21.2.19
Sustainability
Sustainability / 5PREVIEW.
This planet is the only one we have. We’re aware that the fashion business is a huge polluter (some say second biggest but there are a lot of ways to measure this) in the world, so it’s time to put up guidelines and goals on what environmental footprint 5PREVIEW wants to leave. We want to turn ideas into action.
We believe that everything counts, from the smallest, not so obvious, to big questions like hu- man rights and pollution during transportation. We also believe in transparency, that’s why this document is created. It will be updated as soon as changes are done.
So we start in the 5PREVIEW STUDIOS. We recycle paper and plastic, both in our kitchen and the office. We have an ongoing discussion in our team regarding sustainable choices in the everyday work life – it could be that we chose to take the train to the trade fair in Copenhagen instead of the airplane. Or to have a sales meeting on Skype instead of flying to Milano. Or to go to Pitti Filati once a year instead of two times.
5preview has a small scale production. Let’s be clear, we produce around 80 000 garments a year (compared to the big chain-stores that produce around 500 million garments / year, each) so you know what quantities we’re talking about. We produce ONLY what our wholesale cus- tomers have ordered and we don’t keep stock or have our own stores so therefore there is no overproduction at all. The leftover garments (sample collections for example) at the end of the seasons are sold in sample sales and the remains are given to charity projects for women in need in Stockholm.
We are opening up closer discussions with our factories on how to improve the work towards a more sustainable way of producing. We are working with small scale factories that we know well and personal. We visit them on a regular basis and have a dialogue about respect of hu- man rights, a reasonable labour wage and good working conditions.
On our social platforms we promote a mindful consumption to our customers, and a long and
new life for old 5PREVIEW products through our ARCHIVES projects. We are also giving advice
on how to treat the garments in the best way (without washing them all the time) to make them
last longer. In 2016 we decided to openly communicate that we are against BLACK FRIDAY and
the unnecessary pushes towards overconsumption.
On our blog we show the Designer’s work in progress with the collection, to show that the clothes are more than just clothes, there is so much creativity invested in the garments, which makes many of them unique. Every garment has a story and we do our best to tell it. We will also try to make the whole design process more transparent so our customers more aware of the different steps.
One really important thing during the design process is the awareness of fabric consumption. When we do our designs we optimize the usage of fabric to minimize the waste. Our goal here is to make the factories recycle the waste that actually is, but we’re not really there yet. The fabrics we use are usually made in the country where the factory is, to avoid unnecessary shipping.
Our volume pieces are produced in Europe and we ship them directly to our Distributors without passing through our warehouse in Sweden. The same thing in Asia, the products made in China are directly shipped to the regions around the factories instead of flying back and forth over the world.
On our blog we show the Designer’s work in progress with the collection, to show that the clothes are more than just clothes, there is so much creativity invested in the garments, which makes many of them unique. Every garment has a story and we do our best to tell it. We will also try to make the whole design process more transparent so our customers more aware of the different steps.
One really important thing during the design process is the awareness of fabric consumption. When we do our designs we optimize the usage of fabric to minimize the waste. Our goal here is to make the factories recycle the waste that actually is, but we’re not really there yet. The fabrics we use are usually made in the country where the factory is, to avoid unnecessary shipping.
Our volume pieces are produced in Europe and we ship them directly to our Distributors without passing through our warehouse in Sweden. The same thing in Asia, the products made in China are directly shipped to the regions around the factories instead of flying back and forth over the world.
We took a huge step at the beginning of 2019 when we decided that the plastic bag used for
transportation and warehouse handling will now be made out of biodegradable corn starch
instead of plastic. For the SS20 collection we’ll try to make all the hang tags out of recycled pa-
per and put on the clothes with a little thread instead of the safety pin. We will also try to make
the wash tags inside the clothes in recycled polyester.
So how do we work with organic fabrics? Our goal for the SS20 collection is to use organic jersey cotton for our T-shirts. Many tops are made in LYOCELL at the moment which is a good sustainable choice of fabric. Lyocell and TENCEL® (a branded lyocell), is made from cellulose fibre that comes from pulp of fast growing trees such as eucalyptus and beech.
More than 99% of all chemicals used in the manufacturing process are recycled in a
closed system, meaning that all chemicals in the process of making the fabric can be reused. Linen requires less water to make than cotton and doesn’t require any chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Made from flax, it is also biodegradable.
Our goals for 2020:
To make our volume products (jersey) in organic cotton and lyocell.
Making more sustainable choices in the design process (reducing fabric waste). Continue to make sustainable choices in our office and work environment.
To promote to customers how to take care of the garments and give them a longer life (through washing and repairing for example). To share our thoughts and stories on our digital platforms.
Using materials in the clothes production that requires less chemicals and washes.
Calculate how much is our CO2 footprint is for the year and compensate to www.goldstandard.org
What are we striving for:
Selecting less carbon intense modes of transportation.
Using less polyester fabrics in our collections, and if we do it should be recycled polyester, which takes 30% less energy to make than the virgin polyester.
Include just organic cotton which is made by non-genetically modified plants, and without the use of any synthetic agricultural chemicals.
CO2 compensate on a regular basis.
So how do we work with organic fabrics? Our goal for the SS20 collection is to use organic jersey cotton for our T-shirts. Many tops are made in LYOCELL at the moment which is a good sustainable choice of fabric. Lyocell and TENCEL® (a branded lyocell), is made from cellulose fibre that comes from pulp of fast growing trees such as eucalyptus and beech.
More than 99% of all chemicals used in the manufacturing process are recycled in a
closed system, meaning that all chemicals in the process of making the fabric can be reused. Linen requires less water to make than cotton and doesn’t require any chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Made from flax, it is also biodegradable.
Our goals for 2020:
To make our volume products (jersey) in organic cotton and lyocell.
Making more sustainable choices in the design process (reducing fabric waste). Continue to make sustainable choices in our office and work environment.
To promote to customers how to take care of the garments and give them a longer life (through washing and repairing for example). To share our thoughts and stories on our digital platforms.
Using materials in the clothes production that requires less chemicals and washes.
Calculate how much is our CO2 footprint is for the year and compensate to www.goldstandard.org
What are we striving for:
Selecting less carbon intense modes of transportation.
Using less polyester fabrics in our collections, and if we do it should be recycled polyester, which takes 30% less energy to make than the virgin polyester.
Include just organic cotton which is made by non-genetically modified plants, and without the use of any synthetic agricultural chemicals.
CO2 compensate on a regular basis.
#5preview #inspiration #sustainability
