Liike Magazine Issue 001

Issue April

01 2019

sustainable fashion & beauty

Issue April

01 2019

sustainable fashion & beauty

edi t o r s After some time and deliberation we’ve decided to go down a more direct route with Liike. We were previously showcasing brands, in the issues prior to this relaunch edition, which are sustainably minded and after some more in depth research into the impact that the fashion industry has on the planet we felt it was the right move to make, hopefully you’ll agree.

Some of the key factors we’ve discovered were that the fashion industry is the 5 th highest polluting industry according to the Global Fashion Agenda. If you’re really interested in the figures go and check out their website. As well as the pollution levels we’re all aware of child and cheap labour making it a particularly unethical industry down the chain. With brands releasing collections at such a rapid pace it means that the thirst for buying more drives up the demand for materials to be processed as quickly as possible, more often than not meaning corners are being cut regarding the environment.

According to waste charity WRAP an estimated £140m worth of clothing is sent to landfill every year in the UK, equating to around 300,000 tons. This has led to the term Fast Fashion being coined and led to discussions starting to slow the industry down.

What we are aiming to deliver with Liike from this edition onwards is a publication that highlights brands and individuals who put sustainability and ethics at the core of their business.

The companies we feature in this fresh edition are all looking at ways that they 002

le tt e r can improve the fashion industry and also people’s live, especially apparent within the interview with Brighton based eyewear company Pala, who have already changed many workers lives. They’ve done this by ensuring they are not just paid a fair wage but a wage that will help them leave poverty behind alltogether. Along with Pala we speak with London based skincare brand Guy Morgan who creates products that are vegan, cruelty free and palm oil free, Cossac founder Agata on why she believes if you’re thinking to start a business it has to be sustainably inclined and perfume designer 4160 Tuesdays who offers an indepth look at ethical practice and why small batches are key.

In the editorials featured we’ve also made sure that the brands used throughout are working in a more conscious way, be it vegan, using sustainable materials, creating small batch runs or are putting ethics into their core business practices.

We believe this is a movement, not just a fleeting fad, and we aim to ensure that the conversations about sustainability and ethics in business are still being discussed and available to people who are interested. We hope that we’ll be able to keep the idea of slowing down when consuming very much in focus as we continue on with our future editions.

Kevin Voller Editor-in-Chief & Co-Creative Director Liike

m ag a z in e MastHead

CONTRIBUTORS

Editor-in-Chief Kevin Voller

Photographers Justin Polkey Joe Hunt ChloĂŠ Romeyer Kevin Voller Eva Tomei

Creative Directors Kevin Voller Rob Fuller Fashion Editor Cristina Fado Beauty Editor Anja Joy Bont Design robfuller.co.uk C O N TA C T

Web liikemag.com Advertising pr@liikemag.com Social Media @liikemag

Issue Issue April April

01 01 2019 2019

sustainable fashion & beauty

Stylists Cristina Fado Isabelle Landicho Lucilla Spagnuolo Francesca Romana Perazzelli Armelle Semat Celine Sheridan Writers Arthur Mcbain Helen Derbyshire Natalia Meksa Make Up Megumi Anja Joy Bont Lesley Vye Lily Vanita Isabella Avenali Hair Shelley Sumner Anja Joy Bont Lily Vanita Isabella Avenali

LiiKE Magazine is produced biannually by a dedicated team in London, UK. Copyright Š 2019 Liike Magazine All Rights Reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted or distributed in any format without the prior written consent of the publisher. The views and opinions Photography Kevin Voller

expressed throughout are the responsibility of the individual contributors.

Make Up & Hair Anja Joy Bont

ISSN 2514-4898

Model Beauty at Storm

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Printed in the UK on FSC certified uncoated paper.

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c on t e n t s

ARTICLE

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DARN YOUR SOCKS

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GUY MORGAN

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A Day at the marshes Justin Polkey

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Set life Kevin Voller

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PALA EYEWEAR

I N TE R V I E W E d i t ori a l E d i t ori a l

I N TE R V I E W I N TE R V I E W

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4160 tuesdays

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beauty Kevin Voller

E d i t ori a l

E d i t ori a l

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modern day feminists Joe Hunt

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Sustainable growth

ARTICLE

E d i t ori a l

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purge Kevin Voller

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cossac

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spring step Chloé Romeyer

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alternatives

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higher studio

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planet fighters Eva Tomei

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is? can? how?

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I N TE R V I E W E d i t ori a l ARTICLE

I N TE R V I E W

E d i t ori a l ARTICLE

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Okay, I’ll admit it; I darn my socks. Not only do I darn them, but I try to pick a thread that’s a complimentary colour to the sock itself. It’s quite exciting. A boring pair of grey pull-ons suddenly springs to life with some bright orange stitching.

Nearly every pair of socks I own now has repairs on them. I’m proud of it: I get my socks out at every possible turn, parading my handiwork around as though they’rehand-embroidered denim jackets from the seventies.

know how to knit. But something has changed, and it’s changed quite quickly. It seems sewing, knitting and darning have fallen into the realm of folksy arts and crafts rather than a useful skill. But why?

Well, my housemate answered the question for me; ‘just throw them away.

A new pair’ll only cost you a few quid.’

He’s right, it will only cost me a few quid.

But, hang on… my needles and thread were two pounds twenty in total (Wilko).

DARN

About a year ago my housemate walked in on me darning. At first I was embarrassed, surrounded by needles and threads, blushing slightly and trying to hide my guilty secret from his prying eyes. ‘What are you doing?’ He said, squinting.

‘Darning my socks.’ I said quietly, worried that he’d call me a saddo.

‘What you doing that for?! Just throw them away. A new pair’ll only cost you a few quid.’ He replied, then added; ‘saddo.’ It got me thinking. What’s the problem here? You don’t have to go far back to get to a time when things were repaired not replaced; clothes were refashioned; holes stitched up; parts reinforced (elbow pads that actually served a purpose); people made do and mended. Even soldiers had to

Luckily I’m not pedantic, because if I was pedantic I’d calculate the saving.

Yes, if I was a complete pedant I’d go onto the H&M website, see that a pack of five socks costs eight pound ninetynine (that’s one pound eighty per pair), then calculate that out of the twenty-six pairs of socks I own, twenty three have repairs . I’d then quickly tot up that twenty-three times one pound eighty is forty-one pounds and thirty five pence, take away the two pounds twenty for the needles and thread and voila; the complete pedant would proudly reveal a saving of thirty-nine pounds and fifteen pence. But time is money Arthur I can hear you squealing at the page, you haven’t factored the time it takes into the equation, can’t put a price on time can you?— Zip it. I’ve timed myself and I can stitch a hole in less than a minute.

YOUR

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Liike

one day we’ll all be surrounded by the stench of our own doing.

Once upon a time, people would reuse and think hard before working out where to dispose of something: Dresses often ended up as dusters long before they were thrown away . People would refuse to make something refuse.

Of course, I’m being a bit silly here, but there is a larger problem at play.

We have, as a society, become more wasteful than we can ever understand.

Just as it’s important to know where your food comes from, for example, it’s also essential for us to know where our waste goes. The world we live in has become mechanised and inhuman, we put our bins out and as if my magic they have been emptied by the time we get home. We don’t have to give it a second thought. One could be forgiven for believing that waste gets magicked away by bin fairies into an enchanted land of garbage from whence no rumour reaches us. But it doesn’t. It clogs and multiplies and stains and tarnishes and poisons and kills until

But yes, fast fashion is cheap; that’s the point. A cheap pair of socks only delays the problem, that next pair will get holes in just as quickly as the first. You get what you pay for; cheap tat. But that’s what the big businesses want, don’t you see? They want you to say ‘just throw them away, a new pair will only cost you a few quid.’ They want us to communally forget a time when people made do and mended, they want you and I to pull the wool over our eyes about what waste is doing to both our planet, and everything that dwells upon it.

Cheap clothes are made out of cheap textiles. Cheap tends to be synthetic : Your socks are filled with microfibre plastics. We all know what that means.

So, shove a proud two fingers up to the fast-fashion fast-filling coffers of Philip and Tina Green and DARN YOUR SOCKS. It’s savvy, it’s responsible, it’s cool and takes barely any time.

Next, we’ll discuss underpants

SOCKS Words & Photo by Arthur Mcbain

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Guy Morgan Words & Portrait by KEVIN VOLLER

Product photography by Thea Løvstad

I met with Guy and his dog Archie on a chilly day in South London where we talked about his brand, launched in 2015, and how it’s grown from being a personal journey into better skin as a teenager to the business that it is today.

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Why did you to launch your business?

