High quality fabrics

The choice of fabric is always central to the design. All materials must be of high quality and have the right drape that we have in mind. The clothing must be able to last for a long time and preferably also be given a second life.

 

Directly from the source

Our chain is fully transparent and traceable. After all, we buy directly from the source: we order the fabrics and supplies from the manufacturers ourselves. This is not the case with the regular and larger brands. Usually, fashion clothing is made through agents or intermediate offices (middle man) by clothing manufacturers that order the materials themselves. As a result, many brands have no idea whether they are getting what they ordered. In future editions, we want to take even further steps in investigating where the raw materials of the fabrics come from.

All fabrics and haberdashery are then sent to our own production atelier in Poland for quality control. The fabrics are tested for pills, color fastness and tensile strength. This to ensure longevity of the fabrics.

 

Long-lasting materials

The Make always opts for high-quality materials. The garments must be able to last a lifetime, that is the starting point. The first edition of The Make consists of 30 garments made of high-quality viscose, cotton, polyester/viscose blend, polyester, viscose/linen blend, polyamide/ elastane blend and knitted cashmere.

About 25% of these materials are GOTS or Oekotex certified. Part of the first edition is made from dead stock. Fabrics left over from productions by former customers of our production atelier. We first use these existing materials before ordering new ones.

For future editions, we will choose sustainable and certified materials as much as possible, always paying attention to the technical lifespan of these materials. Ultimately, we strive to find a good balance in materials with a long lifespan, a low environmental impact and a high degree of luxury and wearing comfort. Materials that we would like to use (more) include GOTS certified cotton, Responsible virgin wool (certified), Certified cashmere, recycled cashmere, certified linen, cupro, certified viscose (Eco-Vero by Lenzing), recycled cotton and regenerated wool .

We are aware of the fact that we can make even more sustainable choices. Because of the high climate impact or because of the danger to animal welfare, we do not use silk, fur, imitation fur, leather, imitation leather and angora.

 

Cotton

Our cotton blouses are made of GOTS certified cotton. Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) is an international sustainability quality mark that sets requirements for both the production of the fibers and their further processing in fabrics and clothing. No synthetic crop protection products, no genetically modified organisms and no fertilizers are used in the cultivation of the fibers. There is also a water management plan. More info

 

A viscose/linen blend has been chosen for some items. Linen is very strong, does not need much poison and is of high quality. Much less water is used in the production of linen than in cotton. We have opted for a blend with viscose, which makes the material feel slightly softer and yet remains 100% natural.

 

Viscose

Like modal, rayon and Tencel, viscose is made from wood pulp. Unfortunately, many chemicals are required to produce the substance. A large part of our viscose items are made with a chain from Enka, a certified viscose made from wood pulp from sustainably managed forests. Yet, we are not always sure whether wood from sustainable forests has been used. We only want to use more sustainable and certified viscose in our future collections, such as Ecovero viscose from Lenzing or Enka viscose. Our fabric suppliers are increasingly offering sustainable viscose, so we can guarantee this 100%.

 

Polyester & Polyamide

We use the synthetic fibers polyester and polyamide purely because of the high quality and very long lifespan that these fibers guarantee. A major advantage of synthetic materials is that no land and much less water is needed to produce the fiber.

The disadvantage of synthetic fibers compared to natural fibers is that they are partly responsible for pollution of the seawater, the so-called plastic soup. However, this is mainly the case with loosely woven polyesters and, for example, fleece. We use highly twisted yarns that allow significantly fewer microfibers to be released during washing. We advise our customers to also limit washing to a minimum to reduce the environmental impact during the user phase.

We use polyamide elastane from Eurojersey. This high-quality and wrinkle-free polyamide is made by the manufacturer Sensitivefabrics, an Italian company that has significantly made its processes more sustainable since 2007. Their patented SensitiveEcoSystem project works to reduce environmental pressure by reducing water, energy, and chemical use. The company is also working on a method that measures the CO2 footprint during the entire production process, so that they are continuously able to monitor and reduce their impact.

 

Wool

We rarely use wool or blends with wool in our collections. In any case, we do not use wool where it is known that a lot of animal suffering occurs, such as with angora. If you like wool, it is a nice material. It makes you warm when it's cold, so the heating can be a little lower. In addition, wool can be recycled well. The disadvantage of wool is that it often comes from far away. That costs a lot of energy and CO2. We have several sweaters in the collection that are made of 100% cashmere. Next to one cotton sweater, these items are the only ones we do not produce in-house, but they are produced through a Dutch agent in China. The sweaters are made of certified cashmere from Consinee.

Consinee is a yarn manufacturer that values ​​ethical and responsible production. They are committed to environmentally friendly production, animal welfare and sustainability. For example, every batch of cashmere they process is 100% traceable, because the goats from which the cashmere comes are all chipped. They work very closely with their herders in Mongolia. In addition, they use the most advanced dyeing and production methods. The sweater is knitted by the Cobalt group. Our customer can read more about the origin of these sweaters by means of a QR code.

 

Care of our clothing during the user phase

Part of the environmental impact is caused during the user phase. Our clothing is designed and produced with a lot of love and attention. We tell our customers that by taking good care of their clothes, they can extend the life of their clothes. Timeless clothing that stays beautiful for a long time has less of an impact on the environment. Washing and drying (in a tumble dryer) costs a lot of water and energy and also affects the fiber.

We advise you to air your clothes regularly and not to wash them unnecessarily often. Our clothes are not suitable for a tumble dryer. If the clothes are taken to a dry cleaner, we recommend choosing an eco-dry cleaner that works with biodegradable chemicals. Another valuable piece of advice is to buy clothes that fit a little looser around the body. If clothing has less friction and tension, wear and tear will occur less quickly.