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The journey towards sustainability can present a full spectrum of emotion including everything from inspiration to full on climate anxiety & depression. Yes, there’s the happy, fun ‘we’re going to save the world’ mentality but there is also the reality - that in many ways our planet as we know it is dying & we’re left feeling quite hopeless in the face of making tangible difference on an individual scale.
The approach GLOW has taken to conscious, considerate clothing is one much like our approach to food whereby we have opted to make small notable changes as and when we feel ready then navigating our own path around it from there with an open mind & willingness to be changed by what we learn along the way. There is so much to learn!
We have had to pivot, dig deep, and admit to that which we don’t know but we have also had to choose & commit to what we feel is the best path to walk for us. As you well know, there are many angles to take and the word ‘sustainable’ is one that’s tossed around lightly, because what does it really mean to be sustainable? Should we not rather be focusing on regeneration & quite frankly anything with the prefix ‘re’... recycle, reuse, reduce, remanufacture, redesign - anything to keep things in the loop, or practices that make the circle smaller - NOT bigger.
We’re taking a renewed approach to how we’ve done things before - we’re ready to take the next step - and we’re moving forward boldly.
GLOW has been involved in the set-up & growth of a skills development center that provided a space to ‘innovate, educate, cultivate’ for victims of Gender Based Violence. Hemporium trusted us enough to commission us a run of 100 of their Hemp tote bags - our ladies smashed it and despite the challenges - our relationship grew ever stronger through communication & openness.
Long term relationships take years to build: trust is earned, competence & consistency is proven over time and the cycle of give & take is viewed with a longer range balance. Sometimes your values align instantly & terms like ‘innovate, educate, cultivate’ resonate on a deeply truthful level. Perhaps in a different context, but with hearts in the same place, this kind of association lays the foundation for a powerful partnership.
As we designed & developed our new workwear & leisurewear range, made solely out of hemp fabrics, we were left wondering how we could not only transcend style & practicality but also how we could extend the lifestyle of our garments, the parts thereof, to minimize the loop of textiles & waste. Hemporium kindly stepped in to share their damaged & otherwise discarded end of range fabrics with us as a true testament of ‘one man’s trash is another man’s treasure’. We fully sampled our hemp collection out of these waste fabrics. The range includes items that are super versatile, comfortable and practical for creative entrepreneurs, freelancers & relevant to anyone working in the creative field from the film industry, to chefs & the hospitality industry to those foraging, planting trees & finding their occupations largely outdoors. The collection is available online, but also in a B2B (business to business) capacity whereby we have innovated, educated & cultivated companies to invest in branded merchandise & uniform that is made to last.
It’s taking some time to inspire a change in how people shop not only for food but also for fashion, but we remain hopeful & committed to trying - every bit helps, little bits often - introducing the new uniform for the modern generation.
See some of my favourite brands that are doing amazing work towards making tomorrow a better place.
Words by Gabriela Charlotte.