Don't dump me!
'I was made by hand. Please wear me love me, repair and recycle me. Don't dump me!'
Every garment or accessory we buy has been designed and made by someone. Some on mass and some like in our studio by hand. Each should be appreciated whatever the original cost, as a lot of effort went into getting that piece onto our bodies.
As part of our ongoing commitment to produce clothing sustainably and ethically, I want to make sure that non of the garments and accessories go to landfill. Their lives should be circular and there is no reason why they can't last just as long as the Victorian pieces in our vintage collection. I know how long a dress can survive, 100 years minimum for many!
You may not always want to wear the same piece, so pass it on to someone who would love it, give it to a charity shop, re-sell it or send it back to our studio for a £25 gift voucher to use towards your next purchase of £50 or more.
or
Get it repaired or altered. We offer an in house repair and alteration service if you bring/send your dress to us. Prices from £10 plus postage or we can advise on repairs and alterations with your local tailor.
Zero Waste
We have obviously increased production since starting the Deadly is the Female collection but have worked really hard to keep the waste to the same levels as before at one black bin liner full every two weeks.
This hasn't been easy as fabric packaging is ALL single use plastics and we have tonnes of fabric scraps.
I thought about making eco bricks and looking at creative ideas to use the plastic as a material. The worst of our waste is actually from food packaging!
(not so sure on eco bricks, shipping our waste to other countries to use as bricks? Using the bricks in building projects here would be fine. Not buying single use plastics, crisps etc would be better and probably better for my health!)
The single use plastic really needs to be recycled into a hard permanent use plastic with value. Making second hand plastic more valuable than new would could potentially have life changing effects for places in the world where waste plastic is everywhere. I will try some design experiments but found this wonderful website here on melting it down! Precious Plastics.
The fabric scraps will be made into beautiful things. However I want to design the use for the scraps carefully as its pointless to make just more products without considering their lifespan.
And tiny scraps can be used as fillings for padded designs.
We have also given a lots of fabric scraps to craft groups, quilters, anyone who loves to create with fabrics. If you would like any of our scrap fabrics for projects please email and I will be happy to send you some.
The aim will be to get down to a tiny bag of dust!
I've heard a lot of greenwashing and hope that I am not doing them same. My business is far from perfect.
I am trying my best but my biggest issue will always be with the fabrics I use. I am not a big enough business to produce fabrics from scratch and rely on asking my suppliers any questions on ethics. I have stuck to who I trust and hope one day I can visit the factories for myself.
We have a brilliant proactive sustainable group in Wells here.
Previous articles
Plastics, the environment and fashions dirty secrets
Fabric Challenge (I haven't quite got there due to the Deadly collection but give me a couple of years!)