the sources provided, there is no lab testing summary, certification list (like OEKO-TEX), or public test results to verify it.
IMPACT AREA 04
Circularity
& Waste
- Harvest & Mill states it designs patterns to minimize off-cuts, and that extra fabric is repurposed or recycled, with a claim that none ends up in landfill.
- Harvest & Mill products are compostable or recyclable (organic cotton garments and paper packaging). They recommend composting/repurposing at end-of-life “where appropriate.”
- Packaging is described as plastic-free, using recycled paper materials designed to be recycled or composted.