Traceability. It may feel like a buzzword to market to the environmentally friendly consumer, but it carries more value than that.
Our partner Kotn defines traceability as equipping its community with the knowledge of where a product came from, who made it, how, and when. This knowledge is more than a luxury for a consumer to have. This transparency should be standard practice for all ethical and sustainable fashion brands.
The Kollektif x Kotn collection does just that. Together with Kotn we disclose everything about where the cotton of your new favourite t-shirt is being farmed right up to the delivery of your package. Traceability isn’t a buzzword. It is a commitment to providing a clear transparent supply chain. This enables brands like Kotn to maintain the best business practices for their communities, guaranteeing living wages, safe working conditions, fair treatment, and environmental transparency at every step.
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Why do we care about Traceability in Fashion?
The Fashion Transparency Index reviews and ranks 250 of the world’s largest fashion brands and retailers according to what information they disclose about their social and environmental policies, practices, and impacts. A lack of visibility of supply chains allows exploitative, unsafe working conditions and environmental damage to thrive.
More brands than ever have been publishing a list of their first-tier manufacturers. But don’t let this fool you into thinking they have been transparent with you. They still aren’t disclosing further information about their supply chains or even annual production volumes, despite the evidence of overproduction and clothing waste. Unlike major fast fashion retailers, Kotn is combating this missing information for consumer knowledge by providing insight into its supply chain.
The Circular Economy and You!
You play a big part in the circular economy. But how?
Let’s break it down. In a circular economy, nothing goes to waste. It takes as much value as possible from resources by reusing, repairing, repurposing, and recycling products and materials. Think of it this way: all those Sunday afternoons thrifting haven’t gone to waste. Your intentional purchases, whether they are thrifted or newly produced, aid in a more ethical and sustainable supply chain.
So why are we talking about this? One aspect of a circular economy is traceability and the ability to identify materials throughout their lifecycle. Traceability can help supply chains uncover sustainability inefficiencies and identify post-consumer waste. Not to mention that the revenue earned from your purchase cycles back into businesses, like Kotn, which prioritize paying their employees living wages, combating client change, and upholding ethics in all their endeavours.
Our Future Self
We are always working on becoming the best versions of ourselves. Our vision board for Kollektif over the next five years will continue to support the mission of curating goods with a focus on quality design and sustainability. That means we will aim to reduce mass production and continue to only make quantities that we need. Our designs will cultivate conversations for the conscious consumer. And we will continue to partner with brands and organizations that value the same ethical standards.
No brand is completely sustainable but we can certainly try our best.
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