What makes a fashion brand sustainable?

What makes a fashion brand sustainable?

What is it that makes a fashion brand sustainable, and can any brand truly call themselves sustainable? These are questions we have to ask ourselves constantly, because we get asked these questions all the time by partners, suppliers, retailers, and of course most importantly by our customers. In today's world there is a growing number of people who are looking for brands that mirror their own values, and make them feel part of something bigger than the fast mass market  fashion that is most readily available. As founders of the brand we see ourselves as this kind of consumer as well, so naturally we want to be open and honest about what we do in terms of sustainability.

When it comes to sustainability, we believe that the only perfectly sustainable garment is the one that you don't buy at all. What this means is that no matter how hard you try to be sustainable, there will always be some aspect of the garment that can be criticised, and rightfully so. 

When looking at our own production, we are constantly improving the sustainability of our brand, and we are currently working on a number of initiatives to increase our sustainability. 

Ethical production

- We use leftover fabrics in our production, meaning we buy directly from available stock that otherwise would not be used, and we do not increase the production of fabrics

- We produce locally in the EU, which decreases the strain of transport on the environment

- We use sustainable packaging, using only compostable mailer bags that can be composted in your own garden

- We ensure our production is not in low cost countries in Europe, instead we choose countries where the seamstresses make decent liveable wages

- We use recycled paper in our hang tags

These initiatives increase our production costs and decrease our margins, but we believe that social responsibility and quality have to go hand in hand to create a truly sustainable and unique brand.

As you can see, we do many things in a sustainable fashion, and try to do our part to make the fashion industry less of a strain on the environment. In our coming FW20 collection we are also planning to increase our use of cotton which might have a lower impact on the environment than current materials, but we do not see the choice of materials as the only important question when it comes to sustainability.

We do plan to add wool in later collections, which comes with pros and cons from a sustainability perspective.

Naturally, we know that this is not enough, and we are constantly looking for ways to increase the sustainability of our brand, so if you have ideas or suggestions, do reach out to us at info@capsulestudio.net to discuss.

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