My own personal quest for clear skin as a teenager was the catalyst for my business. I’ve been making solutions for myself for years now, a couple of products I still make today have roots from this early start. After I shared my formulas with friends and family they urged me to share it publically and make a business of it.

Where did you take inspiration from when starting up?

I took the wisdom of my mother who was a botanist, and the beauty of the surrounding heathland of where I lived, in the Quantock Hills of Somerset.

Aesthetically I looked at old apothecarys and the formatting of scientific text books. I wanted to present this idea in a

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timeless way, looking at early modernist pioneers, such as Charlotte Perriand and Eileen Gray.

Why did you choose to start a vegan, cruelty free and palm oil free business?

Cruelty free and vegan were always a principal of mine. My awareness of palm oil came later. Whilst coincidently I’ve always been a palm oil free business, when I became more aware of the issue I was swayed to preserve and champion all three ideals. For me it’s a personal ethical reason above any marketing reasons.

How challenging is it to maintain your principles?

I believe being vegan and cruelty free is relatively easy, which is why I think it’s tragic that more mainstream brands

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What do you think are the benefits of starting an ethically minded business?

Providing solutions to consumers that has a lesser environmental impact than most mainstream brands is one benefit I believe.

What advice would you give to anyone hoping to launch a similarly minded endeavour?

Consider what are you bringing to the table, more waste, or something of quality that you can take pride in?

What have been the main challenges you’ve faced?

can’t follow suit. Palm oil however is a landmine when it comes to formulating.

The amount of ingredients deriving from palm oil is sadly staggering, the names they hide under can also be misleading.

Some suppliers don’t make this information clear, that’s why thorough investigation goes into all ingredients selected on my end. Likewise, I always state where ingredients are derived from if the name alone is not so clear.

Palm oil seems so ingrained in the professional skincare market that I believe it’s going to take some years to have readily available alternatives.

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I believe it to be some consumers apprehension and misconceptions concerning natural skincare. It’s understandable coming from a place where we’ve come to expect certain perfect plastic textures to our products, or products that have a miraculous shelf life of years. To be able to introduce people to an alternative is a rewarding challenge I’ve come to find. Part of that challenge is making it as user friendly as possible, presenting it in an appealing way that shies away from the hippie vibe that many may think of with eco beauty. Another important part of the challenge, I believe, is being conscious of all potential consumers, not unwittingly marginalising anyone. By this I mean it was vital for me to make the range unisex, and break away from the language and thought process behind terms such as ‘anti aging’. I prefer to focus on nourishing the skin, rather than making outlandish health claims.

Liike

Where are your products made?

They’re made in my East London studio. I try to limit ingredients to ones from the U.K. or Europe, for more exotic ingredients I make sure they’re sourced ethically and fairly, with as little environmental footprint as possible.

What steps do you take to ensure the process is as green as possible?

One of my main steps is developing a manufacturing process that generates little to no waste. For example, during the production of cold pressed Rosehip seed oil, which I use in my ‘Dagger Rose’ line, the normally discarded husks of the seeds are now going to be used as part

sustainable fashion & beauty

of a facial cleanser I’m developing, as a natural exfoliant. All plant based material I use are certified organic by bodies such as The Soil Association, or COSMOS, this way I know it’s the real deal.

What do you plan to do next?

I’m planning on opening my first pop up in Hackney around Spring/Summer.

It’ll be a multi functional space, serving as a shop and treatment room. I hope to stock a few other of my favourite natural brands.

Where can everyone find your products?

My website, guy-morgan.com, where I ship internationally.

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a day at the marshes

Photography

Justin Polkey Model

Alicia Holtz at Elite London Styling

Cristina Fado Make Up

Megumi

Styling Assistant

Ambra Castelli Alici a w e a r s

Earrings

Zohra Rahman 012

Shirt Paula Nadal Tunic & trousers Arela Sandals Vintage

Black suit Paula Nadal Bag Lovia

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Shirt Paula Nadal Dress Etre Cecile Shoes GOYA

Shirt Bite Earrings Etta Collective Ring Mayu

Jacket & Trousers Bite Shirt Paula Nadal Earrings Mayu Bag Gayeon Lee

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set life Photography

KEVIN VOLLER Styling

Cristina Fado PRODUCT

Bags

DANIELLE FOSTER 021

Coat Luna Del Pinal

Dress Mother of Pearl 022

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Shoes Goya

Trousers & Skirt Luna Del Pinal 025

Pala Eyewear Words & Portrait by KEVIN VOLLER Down in windy Brighton is where you’ll find John Pritchard who is the founder of conscious eyewear brand Pala. We sat down to discuss what John believes are the reasons to operate in a more conscious and ethical way when starting a business.

What inspired you to launch Pala Eyewear?

I was inspired by hearing about those pioneering brands that had put purpose at the core of their business.

It really resonated with me and seeing how these different kinds of business were innovating and challenging the market norms was truly uplifting. This sparked my desire to do something with my life that provided me that same sense of purpose – to make a tangible difference to the lives of others and not just my own. I didn’t want to sit back on my ‘hover rocking chair’ (let’s assume technology has moved on a little by then) knowing that I hadn’t tried to do something positive and lasting during my short stay on this planet.

Why eyewear?

For me it was a case of identifying a cause first that I was passionate about.

My increasing awareness of the global issue of a lack of access to eye care was

the seed. 10% of the population can’t get access to eye care and yet a pair of spectacles could be so empowering for the wearer by virtue of being able to read, learn and work. Simple, but so effective. I then retro-fitted a product to the cause, sell eyewear and to deliver change in eyecare – it felt an obvious way to connect the message. However, without an ounce of knowledge of the eyewear industry I had to learn fast!

Where did you take inspiration from when you were starting up?

When I first starting planning for my business there were other brands around at the time like Toms Shoes, Gandys, Patagonia and Veja. These were brands that were founded for their own unique reasons and take on sustainability. I loved their ideology on how they were going about creating change and that this was at the heart of their business strategies - giving people an alternative choice and a deeper resonance with their products.

What are your priorities when it comes to sustainability, and what measures are in place to ensure they’re kept?

If you take a look at the 17 global Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations, you can broadly summarise that their aim is to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity. PALA’s priorities are aligned to this and my ambition is to ensure that where possible, as many touchpoints of the business have a sustainability story, whether that’s through the materials

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we use, the businesses we partner or our own internal business practices.

We have a sustainability roadmap in place that helps us track our progress as well as provide timelines for future sustainability goals.

Can you tell us a little about your production and why you chose to make the decisions you’ve made?

For our eyewear we use a factory in China. China has a good reputation for their production quality in eyewear and we are really happy with the quality of their output. However perhaps more importantly for me is that the factory undergoes a regular SMETA (Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit) which ensures I have peace of mind on their ethical credentials.

Acetate is a cotton-based material used in the manufacture of highquality eyewear, so in that sense it is the quality component which was most important to me. It also provides the widest choice of colourways and sits lightly on the face so has those practical advantages as well. However, being cotton-based doesn’t mean it is ‘green’, there are harmful chemicals used in the manufacturing process. The good news is that bio-acetate is becoming more readily available which removes these chemicals from the process, and whilst we’re still limited in choice we’ve got a couple of styles for 2019 utilising this substrate, and we’re keen to increase this within our collection as we grow.

Our eyewear cases are made from recycled plastic bags and packaging (secondary waste from a factory we work 028

with in Accra) and water sachets.

They are cut, twisted and woven by women from four weaving communities in Bolgatanga, Ghana using traditional methods.

All our packaging is recycled or FSC, likewise our point of sale materials.

We carbon offset all the airmiles we incur for importing our product and business travel and we pay £1 every time we delivery our sunglasses to our customers around the world.

What do you think are the benefits of starting a business that focuses on ethics and sustainability?

There are benefits on many levels.

Firstly it’s for the greater good of the planet. We have finite resources and growing populations so we have to think more about how we manufacture and re-use. I also believe this helps to share wealth better. By working with artisans/communities that would only have access to their local market we are able to expose their talent and product to the wider world and more customers. This can lead to a better income and ultimate empowerment to raise themselves out of poverty. I also think there are inherent quality benefits of something that is handmade.

I also think from a business point of view we are in a growing market. We are slowly seeing the tide change in terms of shopping habits. People are becoming more aware of sustainability thanks to the likes of David Attenborough and Stacey Dooley that show the devastating impact of plastic and over consumption, and I think people in general are thinking perhaps a little more about what they are buying and how it was made. Starting an ‘ethical business’ will, I believe put you in a good place to reap the benefits of this growing consumer market.

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Have you found it challenging to grow a sustainable company?

