Tread Lightly: Sustainable Fashion not Fast Fashion
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We love beautiful clothing and a little bit of luxury every now and again, but we also care about our impact on our social & natural environment and we don’t believe that one should be at the expense of the other.
The Fashion industry is a huge contributor to global pollution and environmental destruction and we don’t want to add to this wastage. We want to leave a positive footprint and so we give a lot of thought to how Flocks clothes are made. We are by no means perfect and we have a huge amount we want to work on but, as a minimum, we commit to 4 guiding principles of sustainability.
1. We use natural fibres*
*noun: fibre derived from plants or animals that can be spun to filament, thread or rope.
We love natural fibres and are strong believers in their contribution to our general wellbeing & comfort. We also believe natural fibres lend a superior quality and longevity to clothing that isn’t found in synthetic alternatives.
Wool is renewable – healthy sheep will grow a new fleece every year. It is biodegradable – if it is returned to soil it is relatively quick to decompose and in doing so returns nutrients back to the earth. It is durable – natural fibres have an intrinsic strength and will age well. Finally it is recyclable – up-cycling, re-fashioning, recycling… it can be used over and over again.
We guarantee that all our merino is also mulesing-free. Mulesing is a controversial practice carried out on sheep to prevent a condition called flystrike. Skin is stripped from the sheeps’ buttocks to stop flies laying eggs in the folds of skin. It is a painful process and is not always a guarantee of prevention.
We use the highest quality Italian & British natural fibres in our collection
(We also commit to using packaging that is either recycled or recyclable)
2. We know who made our clothes
All our knitwear & accessories are made in either the UK or Italy. Where possible we strive for production in the UK. When this is not possible, we stay within the E.U where labour rights are strong and enforced. Where the decision is taken to manufacture outside of the UK, it’s on the basis of technical capability, capacity and quality, never cost. We have personally visited our knitwear factory in Italy, met with the designers, knitters, technical and clerical teams. We have been working with them for over 2 years prior to our launch and have been able to build a great rapport.
Our Exhale Sweatshirts are the single exception to this. They are made in India in a renewable energy powered factory. The factory is both GOTS certified & SA8000 Certified (Social Accountability audit). The decision to produce our sweatshirts in this location was down to the exceptional product quality and the low minimum orders required, therefore minimising waste.
3. We produce Quality not Quantity
Our range is consciously small, allowing us to focus on the detail and quality of the individual items. Like a great chef, we will keep the menu short but do it well. We are also very lucky to be partnering with factories that are happy to work with us in small quantities. This reduces the potential for wastage of materials throughout the supply chain.
We have selected high quality yarns to produce durable clothes that look beautiful, will wash well and will retain their shape & hand-feel.
Finally, all sweaters and cardigans are backed by the Flock Promise of free repairs to ensure your garment remains a wardrobe staple.
4. We give something back
We’d like our activities to have a lasting, positive impact on our environment. 10% of the profit on each sale goes to the Flock Fund which donates to charities and causes we care about