IamA university student who got sick of fast fashion and set up a sustainable clothing brand, AMA!

Just wanted to give my 2c on the designs. I like your mission but I don’t care about your logo. I avoid almost all clothes that use a logo as a primary design unless it’s small and unavoidable (why would I want to be a walking billboard for a company?). So.. I know brand matters, but you already have a story that resonates. I would maybe consider shifting how you think about design.

Every input is valid! You never know, might shift soon Because this is quite high up, I'll go a bit further - so we initially weren't expecting this uptake, and just really wanted to get the name out there. However, hearing this, we will definitely make them less prominent in future. Your constructive criticism is appriciated. Have a great day

I wanted to voice a counter opinion that I like a good branding on environmentally friendly stuff. When people don’t recognize the logo I can tell them about the impact

This was a consideration of ours. We'll make something smaller too then everyone can be happy I hope!

I would also buy some products if the logo was smaller. Just not a huge fan of the giant logos on things

That's totally fair, we live and we learn! Please keep an eye out for the next run

Can you describe in more detail the ways the clothing is sustainable? ie. Are the materials only natural fibers? How does it compare in terms of water consumption during the manufacturing process? etc.

Hey! So we use ethically and fairly produced cotton, and anything that can't be made from this is entirely recycled! Now obviously water is an ever present issue in the production of cotton, so our next project is to redcue/fix this when we get a bit bigger is to support this somehow. Any ideas/suggestions? Thanks for the question

What does it mean "ethically and fairly produced cotton"?

We mean that the people who work in production of the cotton are safe and well-reimbursed in their job. Thanks for the question!

How does that translates to a lower carbon footprint?

So that bit doesn't necessarily lower carbon footprint, but the 243 trees we've planted for our sales so far have! Check out how WeOffset works at www.weoffset.world

Being from the production side of fashion myself...this is just about the only way to make any kind of positive impact on carbon...planting trees and doing other similar things w the profits your company makes. Nearly every type of fiber and textile is terrible for the environment, unless you want to be paying scads of money for hand spun and woven fabrics made by indigenous peoples(indian khadi might be the best option costwise).

Good on you for trying to do something other than profit.

Thank you so much!

Nike has planted near one million trees.

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source: https://www.weforest.org/partner/nike

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So you don't lower CO2 emissions, you just plant trees to compensate. Well, 243 trees is not something to be proud yet. But you are on the right track, and I belive that by 2040 you will have made some difference in the world.

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You also don't reduce water needs in the cotton industry wich presents a big problem, and you said in a previous comment that people who work in the production are "safe and well-reimbursed in their job". How, me buying a shirt from you can assure me that those people are happy and well paid?

I don't find that a helpful thing to say at all - at least I'm making an effort, and helping others to do the same. Don't diminish people trying to help, because collective efforts add up. Certification - I do my homework and work hard.

I bet you work hard, but man, listen up. You have a website, where you only have 4 items, sold at an astonishing price with a mediocre design. You say those people have great working conditions, and organic cotton and you plant trees. I have no proof those people are happy working in the cotton industry, I have no proof of your organic cotton (wich is actually much more harmfull to the enviornment), I have no proof you even plant trees. So, all you have done, could have been done by a 4th grade student, I mean you have a mask, a hootie, a t-shirt and a bag. A bad designed website, and that is not hard to do.. I could find a 8yo that would design 25 products in 3 hours. Your design is very weak, I am sorry for being sincere. You planted 243 trees, but that isn't even a thing man, all people are doing when buying with you is just simple charity, because you have nothing to offer. People don't buy a mask from you because it is organic cotton or because it looks cool, they use you to plant 3 trees and they think they are helping the enviornment. £31.95 for a hoodie and you plant 5 trees? There are better projects than that, I would pay £50 to plant 100 trees in lots of other ONGs, and buy a cool hoodie from NIKE that planted 1 000 000 trees by half the price (and now you say, well they don't use organic cotton, but I am pretty sure they do, in much larger quantities that you do, because maybe half of the cotton suppliers in the world don't have acess to any other kind of cotton farming). Don't make an excuse out of the enviornment man, your just fooling yourself. Anyways, I would really like to buy your hoodie, how can you prove me that you planted 5 trees on my behalf?

Also I run the other company WeOffset with a friend; we can show you the planting site for 5 trees

You've got a lot of anger dude, hope things get better for you

What is the wage that the cotton harvesters are paid?

Hey, so our producers are held to account by the FLA, who have high minimum standards

do you know what the rate is or do you just have faith that the FLA is paying fairly?

I don't know the rate. The FLA has high standards that I will review when I have the means too, we're still too small

Hemp fiber. Uses less water than cotton to grow the plant. Good start.

I will be sure to research and see if I can implement. Thanks for the support, means a lot to me personally

No problem man! I work in the hemp industry and have studied a lot of hemp farming techniques. Good luck!

Do you know of any good clothing suppliers? Thanks!

