The Art of Apparel
Responsibility, People & Environment
"Five years of change, and we're not done yet."
A responsibility that runs through everything we do
We're a small family business in the Bay of Plenty, and this is our backyard too - our coastline, our community, our waterways. So, when it comes to how we operate, we don't cut corners. Here's where that shows up. At Diffuse, sustainability and social responsibility aren't a side project they're built into every stage of our process, from the garments we choose to work with, through to how we look after our own team.
It's an ongoing journey, and over the past five years we've made real progress in reducing our impact on the planet.
Doing this properly, not just talking about it
Supplier Choices
It starts before a garment ever reaches our workshop. We encourage our customers toward suppliers genuinely committed to ethical manufacturing, reduced packaging waste, and responsible employment practices. We're selective about who we partner with brands like: EashionBiz, AS Colour, Cloke and Stoney Creek, each committed to responsible garment manufacturing in their own way.
Garment Recycling
We're proud partners of ImpacTex, New Zealand's leading textile recycler, ensuring unwanted garments and uniforms are responsibly diverted from landfill rather than adding to the roughly 180,000 tonnes of textile waste New Zealand sends to landfill every year.
Waste Recycling
Over the last five years we've completely overhauled our production processes:
- Packaging is reused wherever possible when delivering decorated garments to customers
- Collection bins in-house for cardboard and soft plastic recycling
- Easiway environmentally approved, low-odour cleaning products used throughout our screen reclamation process
- Drain filters installed on-site to stop water pollution leaving the factory
Sustainable Printing
Our ink range is built around cleaner, safer standards: Epic Rio Printing Inks; cure at lower temperatures, low odour, phthalate free
- OEKO-TEX®️ Standard 100 certified inks used across all our DTF printing
- Supacolour transfers, also OEKO-TEX certified
- Currently trialling Magna Colours water-based screen printing inks, also OEKO-TEX certified. As we move toward water-based OEKO-TEX printing across all our processes
- Embroidery chemical-free, just thread
How It works:
For individuals and smaller businesses: simply drop unwanted clothing into our onsite collection bin. We collate this with other collections and arrange delivery to ImpacTex.
For larger businesses: we'll set up your own onsite collection bin (120L or 240L, with signage), for a one-off setup cost. When it's full, let us know and we'll organise collection and delivery to ImpacTex. Charges apply but in return, you'll receive a quarterly report showing how much has been recycled and the carbon offset achieved.
What's accepted: clothing (jeans, shirts, coats), hi-vis wear, wireless bras (or bras with wire removed), bed linen (not duvet inners or pillows), towels and tea towels, fabric mattress protectors (not waterproof), and rain jackets/pants (excluding PVC garments).
What happens next: textiles are sorted and assessed, decommissioned (hardware like zips and buttons removed), then industrially torn down into a fine fibre. That fibre goes on to become home insulation, couch cushioning, pet beds, wall partitions, acoustic panelling and ImpacTex's own Retex panels, 100% New Zealand textile waste and 100% recyclable.
Social Responsibility
We're proud supporters of Live for More, Wish for Wish, Maketu Wetlands and other local organisations that help make our local area a better place.
Staff
Looking after our people because great work starts with a great team. At Diffuse, looking after our team isn't a HR policy on a wall it's just how we operate. We're a small, family-owned business where the owners are on the floor every day alongside the team. There's no corner office, no close doors, and no gap between what we say and how we actually behave.
Here's what that looks like in practice:
A flat. open team - everyone has a voice. We share now the business is tracking, make decisions together where we can, and believe the people doing the work have the best ideas about how to do it better.
Flexibility that fits real life-school pickups, family commitments, or just a day when someone needs a bit of give. We work with our team to make it work, because that kind of trust goes both ways.
Learning and growing- garment decoration is a genuine craft, and we invest in our team getting better at it, from decoration techniques through to the environmental side of what we do.
A safe, healthy workspace - our choices around low-phthalate inks, eco-friendly cleanup, and filtered wastewater aren't just about the environment. They're about the space our team works in every single day.
Shared kai and celebrating wins - we're a team, not just a workforce. We share lunches, celebrate milestones, and take time to acknowledge good work.
Getting involved in the community together - our commitment to the community isn't just something the business does, it's something the team does together, from local surf clubs to Maketu Wetlands to Live for More. The perks of working in apparel-quality branded workwear and access to clothing at heavily discounted rates. If you help other people look great for a living, you should look great too.
Five years of progress, not just good intentions
Sustainability and social responsibility run through every stage of our process at Diffuse - from the suppliers we choose, to the inks we print with, to how we look after our own people and community. It's an ongoing journey, and one we take seriously.
Responsible suppliers
We encourage ethical, responsible garment suppliers - partnering with brands like FashionBiz, AS Colour, Cloke and Stoney Creek, who are committed to responsible manufacturing in their own way.
Waste, minimised at every stage
Reused packaging, in-house cardboard and soft plastic recycling, Easiway low-odour cleaning products, and drain tilters to stop water pollution leaving our factory.
Cleaner printing, inside and out
Epic Rio inks that cure at lower temperatures and are phthalate free OEKO-TEX® Standard 100 certified inks across our DTF printing, Supacolour transfers, and MagnaColours inks (currently on trial) as we work toward water-based printing across the board.
Garment recycling with ImpacTex
Old uniforms don't need to go to landfill. Whether it's a drop-off at our workshop or your own onsite collection bin, we partner with Impactex to turn end-of-life textiles into new materials - including their Retex panels, made from 100% New Zealand textile waste.
Supporting our community
We're proud supporters of Live for More, Maketu Wetlands and Wish for Fish doing great things right here in the Bay.
A great place to work - genuinely
We're a small, flat team where the owners are present every day and everyone's contribution matters. Flexibility when life needs it, real transparency, investment in learning, a workspace made safer by deliberate product choices, shared wins, and a team that gets involved in the community together plus the perks or working somewhere that genuinely loves what it makes.
Want to work with a decorator who takes this seriously?
Get in touch we'd love to show you what five years of real change looks like.
