Low environmental impact raw materials and total supply chain transparency: sustainability according to the clothing brand Iluut, conceived by three young designers.
The textile and fashion industry records one of the highest pollution rates due to certain high-impact practices it relies on, which pose a serious threat to the balance of our planet. It is from this increasingly widespread reality that Iluut, a clothing line created by three young women who are particularly sensitive to the issue, wants to make a difference.
At the heart of this new project — which is running a fundraising campaign to launch its first production on the crowdfunding platform Indiegogo — we find all the essential elements that characterise sustainable fashion. Silvia Osella, one of the three driving forces behind the initiative, tells us about it.
Sustainability and traceability. How did the idea of creating a brand built on these two fundamental principles for the future of fashion come about?
We could say that Iluut was born first and foremost from our own needs: we wanted to find garments that were truly sustainable and beautiful at the same time, suited to many different body shapes and accessible. It all started with Elina (28, from Helsinki): after many years at one of the most important advertising agencies in Finland, she decided to record a video in which she explained her project and share it across the main social media channels to find other women who, like her, wanted to make a difference using their passions and skills. One day I came across Elina's video and, after just the first few chats on Skype, we found ourselves on the same wavelength with regard to a vision of ethical and sustainable fashion. A few months later, Vj (25, from London), a fashion designer, joined the team. We manage to meet in person every so often, but on a day-to-day basis we work online using various platforms.
How important is supply chain transparency within Iluut?
We strongly believe that everyone has the right to know where and how their clothes are made. That is why we like to think of Iluut not only as a brand, but also as an awareness project around sustainability in the clothing industry, the second most polluting in the world. Transparency is fundamental to us, and we want to be able to show our future customers with pride who made their garments and how they come to life, through our social media channels, inviting those who follow us to constantly ask us questions. We are the first to want to learn something new every day from this experience.
What materials do you use to make your products?
Iluut is currently in its start-up phase, so our collection consists of a small number of garments, whose fabrics are made from sustainably grown fibres produced in Europe — such as linen (a fibre that uses very little water in its production) from Normandy, and Tencel, an innovative cellulose fibre from Austria. The prints are produced by partners using the most innovative digital machinery with low environmental impact and water-based inks. Reaching our goal on Indiegogo will, in addition to enabling the first production run, allow us to invest in research into the use of further innovative materials and to grow by continuously adding more garments of the highest quality.
Reducing the environmental impact of fashion requires more than just using eco-friendly raw materials — the entire production process throughout the supply chain must also operate responsibly. For example, what requirements do you ask of your suppliers?
We spent more than a year and a half researching potential suppliers. We were convinced that by now many had embraced sustainability; unfortunately we found quite the opposite — many are still afraid to invest in this direction, thinking — in our view, mistakenly — that there would not be enough end consumers interested. For others, sustainability is merely a marketing matter: they claim to produce responsibly because they know that for a certain segment of their target audience this puts them in a better light, but in practice they are not particularly sustainable at all. What we do not compromise on is finding collaborators who, like us, are not afraid to show their entire production process.
What means do you use to verify your suppliers' activity?
We decided to work directly with our suppliers, personally visiting all our potential partners and building a genuine relationship with them: it is wonderful to see the pride, enthusiasm and openness with which those who have truly committed to investing in sustainability welcome us. This summer we even went on a road trip of more than 7,000 kilometres to meet all the people involved at the various stages of making our garments.
Many consumers are more driven by value for money than by quality. How do you hope to change this trend?
Unfortunately, the fast fashion world has done a very poor job of "educating" people about what a garment made impeccably — and produced without cost to the environment or the workers who make it — should really cost. The choices we have made were not the most economical, and being highly demanding at every stage of production comes at a price. However, we believe that price should not be too high or out of reach, and to achieve that we have decided to sell exclusively online and, as we mentioned, to work directly with our suppliers, cutting out middlemen who would affect the price: making sustainability accessible is essential to truly set change in motion, dispelling its association with the luxury segment and gradually bringing it within everyone's reach.
The social dimension is also an integral part of your project — what charitable initiatives are you supporting?
Iluut will be a zero-waste project: our offcuts will be recycled by the Moroccan women working within the organisation Carpet of life to produce beautiful Berber rugs in the M'hamid desert, which are then sold at fair prices. Five per cent of our profits will instead be donated to Pencils of Promise, for the construction of schools in developing countries. Elina came across the organisation some time ago and was deeply impressed by their working methodology, their transparency, and the fact that 100 per cent of donations go directly towards funding projects, with no intermediaries. We liked the idea of being able to support a concrete project tied to education, because we believe education is the foundation of every kind of change.
The name Iluut is inspired by the Finnish word "tuuli", meaning wind. How does this concept connect to your brand?
Finnish is the language of our founder, Elina. We were looking for a word from her vocabulary that would evoke the brand's Scandinavian aesthetic: our pieces have a minimal, delicate line and are designed to last through time and seasons. We liked the fact that it is a natural element — transparent, just as our brand aims to be — yet one that, sooner or later, changes things, pushing them in a new direction.