Here is an article that has some good info between cotton and hemp.https://wamaunderwear.com/blogs/news/hemp-vs-cotton

You said you are in Scotland, correct? I am in the US so procuring hemp material could be more expensive given transportation costs to send it over the pond. Granted you could add the cost into the COGS of your clothing to offset that, but you would need to run the numbers.

Here is a list of suppliers in the USA: https://www.hemptraders.com/ https://envirotextile.com/ https://www.bulkhempwarehouse.com/

I am not affiliated with any of these companies. Just have heard good things.

I will be sure to follow this up if/when we expand! Thanks so much

Obviously your working to source your materials, but it could be worth it to partner with a vertical farm to determine the viability of cotton as crop.

Vertical farming uses significatlntly less water (under 25% if i remember correctly) as the run off is simply recycled.

This has definitely been considered, and if I look at my future plans (hoping we get that far) I was actually hoping to directly partner/buy a farm like that! Thanks for asking!

Don't rule out synthetic fabrics. A company named Repreve sells fabric made from recycled platics.

Some of this is used in our hoodies!!! I love it, so soft and sustainable (I'm not even repping here I just love the clothes)

Could you go into more details on your carbon offset? I've read some of your comments about planting trees and I'm not entirely convinced.

Just planting trees doesn't really mean much and considering the concerns with biodiversity could cause more harm than good. Is biodiversity being factored in? On top of that there's some evidence that replanting efforts are causing a warming effect, and considering the trees take a century to reach maturity your claims seem... dubious at best.

This article from NASA sums up some criticisms with the "replanting" efforts and quite frankly the movement has the reputation of businesses trying to put up a facade of being eco friendly while avoiding doing anything about their immediate environmental damage.

https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2927/examining-the-viability-of-planting-trees-to-help-mitigate-climate-change/

I'm certainly not saying you're doing something wrong or are worse than other fashion companies but you are making some bold claims without a lot to back them up.

Hey, so I spent the best part of last year running a company called WeOffset and have debated many a time.

Basically the only trees we plant are trees that have been removed. In Mozambique there have been loads of issues with deforestation of the mangroves, and that is where we planted. The added bonus, if you look beyond the CO2 sequestering, is providing jobs to those that work there at very good rates of pay, and also preventing coastal erosion due to the root networks of the trees. Will respond tomorrow with more! Cheers

Those are great points, thanks for taking the time to respond!

My absolute pleasure. Let me know if there's anything at all further I can help you with

I see you mention deforestation and replanting in those areas, one could argue that replanting those trees will eventually help cover for the damage done by deforestation, but you also have your production added on top. You can't of course be expected to take responsibility for other people's actions, just a random thought that popped into my head.

But to follow up on the questions around replanting, has any research gone into finding out how much CO2 each tree can "such up" so to speak at the various stages of growth, and how does that relate to the more immediate climate impact of your production? I imagine it could take years or even decades for various types of trees to grow to full size where the would have a larger impact on the environment.

I will also admit I didn't look at the website yet, just browsing comments. Are you providing some sort of certificate or guarantee outside of claiming to plant x trees per y amounts of clothing? I imagine you order cotton in bulk, place bulk order for clothing, and plant trees in bulk to account for each shipment. Might be interesting if some form of certificate could be included to better legitimize your efforts.

With regards to the cotton plants, have you taken steps to ensure plant location doesn't also have a bigger environmental impact than needed? For instance have there been any deforestation done to create space for the cotton plants, and do you take such factors into account when calculating to be carbon neutral?

Any future plans to aim for going into negatives on your carbon footprint?

Are you only looking for replanting efforts, or do you also look into other avenues to help the environment? If I'm not mistaken the sea is a large source of the world's oxygen supply, and there's been some research into the effects of microplastics and other sea pollutants affecting oxygen generation from oceans. I've no idea myself of sea based efforts could have a more immediate environmental impact than replanting trees, though I guess harder to calculate for.

My apologies for a terse response but an excellent question! Yes, this is what I want. the reality of our generation is we have to not only reduce carbon, but fix the damage of the previous ones that lived unsustainably on borrowed resources from us. I want to do 'my bit' as it were.

There has been quite a lot of research; if you do research, please have a look at mangrove trees like we plant, as they sequester even more CO2 than normal forests!

Yes we guarantee through our partner firm WeOffset

This has been considered, but will be scrutinised further when we have more resources. I am very serious about this

We if anything ' trick' people into negative footprints, because the CO2 absorption is based on 5 years estimates, but the trees keep on growing (it's a nice trick I promise)

We are looking into other avenues, but it's important the consumer can conceptualise their CO2 absorption - 3 trees is easier to understand than 3 inches of CO2 storers etc. (step by step)

Many thanks, have a fab day

It seems as if you are competing in a very saturated market. Instead of simply competing on design/quality, you now have to also compete on level of sustainability and proof of sustainability. There are a ton of clothing companies doing the same thing and it seems like a steeply uphill battle. Reading comments, it sounds like everyone agrees there is a ton of inventory waste in the clothing industry. Have you considered simply purchasing dead stock and redesigning those materials? To me, that sounds like a fresh take and you wouldn’t have to prove offsets, which are highly controversial anyway. I know there was a company in LA buying dead denim stock and redesigning it custom, but that is the only company in that area of which I’m aware.