Yes, it has been challenging. There are the same challenges you will have like any other start-up of course, but for me, my main observation is that whilst we identify ourselves as a sustainable brand, the ‘sustainable shopper’ is still not a mass movement, so the reality is that we have to compete with every other eyewear brand in market regardless of whether we have a great story behind us and to do that you need deep pockets, which we or most likely 90% of start-ups don’t have. Therefore we have had to be really agile and focused on our marketing strategy to achieve greater visibility in market.

Creating sustainable routes for the brand have also taken their time too.

For example, the weavers we work with had only learnt how to weave baskets until we came along. We therefore had to prototype several samples over 9 months to get to the simple case format that we have now. However as much as anything this period was equally important for building trust with the

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communities who had not always had a good experience of partnerships before. We visited them last November and our connection is so strong now and we have a lot of new material coming out in 2019 that will tell their stories.

There are so many strands to sustainability as it has such a broad meaning. I never set PALA up to tick all the sustainability boxes right from the off, so you can’t necessarily please all of the people all of the time. PALA is very much a constant evolution and as we grow, we will have more authority with our suppliers and push them further on their own sustainable positioning.

What advice would you give to anyone hoping to launch a business down the same path?

My key piece of advice is that whatever sustainable business that you are interested in setting up, you need to be passionate about the product or service you are creating. There are no shortcuts to instant success and you need to sacrifice huge amounts of time and energy into your dream. If you have that passion right from the start then you have the motivation to give everything of yourself towards the business and to make your business successful, on whatever measure of success that may be, that is essential.

I would also suggest that if you try and tick all the ‘eco’ boxes right from the start, you have to be careful to ensure it doesn’t take away your focus from producing a product that delivers to customers in terms of ‘on point’ styling and price. Sunglasses are a good 030

illustration. I would love to think all PALA customers are buying for the sustainability principles of the business, but as mentioned before I suspect that this is a small (albeit growing) part of our customer base. We have to be mindful of that and hence why for example not all our styles are bio-acetate due to the limited choice available which would compromise seasonal trends and attractiveness of the range altogether.

My last recommendation is to reach out to people and ask for help. Whatever the industry you are in, working towards ‘sustainability’ is a unifying action and accordingly you will often find people generous with their time.

What do you think larger fashion brands should be doing that they aren’t currently?

My biggest issue with (most) larger fashion brands is their total lack of transparency. They might have a good reason for that, but the cynic in me thinks there often isn’t one. After all we are seemingly bombarded with the constant sales and reduction of 70%+.

This battle for retailers to beat their competitors on price totally dismisses the quality argument and has to impacts suppliers and likewise the makers at the bottom of that chain. Consumers have forgotten about the ‘value’ of a product and by buying sustainably, not only are they doing so for a better future, but invariably quality that will last too.

Brands should also reign in their overproduction. Discounts and low prices stimulate people to buy more of the stuff they really don’t need. I read Liike

an article last year that stated that 235million of clothes were sent by Britons to landfill over a spring period. Only 1 in 4 of us recycle our clothes. This simply has to change and the responsibility starts with the fashion brands.

What do you believe are the benefits of slow fashion, opposed to fast fashion?

Slow fashion has a key role to play for the future health of our planet.

There are the clear environmental and human economic impacts that slow fashion brings with it, and along with the invariably better quality of the product. 1 quality sustainably produced t-shirt that lasts five years is far better than 3 cheap t-shirts that might collectively last you three. It will save you money in the long term.

Also when we take the time to think before we buy, which slow fashion does, we have a better understanding of what we like and dislike. We end up shopping for pieces that fit our style and our current wardrobe, rather than by a piece on impulse and is put away in a drawer never to be worn.

sustainable fashion & beauty

What do you plan to do with the company next?

Within the realms of eyewear, our focus (pardon the pun!) is very much on continuing to build our profile in the UK and extending our international exposure, particularly in Germany, Australia and the USA. In February we launched a small capsule optical range and our SS19 collection which will see our brand appear in a lot more opticians. We are also introducing bio-acetate and recycled options in our SS19 sunglasses range – progress I’m really excited about. Finally, we will also be running an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign in March/ April so watch out for that, we’ve got some unique ‘perks’ on offer.

Where can we find Pala?

The easiest place to find us is online at www.palaeyewear.com. Instagram is our preferred channel for communicating our stories and you can come and follow us there at @palaeyewear. We are also stocked in a number of boutiques and opticians around the world, so keep an eye out for our growing list of stockists if you want to try before you buy. We also like to do a lot of pop-ups to, so we’ll be promoting those in advance on our social channels. I attend them as much as I can so would love to meet and chat with anyone who wants to learn more about our mission.

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4160 Tuesdays Words by Arthur Mcbain Photography by Tianci Zhang Illustrations by Rachel Corney

Sarah McCartney is

the founder, CEO and mastermind behind 4160 Tuesdays; an independent perfume house based in West London. She designs, blends and bottles all of her fragrances in house and by hand, as well as sourcing all of her packaging locally. She puts sustainability and ethics at the forefront of every decision she makes and values transparency, honesty and generosity above all else. She is also a good friend of mine. So when we decided to find out more about sustainability and ethical practice within the perfume and cosmetics industry, I knew she’d be the perfect person to chat to.

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‘Small batches…’— the first two words she says as we sit down on the vintage sofas at 4160 Tuesdays’ studio in Acton (although, soon they’ll be moving their HQ to a bigger space in Ealing Common). ‘… It’s all about small batches.’ I’ve asked her to tell me about some of the ways in which she keeps her business sustainable.

‘You ‘You see, business is about economies see, business is about economies of scale mostmost of the If weIfmake of scale of time. the time. we make fifty bottles of perfume it’s going to to fifty bottles of perfume it’s going cost us thirty pounds each.each.

If weIfmake cost us thirty pounds we make fifty thousand of them all atall once, we we fifty thousand of them at once, can get downdown to three pounds can them get them to three pounds a go.aAnd the economics of it of is; itwell go. And the economics is; well if weifonly sell two of them we only sell thousand two thousand of them at a hundred pounds each each then then we’vewe’ve at a hundred pounds already mademade shed-loads of money— already shed-loads of money— And itAnd doesn’t reallyreally matter what what they do it doesn’t matter they do with all the So the with allleftovers. the leftovers.

Soeconomics the economics of it favours bigger companies making of it favours bigger companies making hugehuge batches and wasting a sizeable batches and wasting a sizeable proportion of them.

The The way way the the proportion of them. industry goesgoes is; how industry is; fast howcan fastwe canscale we scale up? How big can the runs?’ up? How bigwe canmake we make the runs?’

But for Sarah it’s different. It seems that as long as she can stay in business, she’ll favour environmental integrity (having run as a Green Party candidate in Ealing) and good behaviour over turning an astronomical profit. The phrase how do you get to sleep at night? comes to mind— my hunch is that Sarah holds her sleep in very high regard and does everything she can to ensure a full eight hours.

She carefully selects the materials that she uses, reminding me that ‘natural does not always mean good. Natural only means that whatever it was, was once in a plant.’ She’s keen to drive sustainable fashion & beauty

this point home— and it’s a point worth popping straight into your Nissan Leaf and driving over to the homes of the cosmetic world’s marketing executives too. ‘People say “don’t put anything onto your skin that you wouldn’t eat”— what about chillis?— “Don’t use any ingredients you can’t pronounce”— have you seen the list of chemicals that make up a rose?— Let’s not forget that nature makes the best poisons.’ It becomes clear; a molecule is a molecule whether it’s been made in a flower or made in a lab. The molecule made in a lab is counterintuitively often far safer and more stable for use on skin. Then there’s the environmental implications, ‘It takes a tonne of roses to make one kilo of rose absolute.’ She tells me. ‘And rosewood, for example, is endangered, so it’s better to make it synthetic— they smell the same.’ This doesn’t mean that Sarah prefers either natural ingredients or synthetics, but she chooses each ingredient on a case by case basis.

‘Companies like Firmenich and Givaudan are aware of the importance of sustainability so are buying up swathes of the Amazon Rainforest in order to conserve them, harvesting raw materials sustainably. That’s good.’ makes her perfumes in organic SarahSarah makes her perfumes in organic alcohol as a mixing agent.

‘It doesn’t graingrain alcohol as a mixing agent.

‘It doesn’t any better it costs smellsmell any better and itand costs more,more, but but at least I know it’s killing not killing insects.’ at least I know it’s not insects.’

She doesn’t shout about things like this on her website or use any of it as a means to market her perfumes. It’s obvious that she treats this stuff as her responsibility rather than as a means to lure customers to the Buy now button on her website.

