INTERVIEWS

GETTING THE S USTAINABILITY

BALL RO LLING

Julia and Andreas Åhrman founded denim brand Amendi together with Corey Spencer in 2020. Prior to that, Andreas and Corey had worked at Nudie Jeans for several years and therefore bring a high level of expertise to the table, both in denim and sustainability. We met up with Andreas Åhrman to find out why they don’t explicitly refer to Amendi as a sustainable brand, yet still want to be the most transparent clothing brand in the world.

INTERVIEW CYNTHIA BLASBERG

You launched your label Amendi last year with the aim of being “the most transparent clothing brand in the world”. Is that what you are?

We always strive for full transparency in everything we do. At the moment we’re doing this by ensuring the full traceability of each garment we produce. Via our website you can follow each garment from the raw materials to the finished garment by simply scanning the QR code on the product. As well as that, we have developed our own Fabrication Facts tag, which was inspired by groceries and an American nutrition facts label. On the tag, which is attached to each piece, you can read facts about the garment including its origin, energy consumption, certifications, water usage and even a cost breakdown. If you flip the tag over, you can read up on supplier facts, listing each supplier in the chain and information such as social certifications, average salaries, work hours, type of energy used at the factory etc.

What inspired you to start a fashion brand with a focus on denim?

My wife and I lived in New York for a couple of years and although we were based in Brooklyn, we visited Manhattan almost daily. During our time in NYC, we became good friends with our partner

AMENDI “Our idea is very simple. We are willing to follow and lead innovation in terms of creating a product with the lightest foot- print possible on the environment.”

Corey Spencer, who is originally from South Carolina but has lived in New York for more than a decade. We started out as colleagues at organic denim brand Nudie Jeans and later became close friends. Shortly afterwards, we realised that we shared the same passion for denim and wanted to implement our radical transparency ideas for a new premium contemporary denimwear brand. Whenever we visited Soho, we often saw long lines of customers queuing up for hyped brands with little or no ambitions in terms of sustainability or transparency. Next to them we also saw small boutiques popping up with a very clear message about sustainability, but the style was either outdoorsy or more mature fashion. We saw the gap in the market for a contemporary designed denimwear brand with real ambitions in the sustainability field and instead of hammering that home, we just wanted to be fully transparent and let the customer decide if they thought we were doing a good job or not.

I heard you don’t like using the term sustainability. Nevertheless, can you explain your idea of sustainability in fashion?

Our idea is very simple. We are willing to follow and lead innovation in terms of creating a product with the lightest footprint possible on the environment. At the moment that means we only use organic and recycled cotton, only wash our products in water-saving, harmless and chemical-free processes while also making sure that the shortest and most efficient transportation routes are being used. However, we do have a footprint, merely by being a business but we will be fully climate neutral by 2022 and strive to be climate positive in 2023 by investing in carbon removal technology. We want our customers to know that we are doing all we can to keep our footprint to a minimum. But it doesn’t stop there, even if we are making great efforts, we want to be in harmony with the customer and the end user. Ultimately, the smartest and best way to reduce your footprint and make a positive impact on the environment is to use the clothing you buy for a long time. That’s why high quality really matters. Buy high-quality garments in a design you believe that you will enjoy for longer than a season, then we can get the ball rolling together!

Online you published a letter by the organisation Politically in Fashion to the Federal Trade Commission and a call to action regarding greenwashing and The Green Guides, an initiative in which you have been instrumental. In response, FTC has announced a review of The Green Guides for 2022. What a fantastic achievement! But what surprises me a bit (not only in this case) is that there aren’t more brands, stakeholders, trade fairs, journalists, etc. that are networking internationally to drive forward such causes together. Wouldn’t it have been better if 140 people rather than just 40 had signed the letter? Is the eco and fair fashion industry perhaps lacking an association like Fridays for Future?

We fully agree with you on this. We were really happy about all the brands, organisations and influencers who actually did sign the letter and made a great impact and hopefully we can make a real change by having the FTC updating The Green Guides, which stipulate what marketing claims you can make as a business to make sure you don’t mislead the consumer in any way. As long as these laws are outdated, it’s kind of an open field to greenwash without any repercussion. We find it so strange that laws are not up to par, so that consumers who do want to buy products with a low impact on the planet can do so without being tricked by false marketing. It would be really beneficial if brands could network more easily through organisations that are all striving for the same thing.