SUSTAINABILITY MISSION STATEMENT
Our vision is to inspire, beautifully – in harmony with people and planet.
Our efforts to balance our operations with mother nature is outlined in our sustainability commitments and goals, encompassing People, Planet and Profit. We are using data to drive responsible decisions and though our efforts may be far from perfect, they’re a lifelong journey of continuous improvement for us. We welcome you to join us in this journey.
A NOTE FROM OUR FOUNDERS
We have entered the 5th year of our sustainability journey. What started as an emboldened mission to trace our supply chain and begin implementing sustainable fibres into our collections, has become a business-wide quest to always operate with people and planet at the forefront of our minds. Today, sustainability is at the core of every decision we make, every day we ask ‘are we walking lighter? Is this a force for good? Will it drive change?’
It’s a funny thing to be on a journey that, technically speaking, has no end. It’s not like we’ll get to some end point and ‘boom!’ we’re sustainable. But we are finding much purpose in measuring our impact and in doing so, challenging ourselves to continually better the way we do things.
One thing has become apparent to us, and that is our customers are well and truly invested in this journey. If, even for a moment, we thought our laurels were a nice place to rest – you guys have let us know quick smart that we need to work harder, that you expect more from us. And for keeping the fire under our proverbial butts burning bright, we are ever grateful.
Our focus over the past year has been implementing more responsible fibres into our collections via our Preferred Fibres Matrix finding more sustainable options for our conventional fabrications, the next will be about innovation. As we look to the future we will be focusing on recycled (not just synthetics, but natural fibres as well), on better packaging, more innovative fibres and on integrating circular practices into the life cycle of our clothes.
As I recall that single email in 2016 that prompted us to begin this journey, I am reminded that one person (so why not one small, independent label!) can make a difference. So, keep telling us what is important to YOU and together lets walk a little lighter.
Elizabeth & Isabella
We are so humbled and honoured to have been awarded the 2019 Banksia Sustainability Award in the small business category.
This is such a testament to all of the hard work and commitment from our whole team - both local and global. The future of fashion is in our hands, and it is a journey of continuous improvement and collective impact...we're proud to be doing the work so that we can all walk a little lighter.
Farming raw materials, fibre creation and garment making processes all use resources, water, chemicals and energy, all of which impact the environment and our global society.
Change is coming... We are committed to being part of that change...
The below icons represent the overarching pillars of our sustainability strategy. Select an icon to see the vision we have for each pillar.
SUPPLY CHAIN TRANSPARENCY
The first step towards sustainable production is full transparency and accountability throughout our global supply chain. Utilising a range of tools such as supply chain mapping, internal codes of conduct, international standards and audits helps us understand where and how are garments are made. We can then use that information to empower our global partners to make more sustainable choices. For us it is critical that all of our global family are as committed to sustainability as we are. This kind of commitment around our supply chain requires effective stakeholder engagement and strong supplier relationships based on trust and a shared vision.
SOCIAL ADVOCACY
We believe in global citizenship and as such we have a global family. We believe that people can live better lives if they have access to the global market place and we are proud to support Social Advocacy/ Artisan initiatives.
Our pledge is to have at least one social advocacy initiative per collection by 2025. Not only are we supporting marginalised people but we are honouring the tradition of hand making, which is at the heart of who we are. We also value the FAIRTRADE certification and aim wherever possible to track down artisan groups who are protected by Fair Trade organisation.
SUSTAINABLE FIBRES
We are committed to ensuring that our garments are made from the most sustainable fibres we can source. Our design and production team are continually working with material specialists to understand the sustainability implications and opportunities for each fibre.
Organic Cotton as well as sustainably produced, plant-based cellulose fibres and recycled/ regenerated synthetics are all being plugged into our supply chain. Please see our sustainable fibres page for further detail on how we are achieving this and the fibres and fabrics we are using. Visit our roadmap which details the timeline on how we plan to implement various sustainable fibres.
DYES AND PRINTING
Our aim is to ensure our print and dye houses use the most environmentally and ethically responsible products with certification focusing on responsible water, chemical and energy footprints.
FOOTPRINT
We are committed to knowing and minimising the environmental footprints of our garments. Water, waste and energy are on the radar and we plan to benchmark ourselves with the leaders in the textile industry. Ultimately, we hope to be part of a broader movement where the true cost of a garment will be available to consumers.
We are working with experts to help establish and finalise both domestic and international methodologies that are accepted by the sector and a variety of offset schemes. Reducing impacts are ideal and those remaining will be rendered neutral.
CIRCULAR FASHION
Our customers have always embraced the reuse and upcycling of garments and we are committed to helping our customers extend the life-cycle of their Spell pieces, (#vintagespell!!). However, reselling, upcycling and the renting economy is only a very small part of the circularity puzzle.
We are only at the beginning of our circularity efforts but we believe all inputs and outputs related to the production of our garments have the opportunity to be reused, recycled and regenerated.
This concept is known as circular fashion and our plan is to collaborate with other leaders in the sector to explore how this can be achieved. We have signed the Global Fashion Agenda (GFA), Circular Fashion 2017 Commitment, where we have set targets around regenerative fibres and circular design to be reached by 2020. The GFA releases a report annually on the signatories’ progress.
GIVING BACK
We have chosen to include Giving Back in our 2025 sustainability commitments because we see the importance of contributing to our local community and giving back to organisations who look after people and planet. We continue to support our partners who protect and mentor people in our local communities, and have also partnered with 1% for the Planet who focuses on not-for-profits who protect and nurture our planet.
