Bankers Who Give A Shirt

Bankers Who Give A Shirt:

Gender Neutral Fashion Label And All’s Impact Investment Founders Are Betting Big on Sustainability and the Conscious Consume

by Katie Lister

Money doesn’t grow on trees” as the saying goes. Perhaps, though, the conscious use of tree fibers to make a premium fashion line can turn a nice profit. Sustainably sourced eucalyptus tree fibers converted into FSC & PEFC certified TENCEL™ lyocell fabric, to be exact.

The founders of Hong Kong-based fashion label AndAll, husband and wife Kyros Shirazi and Christine Yu, have made it their mission to design a gender-neutral line of shirts that are not only of superior quality and deliver serious street credit, but also have social responsibility and conscious consumption built into the very fabric of their line (no pun intended).

The shirts are made from 100% TENCEL™ lyocell—one of the most sustainable fabrics of modern technology, right down to the thread. The buttons, made from another sustainable material (mother of pearl) are the only components not made from TENCEL™ lyocell.

THE WHY

The former investment banking duo is not only the mastermind behind AndAll, they are social impact investors with their own fund, Lapidary Limited, under which AndAll lies. Their overall mission is to marry social responsibility with commerce. They believe that impact investing will pay off both in terms of global impact and financial benefit.

UBS investment bank and financial services found from their own research along with 2,000 other studies that “sustainable investors see no tradeoff between their personal values and their returns. A full 93 percent believe sustainable investments can generate equal or better financial performance when compared to traditional investments.” Doing good for the planet is good for the wallet, too.

Fading away from consumer behaviour (thankfully) is the desire to buy large quantities of cheap clothing frequently—goodbye buying the same style in every colour—only to throw them away to the landfill as soon as the fashion season is over and the items are no longer considered “on-trend.” In fact, this is becoming a big social and corporate faux pas. The fashion industry to date has been one of the biggest contributors to pollution.

A new era is being ushered in with Millennials and Generation Z leading the way, driving 85 percent of global luxury sales growth. They are increasingly demanding luxury and premium brands align with their values. Sustainability and social responsibility is “the new black” with a values-driven motive when making purchase decisions.

The new must have items are from brands that not only deliver the highest level of cool factor, but also whose business and products resonate with the consumer’s sustainability and social impact values. To retain their status, high-end brands need to carve the way for ethical and sustainable luxury. And All is leveraging this...read more at https://issuu.com/rareluxuryliving/docs/raremagazinesustainablepages/228