Touch of Tweed is a new brand I came across on Instagram. They are passionate about sustainable production and, while they are small (they only sell sweatshirts are present), they are determined to learn to run their business sustainably and responsibly.
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| Touch of Tweed - sustainably made clothing |
I'm going to leave it to founder Catherine Orpin to explain in detail their thoughts and it seems to me that many larger and more experienced brands could learn from their authentic approach:
"James and I started Touch of Tweed in 2018 launching with two signature pieces that we created using organic cotton, British Tweed, real leather detailing and use fully recyclable packaging.
We believe in growing our brand slowly and economically, we do not produce season pieces nor have sales after sales to shift stock, we simply make quality over quantity and focus on versatile pieces that will look good now or in 10 years time.
It has taken until this year for us to start to grow as a brand and we are actively expanding our clothing and accessories range this year. To do this we are working with British (in some cases as local as 25 minutes away) producers to help us create unique, high quality items that will complement our existing products but again by growing slowly, using sustainable materials or materials that are a by product from another industry such as real leather.
For our new designs we are looking even further into sustainable fabrics (in fact we are having job to find a suitable sustainable material for our future skirt and shorts but we won't be making them until we find the right material). Our sweatshirts currently have plastic buttons but that is something we are stopping and are instead investing in corozo nut buttons.
We try to do all we can in business and personally for the environment and welfare of others but are on a learning journey ourselves. Welfare is also paramount to us and we produce in the UK to make sure that we are able to visit the factory and be sure we are happy the manufacturers treat and pay their staff well. We are a very small brand but want to help make a difference in any way we can and change consumers spending habits.
The materials we use are carefully selected for their sustainability and we make sure the certification for proof of this is available. We are looking at other ways we can make our brand even more sustainable in terms of fully recyclable packing, using leather for our upcoming accessories that is British and tanned in a longer more sustainable way (oak bark tanned).
We will also continue to grow slowly rather than mass produce. Half the problem is overconsumption so we need to encourage people to buy well and buy once. The cost per wear of our products helps with this point, For example, if you purchase a poor quality sweatshirt for say £20, it will more than likely bobble and wear pretty quickly. Then say you have to replace that sweatshirt every 6 months due to poor fabrics, holes and stretching. Let’s say that you purchase a Touch of Tweed Sweatshirt for £125; we use the highest quality organic/natural fabrics, stock a small range of bespoke items and make everything for a living wage here in the UK. Our sweatshirts last for 10-15 years – that’s £125 for 10 years use. That’s £12.50/year on a perfectly durably sweatshirt. Quite different to £40 a year on a poor quality sweatshirt that lasts half a year or will cost you £400 for 10 years!
I have been doing my own research over the last few weeks as there are a lot of new 'ethical and sustainable' brands popping up on Instagram that appear to be using organic cotton and a recycled plastic mix which are produced in a Fair Trade factory. Their clothes are all the same or very similar, which worried me enormously that they are produced as a 'job lot' and the brands don't really know exactly who is making their clothes, they have most likely never been to the factory as it could be somewhere like India. They are told what the material is but they don't know much about it or the certificates they have might be in a different language. They then sell their products for a fraction of the price that we do, which scares me hugely.
We are going to try and change our approach and encourage consumers to ask more about the materials that go into their clothing, ask to see the certificates of proof of sustainability, ask if the garments are designed from scratch, ask what the buttons and zips etc are made from. I have to be very careful and not appear to be negative to other brands but I worry they are misleading consumers into thinking they are buying truly ethical and sustainable, and perhaps the brands themselves think they are supplying truly ethical and sustainable products when really they aren't".
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To contact Touch of Tweed click here.
Read other features in my Sustainable Style series here.
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