What does it mean to be “sustainable” in the fashion industry? The basic understanding is that it’s a way to lower the environmental impact of producing an item by using renewable, plant-based resources.
For many, this understanding can be expanded on to say that it includes considering the welfare of people and animals, while actively seeking ways to create pieces that are environmentally friendly, socially responsible and economically viable.
It’s a tall order in a world where fast fashion and micro-trends are the norm, and where garments can only be relied on for one season.
At Poetry, we’ve always marched to the beat of our own drum and have strived to find ethical ways of producing our pieces – from selecting our fabric suppliers to uplifting the local economy, it’s our responsibility to reduce our environmental impact while selling beautiful pieces that’ll stand the test of time.
The South African textile industry is not what is used to be so we’ve taken to developing and sourcing fabrics from mills that meet our rigorous standards.
We always opt for eco-friendly and natural fabrics such as linen and linen blends, cotton, Tencel and Tencel blends, Ecovero™ viscose (more sustainable viscose made using sustainable wood from controlled sources) as much as possible. We currently use 80% plant-based materials and strive to increase this figure in a responsible way each year.
Green Thread Studio is the beating heart of this initiative and where our ideas come to life. A team of experts work to design patterns, select the appropriate fabrics and trim and more to fit the requirements of our buying teams. As it currently stands, 46% of our garments are made by our factory and we’re aiming to increase this to 65% by 2030.
Our Green Thread Studio factory in Paarden Eiland, Cape Town, has an established internal training school that teaches people the ins and outs of garment construction which leads them to become multi-skilled machinists within six months.
Our factory produces 14 different and often one-off styles each week and understandably, the sheer volume of work is too much for our factory to keep up with, so we partner with local CMTs (cut-make-trim service providers), wash houses and printers to meet demand.
For us, sustainability is a way of life, and we do everything within our power to ensure that we’re going above and beyond to attain our goals. A big one for us is to create employment opportunities to reinvest in the economy and industry conscientiously while keeping our carbon footprint as low as possible.
Our off-cuts get donated to organisations like Rewoven, the Amy Foundation and FEDISA where they get a new life and get used to create products that can be sold to benefit the less fortunate.
We also put in the effort to recycle all paper and plastic involved in the day-to-day operations of our company – we’ve even gone so far as to purchase second-hand boxes to use for distribution between the factory, our stores and the warehouse.
Our pieces are worth the investment as we make products that tell a story and will be with you every step of the way. After all, it’s more than just a dress.
