Sustainability
I am mindful of the fact that the most sustainable fashion brand, is really no fashion brand at all.
The Fashion industry produces a substantial amount of waste and causes great harm to the environment and often it’s garment workers. With this in mind, I go about how I run The Bold One very cautiously. It’s not good enough to me for TBO to do the status quo and blend in with fast fashion brands and benefit at the hand of the environment and those who sew my garments. It’s about choices. I have the power to choose what goes on behind the scenes and benefit those who are involved in my brand, not take advantage.
You can know that your piece is made in the most ethical way currently available. For instance: I craft from only 100% natural or repurposed fabrics. The linen I use is crafted from both European and Belgian flax fibres produced by a Hong Kong family owned business. This is not only nicer on your skin, but better for the environment than fabrics made from plastic fibres.
Speaking of the environment, from the website launch onward, each order placed will have a percentage of profits put towards planting more native trees in New Zealand on behalf of our customers, through the ‘Trees that count’ organisation. I know this wont reverse what the fashion industry has done to our environment, however its a step in the right direction. It’s important to know that your piece is lovingly made in NZ where I pay my sewers a very fair wage as I want your piece made with love and this is a basic human right that many garment workers are deprived of.
From a consumerism point of view, TBO throws the fast fashion way out the window. You get to choose how your garment will be crafted so that it will be a piece you will truly wear and not keep in your wardrobe collecting dust. Your piece then takes 2-4 weeks to be crafted, and if you are like me there is something about waiting for something that makes you truly value it and what goes into the product. I will continue to adapt and improve my practices where I can.
One of my long term goals is to produce an initiative that looks at systemic change in the fashion industry that is currently saturated with fast fashion practices. My motivation for this is that I am only one small drop in the ocean of fashion brands, and although what I can do in my own business is great, systemic change is where it’s at to create real change.
I would love to have you join in on my sustainability journey and chat more about making change in the fashion industry. Follow along on my social media channels to chat further:
Facebook: @theboldonenz
Instagram: @theboldone_
