At By Elleven we are striving to become a conscious and sustainable brand. When we started planning our launch back in September 2020, we knew that we wanted to be a part of the slow fashion movement and therefore sustainability had to be a integral part of our business. This is an ongoing journey for us and we'll continue to learn as we grow as a brand, but we wanted to let you know the steps we've taken so far!
1. Our Materials
At the basis of everything is our materials. We chose to use the best quality organic, recycled and ethically sourced materials for our garments and we wanted to work with suppliers who's production methods don't harm people, animals or the environment. We love fashion but the effects the industry has on the environment are devastating. The Fashion industry, and particularly Fast Fashion, is the second largest source of pollution in the world. Therefore we want to be a part of the Slow Fashion movement which aims to reduce the mindless over consumption by consumers and values sustainability and ethics ahead of speed and profit. The feedback on our garments has been amazing so far, you've all been so pleased with the amazing quality when you receive your deliveries and this makes us so happy!
2. Wear & Wear Again
Slow Fashion is the opposite to Fast Fashion - made for longevity rather than to be disposable. We encourage you to wear your By Elleven pieces in different ways to get the most out of your purchase. Just think of cost per wear, we know we're not the cheapest out there but just remember if you find a hoodie for £15 then chances are someone isn't being paid fairly for their contribution. The days of wearing an item once are over (and we've never advocated this type of mentality) so wear that grey hoodie 4 times in one week if you want to! We certainly do :-) Our pieces are made to last so if you take good care of them and follow our washing instructions then you'll be able to wear them over and over again. Follow us on Instagram @byelleven to see inspiration on how to style our collection.
3. Vintage By Elleven
Our vintage offering is a curated selection of pre loved items intended to be worn with our collection to personalise your look. We hand pick each vintage piece ourselves with our style and aesthetic in mind. We love styling our hoodies underneath a vintage trench coat or a leather biker jacket! By giving these items another lease of life you are reducing waste and helping to put an end to the throw away cycle of Fast Fashion. An estimated £140 million worth (around 350,000 tonnes) of used clothing goes to landfill in the UK every year. Isn't that shocking? However we know that trawling through rails of vintage clothes isn't everyones cup of tea, which is why we've done the hard work for you so that we can offer up a pre selected range that we know fits well with our main collection. And you can rest easy knowing that you saved a beautiful item from the scrap heap!
4. Our Packaging
When we made the decision to start building ourselves as a sustainable brand, we wanted to make sure this ethos ran through every aspect of our business, including our packaging. Therefore we wanted to keep packaging to a minimum and ensure that everything we do use is recycled and recyclable. We sourced swing tags that are made from 100% recycled cardboard and we have a zero plastic policy. We hate seeing garments arrive in individual plastic bags that are headed straight for the bin, so your items won't arrive to you in any unnecessary plastic packaging. We also ensure our deliveries don't get sent to us in plastic to reduce any additional waste at our end. Delivery notes aren't included in your orders to save on paper waste, all order confirmations are sent via email and invoices can be provided at your request if you wish.
5. Our Shipping
When it's time to ship your order, we lovingly wrap each of your items in recycled, acid free tissue paper and our delivery bags are 100% compostable. No unnecessary plastic bags or paper work here! Should you need to return anything to us our mailer bags have a second sealing strip inside so that they can be re sealed and re used meaning you don't have to find a new bag of your own. We also print your address labels using a thermal printer which is more environmentally friendly than carbon printing as it reduces the amount of non-recyclable waste and by-products. We don't offer any form of rushed delivery (slow fashion remember!) so you can expect to receive your parcel within the standard 2-3 days from dispatch. We endeavour to dispatch all orders within 24 hours of payment to keep this time frame as short as possible!
6. Reduced Returns
We know it can be convenient to order multiple sizes and then return what you don't need but we do try to discourage this to reduce the impact that returns have on our carbon footprint. We're on hand for any queries regarding sizing so feel free to drop us an email if you're unsure what size you'd like to buy! We also provide a detailed size chart online with measurements of each item to help you make your decision.
As we said earlier, this is an ongoing journey for us as a brand so we welcome any feedback and suggestions you may have for us! You can do this via our contact page.
By Elleven x
Commentaires