The first step towards sustainable production is full transparency and accountability throughout our global supply chain. Utilising a range of tools such as supply chain mapping, internal codes of conduct, international standards and audits helps us understand where and how are garments are made. We can then use that information to empower our global partners to make more sustainable choices. For us it is critical that all of our global family are as committed to sustainability as we are. This kind of commitment around our supply chain requires effective stakeholder engagement and strong supplier relationships based on trust and a shared vision.
We believe in global citizenship and as such we have a global family. We believe that people can live better lives if they have access to the global market place and we are proud to support Social Advocacy/ Artisan initiatives.
Our pledge is to have at least one social advocacy initiative per collection by 2025. Not only are we supporting marginalised people but we are honouring the tradition of hand making, which is at the heart of who we are. We also value the FAIRTRADE certification and aim wherever possible to track down artisan groups who are protected by Fair Trade organisation.
We are committed to ensuring that our garments are made from the most sustainable fibres we can source. Our design and production team are continually working with material specialists to understand the sustainability implications and opportunities for each fibre.
Organic Cotton as well as sustainably produced, plant-based cellulose fibres and recycled/ regenerated synthetics are all being plugged into our supply chain. Please see our sustainable fibres page for further detail on how we are achieving this and the fibres and fabrics we are using. Visit our roadmap which details the timeline on how we plan to implement various sustainable fibres.
Our aim is to ensure our print and dye houses use the most environmentally and ethically responsible products with certification focusing on responsible water, chemical and energy footprints.
We are committed to knowing and minimising the environmental footprints of our garments. Water, waste and energy are on the radar and we plan to benchmark ourselves with the leaders in the textile industry. Ultimately, we hope to be part of a broader movement where the true cost of a garment will be available to consumers.
We are working with experts to help establish and finalise both domestic and international methodologies that are accepted by the sector and a variety of offset schemes. Reducing impacts are ideal and those remaining will be rendered neutral.
Our customers have always embraced the reuse and upcycling of garments and we are committed to helping our customers extend the life-cycle of their Spell pieces, (#vintagespell!!). However, reselling, upcycling and the renting economy is only a very small part of the circularity puzzle.
We are only at the beginning of our circularity efforts but we believe all inputs and outputs related to the production of our garments have the opportunity to be reused, recycled and regenerated.
This concept is known as circular fashion and our plan is to collaborate with other leaders in the sector to explore how this can be achieved. We have signed the Global Fashion Agenda (GFA), Circular Fashion 2017 Commitment, where we have set targets around regenerative fibres and circular design to be reached by 2020. The GFA releases a report annually on the signatories’ progress.
We have chosen to include Giving Back in our 2025 sustainability commitments because we see the importance of contributing to our local community and giving back to organisations who look after people and planet. We continue to support our partners who protect and mentor people in our local communities, and have also partnered with 1% for the Planet who focuses on not-for-profits who protect and nurture our planet.
But Every Journey Needs A Roadmap
For a deeper dive into the data, metrics and scope of our 2025 sustainability targets, and how we plan to achieve them, view our ROADMAP here.
A Lot Can Happen In 12 Months!
Having clear goals, visions and targets is all well and good but if you want to know where we are right now read our latest IMPACT REPORT here.
Stop, Collaborate and Listen...
Sustainability is far from simple. In fact, the bulk of the challenges we face are very complex, especially when it comes to the textile industry supply chain. To ensure we take the most sustainable path we have chosen to collaborate with selected organisations and initiatives. Working with partners who are experts in their field, gives access to resources we wouldn’t otherwise have, and allows us to collaborate as a broader sector to learn, strategise and implement change – it’s very much a case of ‘together we can move mountains’.
Below are our key partnerships.
CANOPY
Canopy works with fashion brands to ensure their cellulose fibres (viscose, rayon, tencel, modal) are not contributing to the deforestation of ancient or endangered forests. We are beginning to move away from conventionally sourced rayon and viscose, moving towards more sustainably sourced cellulose fibres by LENZING™. But conventional cellulose, or ‘forest fibres’ still pose challenges throughout the supply chain, therefore the more we learn the better. As such we have become a signatory to the Canopy policy in order to utilise Canopy’s unique expertise and drive change across the fashion sector. Read the full Canopy Agreement here.
UN GLOBAL COMPACT
As a special initiative of the UN Secretary-General, the United Nations Global Compact is the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative, working to mobilise Australia’s leading businesses to create a sustainable future and find opportunities to impact our world – for good. We are proud official members of the UN Global Compact and have aligned our strategy with the guiding lights of the Sustainable Development Goals.
prAna
prAna is dedicated to creating Clothing for Positive Change - an idea that stretches well beyond their products. We have joined the movement toward reshaping the way our industry packages the things we make by eliminating plastic packaging and use of materials from ancient and endangered forests by 2022 and virgin forest fibres by 2025. This movement sees us working alongside Canopy, Mara Hoffman, and The Outerknown to name a few.
ABORIGINAL CARBON FOUNDATION
The Aboriginal Carbon Foundation is an NFP organisation that supports carbon farming projects, led by Indigenous rangers. Connecting Aboriginal communities who supply carbon credits with organisations seeking to offset their carbon footprints.
The Global Fashion Agenda (GFA) is a global non-profit that brings together some of the world’s leading brands to drive sustainability in fashion. As we look to the future, it is pretty clear that today's linear fashion model is reaching its social and environmental limits and is no longer sustainable. The solution is transitioning to a circular model and the GFA developed the Circular Fashion Commitment to encourage and accelerate change across the whole industry.
As of today, there are 64 companies (representing 142 brands) that have signed up to the Circular Fashion Commitment and we are very proud to be one of them.
