The transport from factory to door
Short answer: Shipping by sea takes up little per garment, because a container holds thousands of them. The last trip to your door and returns take up more. The number of parcels matters more than the distance from the factory.
The ship
A container with thousands of garments spreads the transport over many units. Per garment the figure stays small, even when the distance is long. That is why kilometres alone tell you little. What matters is how many garments share the same trip, and on a ship that is very many.
From port to warehouse
Once the container has landed, the goods are driven to a warehouse, unpacked and placed on shelves. Here too many garments share the trip at once, because the truck is full. It is only when goods go out to single customers that the trip is shared by very few garments.
The last trip
From warehouse to your door the parcel travels in a van with few parcels on board. That leg takes up more per garment than the ship, because the van drives routes with many stops and a small load. The more you gather into one parcel, the fewer trips are needed. See also bamboo jogging suits for men.
Pickup point or home delivery
A route with many parcels spreads the trip over several, and that applies to a pickup point as well as delivery to the door. What matters is that many parcels are in the van per trip. Choose what suits your day, and avoid repeat delivery attempts because nobody is home.
The returns
A return is one more trip back and forth, plus handling at the warehouse. The parcel is driven back, opened, checked and packed again. It is a trip with no new customer at the other end. The most common reason is the wrong size, and that can usually be avoided by measuring a garment at home.
Measure before you order
Take a garment you know and wear, and measure it flat with a tape. Compare the measurements with the size chart and choose the size that lies closest. That way you order only once. See also bamboo pants for women and women's long-sleeved bamboo t-shirts, with measurements on the product page.
Gather your orders
If you need several items, order them together. One parcel with five garments means fewer trips than three parcels with five in total. That also saves packaging and shipping labels. Plan it so you do not order one item every week, but gather the need into one round.
Parcels count the most
The ship takes up little per garment, and the distance from the factory weighs less than you might think. What you can influence is the number of parcels and the number of returns. Both can be steered by planning and measuring before you press buy.
What you can do yourself
Gather orders, measure before buying and choose a delivery that fits your routine. These are three small things that take a little planning but no extra money. None of them changes what the ship does, but they affect the part of the trip where the parcel is small and the trip costly.
Frequently asked questions
What can you do yourself?
Gather orders and avoid returns by measuring before you buy. Those are the two things you can steer yourself, and they weigh more than how far the goods have travelled.
Is a pickup point better than delivery to the door?
A route with many parcels spreads the trip over several. What counts is the number of parcels per trip, so choose what suits you and avoid extra delivery attempts.
Does the distance from the factory matter much?
Less than the number of parcels and returns. A ship spreads the trip over thousands of garments, so the distance is small per piece compared with the last trip.
You can find the full range at Bamboo-Clothing.com.
