Our Story
What really is Sustainable Fashion and is it doing enough for the environment?
Introducing the LABELL-D story by co-founders Julia and Nicolas Vendramin
Developing a more ‘sustainable’ way of designing, manufacturing and distributing clothes was seen as a positive response by the fashion industry to counteract the monumental damage it was having on the environment.
But with no real regulation in place, what does Sustainable Fashion actually mean?
When we started building the LABELL-D fashion platform we discovered having a ‘sustainable’ label on clothing could mean anything from the item being made from eco-friendly 100% organic cotton that is easily compostable, to recycled synthetic garments that still shed damaging micro-plastics into the ocean. We wanted to do more for the environment.
We identified that if the fashion industry is serious about reducing the impact it has on the planet, then it needs to make a shift from just selling to promoting Sustainable Consumption. The industry needs to move from a linear model of producing, buying, and quickly discarding clothes to a circular model of operating.
No matter how green a company tries to be, over-production of clothing by releasing a large new collection every season and the resulting overconsumption and constant discarding of used items still makes it one of the biggest polluters on earth.
According to a report by McKinsey the world now consumes in excess of 100 billion pieces of clothing a year with the fashion industry responsible for 92 million tons of waste heading for landfills every year.
To fulfill our own target of making a positive impact on the planet, we strived to make LABELL-D the world’s first closed loop fashion ecosystem. Customers can buy new responsible items from brands such as Gucci, Stella McCartney and up and coming emerging designers, then own it as an asset by returning to the site to rent, share or resell the item. Unlike other resale sites, LABELL-D’s pre-loved customers can be reassured in their resale purchase as all garments are authenticated through a unique digital ID which can also be connected to existing brand ID’s to see the life-cycle of the garment from start to finish. The same ID also enables our customers to re-list their items in only one click.
To take this one step further and motivate brands to turn the dial on the way they produce and sell fashion, we at LABELL-D are incentivising big labels to engage in the circular economy through a give back scheme. This pioneering business plan we have created is a big step to solve a huge problem, but one all of us at LABELL-D are motivated by; to push this initiative to the heart of fashion companies operating models.
Over consuming is out of fashion. The latest trend to buy once, buy well and resell is here to stay with LABELL-D leading the conscious catwalk for the next generation.
Join us on our journey!
