Images magazine Digital Edition April 2018

BRAND PROFILE www.images-magazine.com 46 images APRIL 2018 In January, Écologie by AWDis hit the UK market with a promise of sustainable clothing at a reasonable price. Brand manager Kirsten Ferrol discusses the motivation and research behind the new label Allwe do is sustainable Embroidery works well with the Iguazu Knitted Hoody N ew brand Écologie by AWDis is a carefully curated collection of 10 good-looking styles that range from the straightforward, 100% organic cotton Cascades Tee (EA001, women’s style EA001F) through to the chunky, cosy Iguazu Knitted Hoody (EA080), which is made from 70% regenerated cotton. It’s a new direction for the AWDis stable of brands: while AWDis ensures the factories it uses for its various labels conform to standards such as WRAP, making garments from sustainable fibres is a first for the business. Rather than introducing the odd organic garment here and there, AWDis decided launching an entire line was the best approach. “In the past we have looked at adding sustainable products to the AWDis brands as we wanted to do our bit environmentally,” explains Écologie’s brand manager, Kirsten Ferrol. “However, we felt that the message would get lost in the existing brands, so it was logical to create a brand dedicated to sustainable clothing.” The Écologie brand came together quickly, she reports, as the team knew what they wanted to achieve in terms of its look and its position in the market. However, plenty of time was spent researching high street fashion trends as well as sustainable fabrications and processes to ensure the end products hit the mark in terms of both desirability and sustainability. Choosing which fabrics to use from the many sustainable ones on offer was a challenge, admits Kirsten. “Historically, the clothing industry has had a detrimental impact on the environment, so we loved the idea of taking a waste element and reforming it. We use off-cuts from the cutting room, which would normally be destined for landfill, which are then broken down and re-spun into cotton yarn. The obvious benefit of this is the reduction of waste being sent to landfill, but the process provides many other benefits too. As the off-cuts are all colour sorted after collection, it means that this is a ‘dry process’ involving no further dyeing; this negates the need for further chemical and water use. It also saves land and energy associated with growing cotton.” The eight styles that use regenerated cotton also contain polyester. “The impact of plastics on the environment is something that is becoming more obvious and we know that it is really important to minimise this as much as possible,” says Kirsten. “The aim is to become 100% regenerated and we are working hard to transfer over [the polyester] as soon as possible.”