Sustainability
Unfortunately, the term sustainability is used in an almost inflationary way. The importance of its actual meaning seems lost, at least to some extent. Particularly in connection with clothing, sustainability gets reduced to its aspects of ethical and environmental acceptable production. Can a business call itself sustainable only by using organic cotton to a certain percentage? What about the business model, ways of distribution, design and labeling? Shouldn’t a sustainable business reach for an alternative approach?
We think YES!
That’s why our business model is built on a true sustainable business model. That includes not only the commodity but also the development, design and production division as well as our choices of distribution. Our life long return policy allows for an economic use and allows our consumers to make informed and conscious purchases. But nobody’s perfect! As a young startup, we have to overcome obstacles as we grow. That’s why we leave it up to you to develop an informed opinion on us. Do we take our commitment about a sustainable business serious? In order to get an idea, you will be given the most vital element of true sustainable activity:
Full transparency on our value chain
It not only gives you the chance to review our business model but gives us measures to revisit and reconsider taken actions as we constantly try to improve our work. But see for yourself on the points below. It lists all topics close to our heart, what actions we have already taken or what we want to achieve in the near future. Please feel free to give us feedback at any time! That’s the only way we can improve ourselves and our business.
Labelling and packaging
In 2019 we’ve changed our packaging concept. Since then, we don’t use plastic bags to secure our garments, but instead use a tape made from organic cotton to wrap them. The tape can be used afterwards as a belt, headband, bow-tie, gift wrap e.g..
We also offer to send our goods in an original RePack instead of a normal single-use box. This complements our pursuit to produce as little waste as possible in our supply chain. The mailing bags are embedded in a circulatory system: If you receive a shipment in a RePack, you can either use the bag to return it or, after use, fold it up and put it in a mailbox. It is then sent back to the RePack center free of charge, processed there and put back into circulation. A bag has an average of 20 cycles and thus saves a lot of CO2. The material can also be recycled afterwards.
For branding, we only use woven labels made from recycled polyester or printed organic cotton.
The paper used for prints is recycled and we are currently looking for an interesting and nice, yet ecologically justified branding. On the one hand, we think branding is an essential, on the other hand we are trying to avoid waste and save resources.
The print colors of our garments are PVC-free and are used in accordance to european REACH standard. The yarns of our embroideries are made of polyester.
Material and production
For our clothes, we only use fabrics that were produced from raw materials extracted in harmony with plants and animals. In natural fibers, such as cotton, silk or wool, we look for certified organic growers or farmers and recycled yarns. For synthetic fibers (that we haven’t been using yet) a realistic evaluation of the right quality fiber is tough. If used deliberately and recyclable we can overall tolerate synthetic fibers. But we haven’t decided yet whether or not to use artificial fibers for our products. But if we do so, we need to be a 100% certain that it supports our idea of sustainable fashion. (production, usage, care, disposal)
Our manufacturers are all european companies that are subject to the european legislation. Every employee has a right to minimum wage, fair working conditions and the right of co-determinations. We only work with companies we personally know or have partnered up with for a long time and guarantee for fair manufacturing conditions.
If you are interested in learning more about our manufacturers, click on the information button in each article description.
Logistics, shipping and distribution
Our clothes are not produced on-site. Before anything else happens, they have to find their way into our warehouse. As described above, our manufactures are all located within mainland Europe. Our goods are transported by a logistics provider by street. We haven’t had the chance to check it out personally but a more intensive review is going to happen this year. A more climate-friendly solution than road could only be reached by train or bike.
We are working together with a fulfillment provider, who stores our goods, packs and sends out the orders. This company Finitex GmbH & Co. KG is located in Hagenow (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania).
For your packages, we use the “GoGreen” option of DHL. More information on “Go Green” here.
Estimating the order quantities for our collections is one area in which we reach our limits. It is very important to us to avoid textile overproduction in a world that is unfortunately full of it. To prevent that, we test the opportunity to pre-order certain products of upcoming collections. With the newly integrated pre-order system, we have the opportunity to estimate in advance how high the demand for a product will be. In this way we avoid unnecessarily produced products and at the same time unnecessarily used resources. With this concept, the financing, delivery and satisfaction of the customer can be improved.
By having access to sales data through Google, Facebook and so on, we encounter the biggest problem. Of course, these ‘big players’ cannot be seen as acting in a sustainable way. But let’s be honest: we simply couldn’t do effective online-marketing without them. We can only hope that, at some point, we won’t need that kind of sales marketing for our brand anymore. We work together with a selection of trusted dealers so far and want to cooperate only with shops in the future, who share our values and idea. (Should you be interested, check back here.)
Sustainable consumption
Let’s not forget that sustainability also includes a product’s lifetime and disposal. That’s where we come in. Return your clothes, someone else will still love them. Clothing is an emotional matter, don’t you think? Let’s bring more love on the way and less disposal!
Preparation, repair and disposal
We collect all of your returns and sort them after its condition. Some clothes may only need cleaning, others may need some preparations, a few may be repaired and hopefully only a handful of items must be recycled. Boiled wool styles can be repaired quite easily. They are collected and send to our manufacturer (in Germany) where they are being reworked. After that, they are being washed with Sonett olive oil detergent, brushed and packaged. Jersey- and fleece articles are mostly, even if not damaged, not in a mint condition any more. Although we cannot take them back to a condition we are happy with, these styles will not be disposed, but can be bought at a warehouse sale. Disposal isn’t our focus at the moment as we will try to reuse most of the clothes or give them to clothing banks. And worn-out items could still become upcycled items again.
Care and maintenance
One could write articles and fill books on how to take good care of your clothes. On our facebook and Instagram account you will find useful yet simple instructions from time to time. They will extend the lifetime of your garments. Just check us out regularly and stay informed!
Infrastructure and Showroom
Our office/showroom is located in the beautiful Neustadt in the heart of Hamburg. To design a sustainable office is not easy, but it’s possible. Most of the furniture is second-hand and we only bought a few new things. We are keeping an eye, better two on the economical use of stationary, packaging, energy and water. We obtain gas and electricity from Lichtblick, one of the leading providers of eco-electricity. For tradeshows and alternating interior, we design and concept furniture, that can be used several times, is easy to transport and multifunctional. Inner-city, we transport our goods with a bike and we don’t like taking the car at all. For all measures, we promote to use common sense: re-use, re-arrange, buy used and repair.