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‘It’s not ‘It’s cost not cost effective effective for usforatus allatbut all but actually actually it’s very it’s very important.’ important.’

She quips, She quips, telling telling me about me about the various the various incentives incentives she has sheinhas place in place to ensure to ensure less wastage. less wastage.

Customers Customers can save can twenty-five save twenty-five percent percent whenwhen they they send send back back their their bottles bottles to to have have themthem refilled, refilled, ten percent ten percent if they’re if they’re happy happy to forego to forego the box the box and and outerouter packaging packaging and five andpercent five percent if they if they opt opt for no forcap. no cap.

In theInfuture the future she’s she’s keen keen to to start start a Cap a Cap For Life For scheme, Life scheme, where where customers customers can buy canabuy single a single extra-special, extra-special, possibly possibly personalised personalised cap to cap use to time use time and time and again: time again: ‘They‘They [customers] [customers] couldcould even even pick pick their their own own colour!’. colour!’.

Waste Waste all all addsadds up and up by andholding by holding back back on just on just the caps, the caps, she can sheput canaput stopa to stop wasting to wasting a a substantial substantial amount amount of plastic of plastic everyevery year. year.

into big stores and you can have your bottles refilled. So good for them.’

Sarah worked as the head writer at Lush for fourteen years and, being the ‘grand-daddy of sustainable cosmetics’, it’s clear that she admires the way they go about their business. ‘They’ve just opened a completely packaging free store in Manchester’ she says with a tinge of pride in her voice. She tells me that in the beginning, Lush’s scant use of packaging was in order to save money: evidence that being good to the planet can also be good for balancing the books. She goes on to explain that they didn’t have the budget to pay ‘middlemen in fancy cars’. So they visited the suppliers personally— wherever in the world that was— and brokered deals which saved them money and paid the suppliers more than the middlemen had done before. ‘Saving money ended up saving communities.’ There are other ways that things are being put out though, she tells me, ‘Thierry Mugler, the makers of Angel and Alien etcetera— they have these things called perfume fountains and you can go back

‘There was an Instagram ad I saw recently that said “bring any empty perfume bottle into our shop and we will give you twenty-five percent off one of our perfumes”— Now, excuse me for being cynical but that’s just saying please come into my shop and buy a thing. They say “we’ll take care of the bottle for you” but does that mean you’ll just lob it in the bin out the back? It doesn’t say “we’ll recycle it for you.”’ She says.

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Things like refilling bottles and creating less waste are great steps in the right direction, but Sarah rightly points out that one has to keep their wits about them, ‘What you have to do is work out whether something is marketing in the guise of greenery, or if it’s actually people putting their money where their mouths are.’ This is an important point. As sustainability becomes more popular in the mind of the consumer, it’s important to remember that the people behind the billboards and slogans are acutely aware of the current zeitgeist and know how to use it to their advantage.

I ask her about her business ethics. ‘Pay people properly.’ She replies almost before I’ve finished my sentence. ‘And be transparent.’

‘Ethical in telling people thatoflily of ‘Ethical is in is telling people that lily the valley perfume is has and always has always the valley perfume is and synthetic.’

She says, getting beenbeen synthetic.’

She says, getting back back intotopic the topic of natural and synthetic into the of natural and synthetic ingredients.

‘It’s of kind of intuitive to think ingredients.

‘It’s kind intuitive to think that natural is better, that hand that natural is better, that hand mademade is better, that something out of is better, that something mademade out of flowers is better something flowers is better than than something mademade out‘chemicals’ of ‘chemicals’ (inverted commas out of (inverted commas Liike

deliberate) and it is just all wrong.

But the marketers— maybe they don’t understand it themselves— they happily exploit people’s ignorance. And that for me is unethical. Misleading customers into believing that natural is better is a long term mistake.’

Why Why is that?

I ask.I ‘Well because they they is that? ask. ‘Well because then go offgo and a hundred percent then offpour and pour a hundred percent natural stuff stuff all over themselves and and natural all over themselves are surprised whenwhen they they get aget massive are surprised a massive rash. rash.

SomeSome hundred percent naturals hundred percent naturals are are good.good.

MostMost hundred percent hundred percent naturals are restricted because they are naturals are restricted because they are dangerous.

It leads to misinformation dangerous.

It leads to misinformation and and misunderstanding.

Like Like people misunderstanding. people who make turmeric face masks because who make turmeric face masks because they think it’s going to make themthem look look they think it’s going to make younger and actually first of allof it turns younger and actually first all it turns themthem yellow and then they they explode in in yellow and then explode red irritation.’ red irritation.’

It feels as though Sarah is single handedly trying to swim against the tide of fads like a straight-talking-salmon battling upstream.

‘Exploiting lack lack of knowledge and and ‘Exploiting of knowledge understanding is the least least ethical understanding is the ethical business strategy.’

She She asserts.

For For business strategy.’ asserts. example, had you that when a example, had realised you realised that when a perfume bottlebottle statesstates that itthat is ait 100% perfume is a 100% Natural Vapouriser Spray,Spray, it’s referring Natural Vapouriser it’s referring exclusively to thetopump mechanism and and exclusively the pump mechanism has absolutely nothing to doto with has absolutely nothing dowhat’s with what’s insideinside the bottle?

It seems that this a is a the bottle?

It seems thatisthis willfulwillful exploitation of theofpublic’s beliefbelief exploitation the public’s that ‘natural’ means something that will that ‘natural’ means something that will be good for you. be good for you.

‘Talking about misinformation,’ comes a voice from the back of the studio (this is Nick, Sarah’s husband and business partner who, after a career working for sustainable fashion & beauty

the Heritage Lottery Fund, found the idea of working around lovely smells far too appealing), ‘There’s the whole paraben thing.’

‘Paraben thing?’ I ask.

‘Oh yeah. It’s actually now illegal to say that something is free from parabens and free from sulphates because they’re not at all harmful, they do a good job.

It’s illegal to denigrate stated legal substances. Do you know exactly what a paraben is?’ She asks me.

‘Nope.’

‘If something said it was free from parabens would you think—’ ‘— I’d think it was a good thing, yeah.’ I say.

‘So a paraben is a preservative.

They occur naturally, for example, in blueberries. Yes, they kill bacteria, but that’s what they’re for. They stop things going mouldy. Without parabens people would starve.’ The parabenhating began with a paper exploring the possibility that parabens gave women breast cancer. ‘This has been long discredited, but what happened was [that] people love a scare story— and the most difficult thing to counter is that people adore scare stories.

Trading standards can’t keep up with all the people who label their product free from parabens. In fact, they want to make the term free from illegal. […]

And sulphates?’ She says, raising an eyebrow. ‘Sulphates have been around since the nineteen-twenties. Without sulphates in your shampoo, or a similar surfactant (something that makes bubbles and takes the grease away), 035

it wouldn’t work, you wouldn’t get bubbles. So if something has not got sulphates in, it’s got something more modern, less tested and without as long a safety record— still makes bubbles. Look, I don’t want to seem disingenuous— the worst thing about sulphates is that they do irritate some people’s skin. It’s the phosphates which were a problem as they aren’t biodegradable, and they made rivers and lakes into these nineteen-seventies 036

bubble mountains.

ThenThen they they got got bubble mountains. banned completely.

That’sThat’s why bubble banned completely. why bubble bathsbaths aren’taren’t half as bubbly as they half as bubbly as were they were whenwhen I was Iawas kid.aWe kid.had Wefoot hadhigh foot layers high layers of bubbles.

Joyous, but not for the of bubbles.

Joyous, butgood not good for the waterwater supply.

Sulphates are much betterbetter supply.

Sulphates are much for the but do they forenvironment, the environment, but do get theythe get the credit?’

So if So a sulphate isn’t anywhere credit?’ if a sulphate isn’t anywhere near near as bad believe, as as badweasare weled areto led to believe, how did become a scary word?

‘All that howitdid it become a scary word?

‘All that sulphate stuff was by a company sulphate stuffspread was spread by a company that that was was a rival surfactant maker…’ a rival surfactant maker…’

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The latest big thing in cosmetic scare stories is the idea of something being a ‘marine hazard’.

‘Someone comes in here and they say say ‘Someone comes in here and they is hisishazardous to aquatic life? Well… his hazardous to aquatic life? Well… would you pour it in ityour fish tank? would you pour in your fish tank?

No…No… So right, it’s a it’s marine hazard.

