OUR ROOTS.

Albero came into being under the umbrella of Leela Cotton, a family business founded in 1994 by husband and wife team, Susanne and Kemal Bektas. Associated with the environmental movement for decades, in the early 1990s they started looking for ways to produce skin-friendly and child-friendly textiles without chemical additives that were harmful to the environment and health. So the Leela Cotton brand has been around for almost 30 years.

The family and Leela Cotton grew up together, the second generation of the family joined and decided to extend this 30 year experiment to adult clothing. Leela Cotton continued to grow, ALBERO joined in 2013.

Albero's mission is to produce environmentally friendly, sustainably produced and non-toxic laundry items that have to meet particularly high standards because they come into direct contact with the skin. We offer a wide range of underwear, socks and casual wear, all made from the finest Aegean cotton and manufactured exclusively in trusted textile mills in Turkey.

HEALTHEST GARMENTS FOR YOUR SKIN; LOWEST ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT!

Everything that affects your skin also affects your health!

The skin is our largest organ, the barrier between us and the environment. But are you aware that your clothing constantly exposes you to chemical, unhealthy substances?

From cultivation to dyeing, each step in textile production requires various chemical additives that can be harmful to health, even if the textiles are washed before they are worn for the first time. Pesticides and fertilizers used during cotton cultivation, as well as hazardous chemicals used to dye fabrics, can leave toxic residues on clothing. Our body absorbs them through the skin.

But not only our health, also that of the textile workers is damaged by the constant contact with the chemical substances, as well as the entire ecosystem.

Albero, on the other hand, offers underwear that has been produced sustainably and ecologically and is good for our skin instead of damaging it.

In order to achieve this goal, we have established the following criteria:

1. We only use raw materials from organic farming . Our cotton consists of 100% Aegean, organically grown cotton, ie the soil and groundwater are protected, as is the health of the farmers. The entire production process from the raw material to the end product is controlled and certified by Global Organic Textile Standards (GOTS). Certification is based on ecological and social criteria.
2. No Harmful Chemicals . We have a list of banned chemicals that could harm the environment, the health of the textile farmer and the wearer. All accessories such as buttons or zippers are made of natural materials as far as possible.
3. Ethical Production . We work exclusively with trustworthy producers whose working methods we have known and appreciated for years. All steps of the production process, packaging, labeling and shipping are monitored and controlled by GOTS, according to strict ecological and social criteria.
4. Functional, timeless, durable products . When designing our products, we attach particular importance to longevity, durability, functionality and safe wearing comfort. We prefer timeless design and high-quality fabrics and workmanship. Our fashion is not fast-moving! We don't need new cuts and colors every season; the Albero style is independent of constantly changing trends. Our standards are quality, functionality, wearing comfort and attractive design.
5. Low CO² emissions . The entire production process from raw material to finished product takes place within a small limited area of ​​Turkey. The finished garments are transported to our warehouse in Bremen by ship or train. This is how we avoid unnecessary CO² emissions during transport. We also use the climate-neutral services of the freight forwarders DHL, Go Green and DPD.
6. Less waste . We try to reduce the packaging for the transport and resale of our products to the absolutely necessary minimum. We do not use polyester bags for each individual garment, a very common and convenient method in the fashion industry to transport goods easily and safely, but which are actually unnecessary and a typical example of over-packaging. The little packaging we use is reusable, recyclable and compostable. Our paper packaging (hangtags and boxes) are FSC-certified. This ensures that the materials come from responsible sources and comply with ecological and social standards.
7. Environmentally Conscious Team . All of our products are vegan. Veganism makes an important contribution to achieving our ecological goals, as groundwater pollution and greenhouse gases resulting from factory farming are reduced. In our family, we have practiced, supported and promoted the vegan lifestyle for a long time, including in the workplace.

We support our team in using alternative, environmentally friendly means of transport to get to work. Since the network of cycle paths is very well developed in our company location in Bremen (“The city of short distances”), it makes sense to cover the distance by bike.

We separate our waste, reduce our use of paper in the office and organize regular training to reduce our ecological footprint in the workplace and in everyday life.