Great idea! Another one to go in the ideas for the future list I'm keeping. Right now I'm keeping all stock on sale until it's gone, no if's or but's - no waste here. But this is such a good idea to take it even further, thank you!

Will you be selling blanks, showcasing prints and designs from different designers, or your using your own house designs?

Will you do any upcycling/recycling?

I ask because I don't buy new when I can just buy second hand because no matter how 'sustainable' a new product claims to be. Its not. Its production.

We really want more designers, so if you know any please please please send my way. Would definitely make blanks if demand is there.

We recycle where we can't use organic, and even our shipping packaging is recycled and recyclable!

I can see your view - however we are trying to find a medium between consumers who will only buy new (most people) and people who will only buy second hand. We are trying to convert that former group to a more sustainable way of thinking, and that will take some steps. If anything, I'd really like to reassure you our goals are the same - less waste and less CO2. Thanks for your question!

Your Cotton is organic, but I’ve heard good thinks about GMO BT Cotton and increase in biodiversity and less land use. Why did you choose organic?

At this moment in time organic is all we could find. But that's a great idea! I will be sure to look into GMO, sounds really promising

Have you considered a trade in program to help with sustainability? Customers can trade in clothes they've worn for awhile, for a discount on newer clothes, and you can have a secondary "Previously loved" section. This will allow people to a) Participate in "fast fashion" without as huge a strain on the environment, and b) have access to your clothing at every price point.

I don't think this is something that's being done currently, but I myself would be more than willing to purchase second hand clothing that the manufacturer has deemed still in good condition.

Patagonia offers this exact service:

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https://wornwear.patagonia.com/

We might take 'creative licence', but all for a good cause!

What a great idea! I've added it to the business plan, thank you so much! Really would achieve two goals at once eh?

Can you put a size guide on your website? “Your size should fit you” isn’t really descriptive of what size your clothes are.

https://imgur.com/pBMNkfE

Size A (in) B (in) C (in) S 27.36 18.90 8.07 M 28.15 20.08 8.07 L 28.94 21.26 8.46 XL 29.72 22.44 8.46 XXL 30.51 23.62 8.86

This is for the t-shirt, have been implementing but hadn't quite finished!

Oh shoot terrible formatting

Really appreciate all of the questions, they're helping me work towards being a better brand! Please ask anything at all

How much money did your family contribute to start your business?

Absolutely none, I work deliveroo and saved a stupid number of hours. It also helped that I did almost everything DIY and have very talented and helpful friends!

Is your cotton sourced from labor camps in Xinjiang?

It isn't.

Where did you get the money for all this, as a university student?

Did loads of deliveroo and and made some risky crypto bets, I'm not even kidding

Having a great time doing this - it's really important to keep working on the brand and what we need to be. Special thanks to u/Gloomheart for the great suggestion to recycle!

As a percentage, how much of revenue is set aside for marketing, and what channels have done the best for you so far?

Oh lord, so I try and work on 10-15 of revenue for ads. What I've learned:

Snapchat support was really unhelpful when they sent my ads to the wrong place, and the conversions to purchases were super bad Facebook has AWFUL small business support, and locked me out for no reason for a week when I was trying to see about ads. Terrible conversions too and questionable 'impressions' figures

Summary: do organic traffic if at all possible!

you mean t-shirt and jeans?

T-shirts yes, jeans not yet :)

It's often very hard to get away from fast fashion in extended sizes because of the cost of high quality plus size clothing and the lack of availability for second hand plus size clothes. Are you considering extending sizes more in the future?

This could be done, thanks for bringing to my attention! What sort of Max. were you thinking? Have a hoodie or two in 2 or 3 xl I think?

Honestly 5-6X is ideal to be really inclusive. I have started shopping almost exclusively at places that go up to at least a true 4X as someone who wears 2-3X just to be sure that if something I like runs small I can still size up.

Oh ok! I will be absolutely sure to consider in the next run.

Thank you for telling me

Is it as affordable as primark?

Um not quite but nothing ridiculous

Do you think sustainable brands are profitable since most sustainable brands have high price tag?

Not more profitable, as people are still hooked on primark etc. they need more volume of sales to truly succeed

Might use this in a game. What are your predicted sales after the pandemic? (Sorry dumb question)

Oooh fun! You have my permission to use our name, so long as it's good for the player! Hopefully up, as at currently they're a little low as I expect people are worried about income which is fair

Ah ok. Thank you so much! :) We should keep in contact!

Yes please!

Do you know Ruth?

I know of one from a long time back

DESPITE HOW BUSY THIS HAS GOTTEN, I STILL WANT TO KEEP ANSWERING. ASK ME ANYTHING ABOUT ME OR THE INITIATIVE <3