Milk Milk So right, a marine hazard. is a marine hazard— if youifpour milk into is a marine hazard— you pour milk into a river, the fish a river, thewill fishdie. willAnd die. yet And‘marine yet ‘marine hazard’ is theisnew ThereThere are are hazard’ the new thing. new thing. plentyplenty of things that are marine hazards in in of things that are marine hazards the world, but it’s only important the world, but it’s actually only actually important if you’re shipping a tonne of them in a in a if you’re shipping a tonne of them tanker downdown a river somewhere— and and tanker a river somewhere— then then you have to betovery careful.

But But you have be very careful. by the you’ve mixedmixed a tinyaamount bytime the time you’ve tiny amount of it into perfume and it’s of it ainto a perfume andevaporated it’s evaporated into the it’sair not problem.’

SarahSarah sips sips intoair the it’sanot a problem.’ her coffee (apparently the first she she her coffee (apparently thething first thing bought for her studio was awas decent coffeecoffee bought for her studio a decent machine— I assume the fantastic Doctor machine— I assume the fantastic Doctor Who Who espresso cups cups camecame second).

As As espresso second). she does so, I wonder whether coffeecoffee is she does so, I wonder whether is hazardous for aquatic life…life… hazardous for aquatic So what’s in the future? I ask.

‘My aim…’ She says, without a moment’s hesitation, ‘I’d like to stop flying perfumes around the world. I would actually like to build a structure where people can pay sustainable fashion & beauty

me for my perfume recipe and make their own. I would like a network of small companies around the world making my fragrances. I think the way to reduce shipping world-wide and then back again is to create small manufacturing hubs. So maybe I could manufacture, say, an Australian perfumer’s goods here.

And visa versa.’ It seems like a fantastic, forward thinking idea. Not only would it reduce a bottle of perfume’s carbon footprint significantly but would also encourage a world where businesses work together and as one person succeeds, so too do many others.

And Sarah’s fragrances are sold throughout the world. From Ealing to Dulwich, from Milan to California.

There are 4160 Tuesdays enthusiasts in every corner of the globe— If you’d like to become one of those enthusiasts, you can find all you need to know at 4160Tuesdays.com.

Sarah also runs hugely popular perfume making workshops, so if you’d like to continue this conversation with her in person— and come away with your own personal bottle of fragrance—

there’s no time to waste.

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beauty

Photography Kevin Voller Model Beauty @ Storm Hair & make up Anja Joy Bont co s m e t ic s

Skin prepped with Bioderma Eyebrows Charlotte Tilbury Face Kryolan Cheek & eye Delilah Cosmetics 039

Skin prepped with Bioderma Eyebrows Charlotte Tilbury Face Kryolan Eyes Bare Minerals Cheeks Illamasqua

Skin prepped with Bioderma Eyebrows Charlotte Tilbury Face Kryolan Eyes, lips & cheeks Anastasia Beverly Hills 040

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Skin prepped with Bioderma Eyebrows Charlotte Tilbury Face Kryolan Eyes Illamasqua Lips Anastasia Beverly Hills

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Skin prepped with Bioderma Eyebrows Charlotte Tilbury Face & eyes Kryolan Cheek Bareminerals Lips Dr. Paw Paw

Skin prepped with Bioderma Eyebrows Charlotte Tilbury Face & eye Kryolan

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modern day feminists

Photography Joe Hunt Models Cecilie H, Julia R @ The Hive AJ Yel Yihui W @ Milk Make up Lesley Vye using The Ordinary Hair Shelley Sumner Styling Issabelle Landicho Casting Director Christie Phedon Retouching Ron Ibarra C e cili e , in s pir e d b y M a rl e n e Di e t rich , wears

Top Elliss 046

Skin prepped with Bioderma Eyebrows Charlotte Tilbury Face & Eye Kryolan

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AJ, inspired by The Suffragettes, wears Coat Carl Jan Cruz 048

Julia, inspired by Gloria Steinem, wears Top Filippa K Jacket Carl Jan Cruz Jumper Vintage Playboy

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Dress Elliss Boots Filippa K

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Yihui, inspired by Eileen Chang, wears Top Filippa K Cheongsam Vintage Shirt Miu Miu

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Turban Miu Miu Top, skirt & trousers Filippa K Gloves Sophie Cull Candy

Coat & gloves Sophie Cull Candy Dress Stylist’s Own 052

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people are starting to think twice before filling their bag for life to the brim with high street clothing.

The accountable acquirer, the blame-free buyer and the conscientious consumer are becoming much more common in the world of fashion. Of course, there are still those people who think that Canada Goose are an ethically sound company to buy from and Primark are still turning huge profits providing the world with the clothing equivalent of those plastic bags you use to pick up dog turd.

But things seem to be changing and whether it’s because of Stacey Dooley or not, it’s got to be a good thing.

Consumers are looking for something different than they were say, five years ago. They want to return to an idyllic notion of making long term relationships with what they wear, all the way from the garment itself to the people that make it.

Sustainable Growth Words by Arthur Mcbain

However, when consumers begin changing their desires, the marketplace shifts to fit it— like cinderella and an alluring shoe made of vapid instagram ads. There is a lot of hot air being blown about on the theme of sustainability by people who’s only interest in sustainability is the sustainability of your silver account. There’s even a new word for it, I’m told by Natalie Glaze of Stay Wild Swim; ‘Greenwashing’.

Counterintuitively it doesn’t mean the act of using your washing machine at thirty degrees: It’s actually ‘marketing

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in the guise of greenery’ as Sarah McCartney of 4160 Tuesdays puts it (See my interview with Sarah in this issue).

So how can we separate the wheat from the chaff, the clothing from the irreversible demise of our planet? Well, if you absolutely have to shop, shop well: I’ve spoken to a few responsible and trustworthy companies about what they do. Stay Wild Swim make swimwear out of recycled ocean plastic in a factory that hires and trains people from disadvantaged backgrounds.

‘We use a fabric called ECONYL® which is made using regenerated ocean plastics.’ Co-founder Natalie Glaze tells me. She and her business partner Zanna van Dijk, both bloggers, realised that they could do something about the ‘fourteen million tonnes of plastic making it’s way into the oceans each year’ by ‘not only fighting the problem but contributing to the solution’.

Both founders have an immense love for the waves. ‘Growing up, our lives were quite entwined with the ocean.

Lots of scuba diving and snorkelling. Me and Zanna were friends before and over the last few years had been learning more about sustainability. […] I think those shared passions for sustainability and also for the ocean meant that for us, swimwear made sense.’

‘When we first launched,’ Natalie goes on, ‘we said even if we make no money from this we’d still see it as a success.’

This comment sprung out at me; I’m hearing owners of sustainable brands saying things like this quite often… sustainable fashion & beauty

I wonder if there’s a new type of business outlook spreading through the world; a business model where the profits aren’t only financial but also environmental; a business model where Christmas bonuses are paid in karma?

‘Legally you have to sell swimwear with hygiene liners, but hygiene liners are made out of plastic. So we delayed our launch and spent a long time researching and trying to find people who were creating sustainable or biodegradable ones. We managed to find a company who did, but the cost of them is something like four or five times more expensive. So it’s not cost effective at all, and it could have all been so much easier, but we chose to go down the biodegradable route.’

Being bloggers, Natalie and Zanna already had an interested and engaged audience in place on social media, even before launching. ‘What’s the point of me having a platform if I can’t do something good with it?’ Asks Natalie, rhetorically.

The Stay Wild Swim website has a page dedicated to helping customers discover other sustainable brands. And it was from that very page that I came across Emma Aitchison Jewellery.

I found you through Stay Wild Swim, I say. ‘Ooooh really?!’ Emma replies over the phone. Yeah. ‘Oh that’s awesome, that’s nice! People are recommending me! Cool!’ She seems completely overjoyed that people are taking notice of her, which surprises me; I’d have thought she’d be nonchalant given her recent feature as the best buy in the Independent’s list of the ‘9 best ethical and sustainable jewellery brands’, but 055

no; Emma is a riot of humble, optimistic and proactive energy.

‘It’s really hard to be a hundred percent perfect [at making jewellery sustainably].

So the steps which I take are by using recycled, fair mined or fair trade metal— but I mostly use reclaimed and recycled metals.’ Emma says, ‘I try not to use gemstones unless they’re vintage or antique and are already in circulation.’

The gemstone marketplace is pretty unethical, and lab-grown gems result in hazardous waste. Emma tells me to buy new gems is to make the decision between being bad to workers or bad to the planet. ‘I also don’t use the regular chemicals which you’d need to make jewellery in my workshop, I use natural alternatives.’ She goes on, telling me that so long as you’re happy for things to take a little longer, boiled eggs and household pickling processes work just as well as the dangerous concoctions used in metal work. ‘At the moment I’m trying to go paper free— it’s difficult but I’m trying my best.’ Emma continues, ‘Then all my packaging is sustainably sourced or recycled. I don’t do over production, so there’s no waste. Last year I offset my carbon emissions as well by planting trees. Oh, and I cycle to work too.’

