The drop in garment prices over the last 20 years has allowed us to buy more and more clothes. We now have 5 times more clothes than our grandparents had. This continuous accumulation of cheap garments is only possible because of a constant reduction of production costs. This, in turn, has serious consequences on our health, our planet, and on the lives of garment workers.

The fast fashion industry is the second biggest polluter on the planet, its effects far reaching. It is built on the linear model of take-make-dispose. and is renowned for its unethical treatment of workers in the manufacture of garments.

As an ethical and slow fashion brand we are committed to forging a better way for people and the planet.

This is our commitment:

We have considered all elements of our supply + manufacture chain;

TEXTILES:

All our raw materials and textiles are 100% natural

PRINTING/DYIING: 

In the production and processing of our printed fabrics we:

Use borehole water and have a desalination facility to control water. All water is treated before being released into system again to ensure no harmful elements. Chemicals used in the printing process are all water soluble and not harmful to skin.

We mechanically soften and finish the largest portion of our fabrics. When we do use chemicals in finishing we limit the amount used by combining with the mechanical finishing process.

MANUFACTURE: 

We are committed to our people. Our people are the backbone of this business and without them we are nothing. Our small team is treated with care and respect and receive fair wages that are above industry standard. We have a small studio and also work with a small factory that we have been with for 12 years. Prices of garments are discussed beforehand. If issues arise that are no fault of the factory themselves we are open to negotiating a higher price. We believe in open and honest communication and respect, quality and care are understood and prioritise over demand, speed and deadlines.

We only use natural fabrics, and strive to find the most eco-friendly that are available.The fabric we use has no polyester, acrylic or any synthetic content— all of which are forms of plastic — currently they constitute 60 percent of the material that makes up our clothes worldwide.

These fibres contribute to ocean plastic pollution in a subtle but pervasive way: These synthetics, along with synthetic-natural blends, leach into the environment through the wash cycle. Estimates vary, but it’s possible that a single load of laundry could release hundreds of thousands of fibres from our clothes into the water supply.

And these tiny fibres, less than 5 millimetres in length, can eventually reach the ocean. They add to the micro-plastic pollution that’s accumulating in the food chain and being ingested by all sorts of marine wildlife, and even us. Most of the plastic that’s in the ocean, in terms of number of pieces, is not in the form of whole products like cups or straws, but instead broken-down shreds of plastic. This pervades the entire food chain and the effects are disastrous.

A paper in Environmental Science and Technology estimated  that “a population of 100,000 people would produce approximately 1.02 kilograms of fibres each day.” That’s 359 Kg per year of individual plastic shards. Shocking right? Feel like you want to do something about it? Make a conscious choice, join us and commit to not buying synthetic fibres.

We are committed to finding ways to reduce waste within our production line and we strive to have a circular design approach. A lot of thought goes into our designs and management of fabric waste. We computer grade all our styles so we get the most out of the fabric we are using. With the offcuts we make small bags for our shoes which can be reused for many things, we make hats, scrunchies, head scarves and face-masks.

We are committed to making clothes last as long as possible and we hope you’ll joins us - In 2015 landfills received 10,5 million tons of textiles. The most responsible thing you can do as a consumer is keep your garments in play as long as possible. Here are some tutorials of how to fix your garments. Alternatively if you live in Cape Town we can mend it for you.

We commit to a no plastic policy. Our garments are flat-packed for wholesale in biophan bags. Biophan is a non-toxic Polylactic acid (PLA) film, which is an environmentally friendly thermoplastic polymer. NOT a petroleum-based polymer.

It is made from starch, which is derived from corn, sugar can, straw or wood, all annually renewable primary products. Unlike conventional packaging film, Biophan is not made from petroleum, a finite fossil fuel.

Our in store bags are paper so are 100% biodegradable. Our swing tickets are made from recycled paper, and the cord of it is 100% cotton, both biodegradable.

Our courier bags are fedex bags and plastic, one item we have struggled to get around, but within the next few months will be implementing new d2w® bags. They are resealable so that the same bag can be used if a garment needs to be returned/exchanged. This technology turns ordinary plastic at the end of its useful life, in the presence of oxygen, into a material with a different molecular structure. At the end of the process, it is no longer a plastic, and has changed into a material which is biodegradable (by bacteria and fungi) in the open environment. Land and sea. It’s a win!

We commit to always doing our best. We call ourselves ‘ethical’ over ‘sustainable’ as we don’t believe it possible to create a positive impact apparel brand. We are learning and growing as we move forward, and by no means claim perfection, but we do what we can to reduce our carbon footprint and create awareness regarding the fashion industry and the processes involved.