Sustainable fashion

[Extreme Mildness]

Thanks for sharing, SafetyKat. Indeed, a very interesting business, as tailoring is not very common these days. I like the point he makes about online shopping, were a bad fit is more likely, which should make tailors all the more valuable.

But I think they may face an uphill battle with big fashion companies, with the constant push to buy new clothes. With shirts under 50$, the cost of tailoring is almost the same as a new one. Hopefully, they'll find enough demand in the big cities to get the ball rolling.

On the high end of things, Zam has repeatedly mentioned that many are reluctant to use a tailor's services because it might affect the resell value. Even there, consumers may need to shift their attitudes towards a long term perspective, buying fewer pieces, that they can then get tailored to a perfect fit.

[zamb]

I am hoping something like this can work but reason tells me that it wont and is a recipe for disaster.
First off, there is a SIGNIFICANT difference between being a tailor and an alteration specialist. the word tailor is unfailry used in some circles to dfescribe people who simply alter garments. A true tailor is someone who is able to take measurements, lay fabric, cut and create garments appropriated to the body of a client. More than trying to get a tailor to drive to peoples house to alter their wares to fit their bodies, many of whom have no idea what a good fitting garment looks like. efforts need to be done, to educate people on why they should have thier clothes made for them, and to promote good tailors in communities in a way that makes the best use of their skills rather than taking advantage of only a very specific part of thier skills that really bring very little compensation and personal satisfaction in ones work.

[zamb]

Also,
I usually don't make these kind of statements as we already have a huge presence on this forum and on top of that I am very careful of not coming across like a megalomaniac tooting my own horn, but when it comes to sustainability and ethical fashion, my company is one of the absolute best at doing that.

I am going to now take some time to list some of the things that we do that goes unnoticed that put us up right there with the ethical crowd and even best some of these people who are promoted as such but we are not.


1. We do not import anything but buy EVERYTHING local
All of our supplies that we use in the garments here Zfactorie are bought local. and by local I mean, here in the United States and specifically New York. every single supplier that we use for zippers, threads, fabric, interfacing etc are all based in New York. The only exception I have even done to this is we get some leathers from a tannery in Upstate New York or from Colorado and on my trips to Jamaica, I have a huge storage of vintage fabrics that I have built up and continue to draw from. So there is no importing of anything, but everything is kept local.

2. We do not have interns.
I am not saying this is something we are against. as I understand the value to both small companies and to interns in this relationship. However every single employee at Zfactorie regardless of skill level is a PAID employee. It is not that we are rich, God knows, some days we are fearful we are just one screw up from falling apart, but I am a firm believer that those who help to prepare the ingredients to make the pie, must at least be able to savor the flavor of the pie. Whatever we cannot pay in cash, we do in trade, so no one does anything for Zfactorie for free. a fair value exchange is always our policy.

3. We do not over inflate prices.
It takes a LOT of money to make good clothing, from designing, to pattern making, to prototyping to sources good fabrics, paying a staff and covering overheads this thing is expensive. A testament to this is how much designers continue to struggle, to lose money and to go out of business. However, our prices are always reflective of what it costs us to make the products along with the added markup needed for us to be profitable and grow organically.

4. We do the work ourselves
From suits to Jeans to T-shirts to bags, to belts and even dyeing the clothing. Absolutely everything we make is made here at Zfactorie under my own supervision as the Captain. All Patterns are made by me. all designs are done by me, and I am surrounded with a team I have personally assembled, developed and continue to train in the specific methods and techniques that we use to make the clothing. There are no subcontractors, nothing is outsourced and all items are made, packaged and shipped by the team here. So what we create and what the customers get are from our own knowledge, our own skills and methods and not something we have subcontracted out to be produced elsewhere by another company's expertise

5. We pay a fair wage.
I am not rich and it is a constant struggle to do this, but no one here at Zfactorie is paid minimum wage. The starting salary here is $10/ hr. (after taxes) for unskilled employees that we train and develop. this is higher than the new york minimum wage, which taxes are often drawn from. As the employee develops and lean new skills that add value to the company, we increase salary commensurate with that. So there is no manipulation and no underpaying of the employee and the only limitation on salaries is the companies ability to afford the employee. We have had people who end up leaving after coming to us knowing nothing and were more than skilled to easily get jobs at companies like Marni, Etro and others


All in all, we have tried to be a company that does make a difference and stick to a set of principles that gives good products of value to the consumer and allow us to take the best care of our people and remain relevant in the process. It has been a really great 5+ Years and while we did not set out to be an ethical or sustainable company, i think we have a achieved that through the personal values upon which the company was established and continue to function...

[Monoral]

Mr. Zam I think you're charging too little for the incredible works that you do.

[nathaliew817]

A quite new and eco-friendly and vegan shoe brand: Rombaut

All materials and fabrics are sustainably engineered – there are no toxic or animal-derived substances involved.
Instead ROMBAUT develops plant-based materials and is determined to protect bio-diversity in our environment.

[Faust]

Definitely been discussed quite a few times and written up in SZ mag.

[Ahimsa]

He has his own thread here: http://stylezeitgeist.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16751

I have a pair of his sneakers and I'm not particularly a fan of the construction/ material. It's from one of his older seasons though so I'm not sure how his work holds up now.

[nathaliew817]

Haven't purchased anything since his women's styles are quite disappointing.

I am still on the lookout for vegan shoes, have browsed all these brands and some more but most of it falls into the hippie-chic category...
I've come to a point where I'm mailing RO weekly to ask when they start making more vegan shoes.