For Emma, everything she does (both in and out of work hours) is done through a lens of environmentalism, so it really wasn’t a deliberate choice to make her work sustainably, it was just obvious.

‘My jewellery is inspired by the earth, the weather and by climate change so I try and create a message through the inspiration point of the jewellery itself.’

After a short while we end up on the same topic as I did with Natalie from Stay 056

Wild Swim; the topic of profits verses ethics. ‘There’s been maybe a couple of cases where people have asked me to make something bespoke but I can’t find that particular metal in the recycled or fair-trade metal market, or they want a really big diamond and don’t want to pay for an ethical one so I have just refused. And I have just passed them on to another jeweller that can do it, but I just can’t.’ She tells me that it would be wrong, no matter how vast the sum on offer, to accept work that goes against the very beliefs that her business is built on. Again, evidence of our new aforementioned business model; the one that screams boldly on the trading room floor I’m up two-point-fivepercent on shares in a better tomorrow.

‘I always try to pay my suppliers and manufacturers a fair price…’ Says Nina Rose, maker of silk loungewear, on the topic of ethical practice, ‘…even if that might seem like a bad business decision. We’re all in it together, and I know that ultimately if I haggle a fabric supplier down to a price per metre where they make barely any profit, it will have a knock on effect and that it means the fabric manufacturer will then have to pay its employees less, and so on.’

Nina Rose makes high quality silk garments, her main products are slip dresses and pyjamas as well as eye masks made from the offcuts obtained in the making process. ‘I always knew that whatever I made, I wanted to use silk. I’m absolutely obsessed with it.’ She tells me over email. ‘Using silk or any natural fabric is always more expensive, but this is reflected in the quality of the garment. I want to tackle fast fashion, and the idea that it’s OK to spend seven Liike

pounds on a dress and throw it away after only wearing it twice, by creating quality products which will last. We don’t follow fad fashions so that people can invest in an item that will stay in their wardrobe for years. The cons, though, are the prices, and the fact that online customers often can’t tell the obvious quality difference - you really need to feel and touch the item to see it!’

Nina talks of the price she has to charge as a negative, but at around the seventy pound mark I don’t think it’s extortionate. You see, quality products last, that’s the point. I haven’t run a statistical experiment into this, but I’d be willing to say that buying fewer, more expensive, high quality products will save you money in the long run.

And for those people afraid of being seen out in the same outfit twice, frankly, sort yourself out.

Silk is a highly renewable resource, and has less impact on the environment than many other fabrics. Mega thumbs up. However (to address the elephant which may be passing by the room), silk manufacture has been heavily criticised by many animal rights activists because the silk larvae are killed during the making process. I say, that as long as people aren’t ignorant of what they’re buying, they are free to make their choice and for me (even as an environmental vegan) I’d rather people buy sustainable silk over polyestersingle-use-fast-fashion-tat because ultimately, while it’s not perfect for the worms, it’s a whole lot better for the environment. And without the environment, we won’t even have a planet left on which to boil silk worms whether we want to or not.

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And then onto the topic of my new favourite word greenwashing. Nina says, ‘I think larger companies have cottoned on to the fact that if a consumer believes they are doing something at least a tiny bit more sustainable then they are more likely to shop with them. For example H&M offer you a five pound discount voucher if you take in a carrier bag of clothes to be “recycled” — however they aren’t totally transparent on how they recycle these products. This makes consumers feel like it’s ok to shop there because they have recycled two t-shirts, when actually they are still then buying five new products that day that are all made from polyester that will be thrown away within six months and end up in landfill for the next two hundred years.’

Lara Intimates make sustainable lingerie that actually fits (I haven’t tested them— due to my lack of boob, but according to some customer reviews, they are the comfiest, most flattering bras in the universe). ‘We have sixty different bra sizes,’ Cindy Liberman (co-founder along with Faith Leeves) tells me over the phone. ‘And the average high street store will have maybe twenty.

We already have all of those patterns in stock, as in we can make any of them whenever we want to and we produce on demand based on what our customers are ordering.’ This method of production is far more sustainable.

Being able to do small batches means that products going to waste is never going to happen.

The Lara Intimates website asks; Did you know that large brands and factories send millions of tonnes of unused textiles to landfill every year? And it’s there where Cindy and her team step 058

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in ‘We work with a supplier that buys deadstock fabrics from all over the world.’— That’s leftover fabric as a byproduct of big industry— ‘It’s usually all made here in Europe and we usually buy a hundred and fifty meters at a time… and you can get a lot of bras out of that amount of fabric!’

Cindy reels off exactly where they acquire every single one of the elements that go into making their underwear and it strikes me just how hands on she is. She cares about sourcing materials as locally as possible to their East London factory, a factory that has three main goals: ‘First, maintain sustainable practices to reduce our environmental impact. Second, provide opportunity, training and a high standard of living for our makers. Our third goal is to be efficient so prices remain accessible while always keeping sustainability and ethics as a first priority.’

Through chatting to these four makers, I am struck by how effortless they all make it seem— and that’s because they love it, because they are having the times of their lives making things that they care about and having an effect that is immensely positive. They are invested, inspired and deeply passionate about what they do. Sustainable shopping aside, the very notion of having things manufactured by people that care so much is alone a huge draw for me.

These people love the products they make and are proud of the way they go about it, they have poured their heart and soul into every piece that they sell.

It’s that which is the greatest antidote to fast fashion. A pair of glittery jeggings from topshop or a disposable t-shirt displaying a picture of a cat meme will sustainable fashion & beauty

never come close to owning clothes or accessories that have been loved, nurtured and have a story to tell.

I’ll finish with one last thought. Go forth, but please keep your wits about you; be aware of big brands trying to appeal to your sustainable tendencies. Often, their promises are full of hot air and under scrutiny their wording falls apart into a vague collection of buzzwords and a nifty green colour-scheme. The growth of more sustainable brands is a good thing, but until shoppers speak with their purses, nothing is going to change as fast or as vastly as we need it to.

Stay Wild Swim www.staywildswim.com Emma Aitchison Jewellery www.emmaaitchison.com Nina Rose www.ninarose.co.uk Lara Intimates www.laraintimates.com 059

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purge

Photography Kevin Voller Model Sian @ Premier Make up & hair Anja Joy Bont Styling Celine Sheridan Retouching Ron Ibarra Si a n w e a r s

Dress Stacey Wall Socks Bamboo Socks 061

Dress Monks Cap Patrick McDowell

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Top & bra Elliss

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Briefs & top Elliss Hat People Tree

Cap, overcoat & coat Patrick McDowell 064

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Briefs Elliss Coat People Tree Top Stacey Wall Thigh tights Bamboo Tights

Headpiece & shirt dress Stacey Wall Green body Christopher Raeburn Tulle overdress Rêve en Vert

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Shirt dress Stacey Wall Green body & rain coat Christopher Raeburn Tulle overdress RĂŞve en Vert

Coat Christopher Raeburn 068

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Words & portrait by Kevin Voller

Cossac Photography Florencia Lucila Model Hedieh Latifoltojar Fashion direction & styling Agata Natalia Kozak Make up Moomal Moghul Hair Miho Hayashi Fashion Assistant Mao MIyakoshi

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I met Agata, Founder of Cossac, at a beatuiful cafe filled with plants, very East London, to find out why having strong ethics in business will go along way.

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What inspired you to launch Cossac?

I always wanted to have a fashion brand and when I moved to London I was working for high street and high end brands I realised the problems within the fashion industry. My lifestyle also changed, I became more conscious of everything I used and the way I eat. So I think knowing more about the dirty side of fashion and my new lifestyle impacted my decision to start a sustainable fashion brand.

and it has a very special place in my heart. I have two factories in Portugal that make knitwear and jersey.

How difficult has it been to maintain your ethics and sustainability?

It is challenging because, especially as a small self funded brand, obviously costs are a big issue. Also when you deal with suppliers the minimums are very high when it comes to fabrics and size of the production. No one wants to work for

Why did you decide to be sustainable and put ethics as such a high priority within the business?

I think sustainability is the way forward.

If you are thinking to start any kind of business now it has to be sustainably inclined because we need to take responsibility for our actions and we have to make sure we take care of all of the production and supply chain, take responsibility for the impact we have on the planet and responsibility for people who work for us. For me its very important that the people who work in the factories I use are happy. I believe that people have to be happy to make beautiful clothes, you know, it’s the people who are making your clothes.

It doesn’t matter how pretty the cloth is if they are miserable and underpaid it takes the joy out of it in my opinion.

Where are your products made?

So I have one factory in Turkey, in Istanbul, which makes wovens. One of the reasons is I used to live in Istanbul sustainable fashion & beauty

you if you produce less than a 100 pieces and when you’re starting out you produce 20 maybe. So this was really challenging but now the situation is 071

better with fabrics but when I started 4 years ago finding interesting, innovative sustainable fabrics was quite tricky because it looked like it was organic cotton or nothing, or hemp. But now you have so many other alternatives and every collection I make I try to introduce new fabrics which is really exciting. For this reason I go to many fabric fairs.

What do you believe are the benefits of starting a sustainable business?

Most of all I think it’s extremely rewarding. I want to be happy doing what I love and actually make a living from doing what you love is incredible.

Also to know that everyone who works for me is making a good living is a really good feeling as well. It makes me really happy when my customers, they have really easy access to the brand so I get private messages all the time, and I answer to everyone who writes to me and I think people really like this personal touch. Overall its extremely rewarding.

What steps do you take to ensure the production process is as green as possible?

I only work with sustainable fabric suppliers so I know all of them personally. I meet them during fabric fairs, I visit the factories as much as I can.

Also the factories that I work with its the same situation. All of the factories are certified, either GOTS or ISO certified. I know the owners and I go to visit them at least twice a year. I know everyone

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who works on the production plant, I always bring them candy which they love! So for example when I first went to my Turkish factory in order to get to the office you have to pass through the production plant and for me it was a good sign, because normally people try to hide the production plant, so for me it meant they had nothing to hide.

Also when you go there you see that everyone is happy.

What do you plan to do next?

So I don’t know if I should say it but I’m thinking of relocating the brand away from London. Or at least opening an office in Spain which will probably happen this year and also expanding into new markets. Every season we are entering into more stockists and working with new agents. The brand is growing really nicely but I want to keep it quite small, I think small is beautiful, and also growing too big is not sustainable and I want to be able to maintain this personal relationship I have with my stockists and direct clients.

Where can everyone find your products?

The list of Stockists can be found on our website, for when you prefer to go in and try clothes on, but the easiest way is online as the whole collection can be found there. From the end of February we have 40 stockists all over the world, mainly in Europe but also in Japan, Korea, Australia and the States and I don’t remember where else right now!

We also do a lot of pop ups as well.

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spring step

Photography ChloĂŠ Romeyer Model Jessica F @ Linden Staub Make up & hair Lily Vanita using Pixi Beauty Styling Armelle Semat Styling Assistant Lily Conyngham J e s s ic a w e a r s

Jacket Aleksandra Seweryniak 074

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Bra Beau Jacques Dress Être Cécile Gloves CAR|2IE Shoes Dr. Martens

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Skirt Beau Jacques Top Aleksandra Seweryniak 077

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Jacket Aleksandra Seweryniak Slip Dress Araks Necklace & ring Soko Skirt CAR|2IE Top Gayeon Lee 079

Bustier & skirt CAR|2IE T-shirt Être Cécile

Jacket Olivia Rubens Bodysuit Araks Necklace Soko Boots Kinga Kasińska

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aa lt ti ev re ns 082

Words by Helen Derbyshire

We are at a crucial time

where finding alternatives for the way we consume the earth’s resources is paramount.

The fashion industry is a guilty partner, with our appetite for fast fashion and immediate demands for production creating the fifth highest pollutant and water consuming industry in the world (so says The Global Fashion Agenda).

We are now hopefully all too aware of the process of manufacturing cotton and certain synthetic materials such as polyester, which use vast quantities of water and harmful chemicals on a grand scale. If we don’t slow down on our desire to consume fashion trends, we are left with making a change to how the fashion industry operates. So what alternatives have we got? What technology do we already have that can be improved upon and developed? And what new ways of thinking can we discover?

We can start with alternative plantbased materials, other than cotton, that are more easily and sustainably grown.

Some methods are better than others, some are real workable options and some can only be produced on a small scale.

Most of us know about bamboo which has been a popular alternative for a while now. What makes it so sustainable is that by harvesting the plant, the roots are left in the soil leaving the necessary nutrients behind. This is very important for farming practices. Bamboo derived material is very flexible and durable, much like hemp. Though hemp has had a bad rep in the past, with its association with cannabis, it is a much more versatile Liike

fibre than many give it credit for. It is actually among the most versatile of natural fibres, fast-growing, nutrient rich for soil and surprisingly when processed into material, can withstand many more washes than cotton. Due to the hollow structure of the fibre it creates well insulated fabric (keeps you cool in the summer and warm in the winter) which is perhaps why many big activewear brands, such as Patagonia and Adidas use hemp in a lot of their products.

Long before cotton and silk gained popularity across the world, banana stem fibres were commonly used to make cloth and paper in Japan and is only now steadily making a comeback.

It is used for a variety of materials and is fully sustainable in that there is a ‘closed-loop supply chain’. Firstly the fibres are extracted from waste in an already established banana plantation.

The material is made and once it comes to the end of its life it is then recycled or composted (closing the loop) to nurture new banana tree growth. Though extraction and manufacturing of this fibre is rather labour and time intensive there remains a possibility in harnessing its properties for the right use in future.

There are two interesting companies operating the method of closed-loop supply chain where waste products are finding their own use.

Singtex is a Taiwanese company who began using waste coffee ground fibres in their manufacturing of textiles. They claim, ‘Made from plastic bottles and coffee grounds, this green, high-tech yarn is environmentally friendly, deodorizing, and fast drying, UV-resistant and has many different applications… sustainable fashion & beauty

No solvents are used in the production process.’ This method is in fact now used by a number of sporting brands like North Face and Puma.

We can also take a look at Pinatex, a company who use waste pineapple leaves from pineapple plantations to create totally compostable, cruelty-free synthetic leather fabric. Again, this is a material which has a variety of uses in the fashion industry. It is so easy to cut, stitch and dye, that we should really question whether we need to continue producing traditional animal leather at all. Biomass is also a by-product from this process. A sustainable and carbon neutral energy source, biomass is used in agriculture and by renewable energy firms to heat and power homes and businesses. Production is slow however and like banana fibre and coffee ground fibres, the use of these offcut materials for making clothing hasn’t quite caught on fast enough to make a real difference in the fashion industry yet.

Increasingly more brands are looking to switch to sustainable materials.

Adidas partnered up with Parley for the Oceans in 2015 using recycled ocean plastic in their shoe production.

This has grown such momentum and popularity with eco-minded buyers that the brand began designing more lines as well as an activewear line (including designs by Stella McCartney) which are going strong four years later. Ecoalf is a Madrid based company who work with fishermen in the Mediterranean to gather fishing nets from the sea floor to recycle the waste into clothing, even providing watch brand Swatch with employee uniforms. You need only type ‘waste/plastic/fashion’ into Google to 083

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see the many million hits on brands and designers using upcycled plastic in their clothing. This is a wonderful way to clean up our oceans and reduce landfill of its plastic. But we must be careful not to get too carried away thinking this solves all our problems when in fact it still presents us with a microscopically infuriating obstacle.

Micro-fibres.

When you wash any synthetic clothing, such as those made from recycled plastic, no matter how fine the thread count, thousands of tiny micro-fibres shed from the fabric and enter into our waste water again finding its way back into our ecosystems and our food. These tiny fibres can also absorb harmful chemicals along the way such as solvents from dyes, pesticides and herbicides. The solution for now might be to use synthetic materials for things that don’t require regular washing, like shoes or soft furnishings. And if we can develop more screen filters in newer washing machines to trap these tiny pieces of plastic, this might go a long way to help ease the problem.

When it comes to water and chemicals, one of the most interesting developments recently came from Colorep, a Californian sustainable tech company. In the mid-noughties they developed AirDye which was set to revolutionise how dyes are cast onto textiles by reducing water usage by up to 90% and energy consumption by about 85%. These figures are impressive when you consider that virtually every piece of clothing you and I have ever owned has gone through the traditional dyeing process, using many harmful chemicals and wasting a heck of a lot of water.

AirDye rids this process of unnecessary waste by using coloured pigment on

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paper (recycled of course) which binds into the material using a little heat and a lot of air to create vivid colouring. Already brands and designers are scaling up production using AirDye. Designer Costello Tagliapietra premiered use of the technique exclusively in his spring collection during New York fashion week in 2010. He set the bar and now big brands, like Nike and Adidas, are looking into ways in which it can be used at scale. Other tech companies are hot on the heels. DyeCoo uses pressurised carbon dioxide (again in a closedloop supply process with the CO2 being recycled from other industries) to allow dye to dissolve into the fibres of the fabric without the use of water or harmful chemicals at all. They claim to be able to operate on an industrial scale too which sounds promising.

However, it all comes back to our appetite for cheap clothing. Traditional dyeing on cotton and synthetic materials is a fast and cheap method.

These innovative new developments demand higher costs and without industry wide support it is unlikely that much will change on a grand scale quickly enough. It demands designers, big brands and individual consumers to actively seek out better practices.

Now a quick note on 3D printing. In the last fifty or so years, there has not been a more innovative break-through in technology than the arrival of the 3D printer. 3D printed structural pieces, accessories and jewellery have been spotted on the runway of course, but the technology isn’t there yet to create soft pliable fabric in the same way from scratch. The cost of the printers also doesn’t make it a viable option yet.

But in theory, if every clothes store or sustainable fashion & beauty

individual could make use of a printer, upload and ‘buy’ the design from the designer, acquiring the right raw material, on a demand only basis, it would be one of the most sustainable and ethical ways of making clothes ever imagined. Think of how little waste that would create. And if the practice was used globally it would nullify the need for cheap labour in clothing factories too. The idea is there but the tech just isn’t. We wait with anticipation to see what developments there are in the future for 3D printing.

There is a huge amount of potential for new design and technology in sustainability. Think of how recently we have managed to raise public consciousness on the issue? Only really in the last few decades. When it comes to promoting sustainable and ethical fashion, many more brands, social media influencers and big name designers are able to speak to a huge audience with such immediacy. And change will eventually come. The technology to use food waste and byproducts from established farming practices is really in its early years but is especially exciting. Other plant based fibres could be found and developed, opening up a whole world of possibilities for companies looking to find the next new innovation. It begs the question of what else can be done and

who is willing to try something new ?

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i v e s

What inspired you to start Higher Studio?

I studied fashion design and marketing at CSM with the desire to have my own brand. When it came to starting this, I was up against a dilemma - I wanted the brand to be as sustainable as possible but would have to sell clothes in quantity to have a sustainable business. I didn’t know what the solution was so went to study Innovation, entrepreneurship and Management at Imperial Business School. It was here I did my dissertation in new business models in the circular economy and found that selling access rather than ownership could incentivise a circular economy.

Why did you choose to start a business that promotes hire rather than buy?

I wanted a solution that would promote creativity as well as use sustainable practices and rental can do both.

Through access rather than ownership, the creator remains accountable for what they create and the resources they use to do so. They also then profit from both the physical and emotional durability of their creations incentivising them to design for longevity rather than planned obsolescence. Through rental, businesses are incentivised to use resources consciously and to prolong their lifespan.

But also, because there is not the hefty upfront cost that comes with ownership, and you pay for what you use only, users don’t have to commit to the item and think how much use they’ll get from it. This means that choices can be 086

much more experimental and through experimentation comes discovery.

This allows users to wear what they actually want to wear rather than what they are prepared to commit to given a certain price tag. Designers can then design more creativity rather than compromising between creativity and price.

How challenging have you found it to grow the business?

For the majority of people, rental of clothing is still something they haven’t tried so there’s an education that needs to happen before they convert. But in the last 6 months, attitudes have really changed due to the conversations around sustainability. People are ready to give it a go and often there is no turning back because of the multiple benefits of rental.

Its a struggle but I’m confident that things are moving in the right direction.

What do you think are the benefits of hiring rather than buying?

For the user, the magic of rental is really the ability to experiment without worrying about your consumer hangover. Experimentation allows us to discover new things and also discover new ways to express ourselves through what we wear. So many are afraid to venture out of their comfort zones when it comes to clothes but with rental, there is little to lose. This can make a big difference in people’s confidence and makes fashion a much more enjoyable experience.

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Higher Words by Kevin Voller

Studio sustainable fashion & beauty

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What are the main challenges you’ve faced in the industry?

I don’t think I’ve faced major challenges from the industry.

Where do you source your clothing from?

As we want creators of clothing to retain ownership, we partner with selected brands and they make items available to rent. We ultimately curate the collection.

We do also have archive pieces which are pieces from collectors.

How often do you add new pieces to your collection?

We don’t have a specific time period but we do rotate the items when we feel our customers need a refresh. We like there to be a tight curation of items on the website instead of unlimited choice.

What kind of pieces are available to your customers?

We have a selection of emerging brands that we believe have a worthy purpose and level of care in what they create. We don’t have particular guidelines in terms of the sustainability of the items, but we do favour items that are more sustainable.

As for the archive pieces, we stock iconic brands such as Comme des Garcons, Margiela, and Issey Miyake.

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If you could have any piece to add to your line up what would you choose?

I’m a Comme des Garçons fanatic so I’d want more pieces. It’s difficult to narrow it down to a particular item.

What do you plan to do next?

We are working with a couple of our brands on upcycling projects. I believe this is the way fashion has to go to stay relevant in the midst of a climate and ecological emergency.

I’m also involved in activist movement Extinction Rebellion. We just disrupted fashion week by blocking roads to bring about awareness to the climate emergency and stop business as usual.

This is just the start of our tactic to target cultural events so there is more to come.

Where can people go to find out more about Higher Studio?

Check out the journal selection of our website.

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planet f ighters

Photography Eva Tomei Model Rebecca Clausi Make up & hair Isabella Avenali Styling Lucilla Spagnuolo & Francesca Romana Perazzelli R e b e cc a w e a r s

Caftan Volantis Top & shorts Tiziano Guardini Backpack Marios 090

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Cap & jacket Cora Bellotto Jacket (round waist) WRAD Socks Tiziano Guardini Backpack Marios Shoes Timberland

Jacket Cora Bellotto Dress Volantis Socks & shoes Tiziano Guardini Backpack Marios 093

Dress Tiziano Guardini

Dress Volantis 094

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Trousers & jacket Cora Bellotto Vest & dress Volantis

Shoes Timberland

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Is making a difference equal to a big effort ?

Words by Natalia Meksa

Can sustainability be affordable ?

How can we fight fast fashion and minimalise the wastage ?

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It’s easy,

it’s affordable and there are very simple solutions - your small step, will make a big change.

Looking at my wardrobe is seeing different stories. Every piece of clothing I posses has its own little history. I don’t buy a lot in big chain stores. I grew up in Poland, in a little village, definitely not very fashionable. When I was a teenager, I didn’t have much money but I really wanted to completely change my style.

Everything I had at this time felt just too childish, not cool enough. With a few friends who shared a similar concern we discovered this amazing event – clothes exchange. There were piles of clothes and they were all for free! All we had to do was to bring our unwanted stuff in exchange. We left the event with bags full of fantastic old/new items.

We’ve managed to trade our unused things and refresh our wardrobes. What a beautiful idea of a market – no money, just an interchange of items. Apparently, the things which I didn’t need anymore, which I considered as useless and even disgusting – they found new owners. It is important to remember that something which doesn’t appeal to me anymore might be a treasure for someone else. I believe that when throwing things away we should think about people who might be in need. It’s so easy to dash stuff in the bin and all it takes is a bit of effort to recycle fashion.

Since discovering the idea of the clothes exchange, me and my friends have organised many similar events on our own. We have been also doing group ventures to the second hand stores, always leaving with some treasures.

When moving to London, one of my greatest discoveries were charity shops which are not only an amazing alternative to affordable fashion but also they support the ones who are in need.

Instead of getting rid of unwanted items it’s better to donate them. There are plenty of fantastic charity shops across London which are very trendy at the moment and foremostly –ethical.

Many of my clothes have been given to me – from my mum, cousins, aunties, friends. There is something special about wearing second hand things.

Every time I put on my red jumper I think of my old English teacher who has given it to me during our private lessons years ago. These little black Nike shorts, I got from my friend in the changing room between ballet classes. Last summer I posted a picture on Instagram in flowery shorts and my best friend, its previous owner, left her astonished comment – ‘ I can’t believe you’ve still got these shorts! They are immortal’. I do believe that fashion is immortal, it is a subject of fluctuation, it always changes. Trends come and go. Our preferences amend.

So why don’t we take an advantage of it? Let’s enjoy replacing, swapping and reshaping our things rather than just discarding everything in the bin. Be generous to your pocket and to others – donate, receive, share.

Simple, cool and affordable solutions for a zero waste fashion for busy Londoners

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Clothes exchange Charity shops Depop.com Vintage stores

Recycling fashion has never been so easy! sustainable fashion & beauty

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Issue April

01 2019

sustainable fashion & beauty

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