INTERVIEW #48 LAISKA EBBA
Based in: Tammisaari, Finland
Founded in: 2021
Founded by: Matilda - Founder & Creative Director, Robin - Co Founder & Head of sales.
Stores: www.laiskaebba.com
Price range: 22-69€
Why we love them: First of all because Laiska Ebba’s garments are ethically produced, designed for play and made to last, something we value very high at A Sustainable Closet. We furthermore love Laiska Ebbas tone of voice and graphic language, the pictures are very eye-catching and inspiring.
What is LAISKA EBBA and why did you start?
We are a kids slow fashion brand that was born and Made in Tammisaari, Finland. Our pieces are sustainable, designed for play and made to last. Laiska Ebba was a dream that was hidden far back in my head for many, many years. As the pandemic sadly hit our planet we felt that we needed to do something else than the everyday life we were living in Stockholm. With my own background as a costume designer, tailor and pattern constructor within theater, musicals, Tv & stage-art, and Robins background within building company culture & structure and top customer service, we felt that it was a must to team up (as more than husband and wife) and make Laiska Ebba a go before it was too late. We decided that Finland and Tammisaari (our second home for the last 10 years) was the right (and only) place for Laiska Ebba and us to do it the way we wanted it to be.
Our mentality is to live and do as good as possible towards our planet, animals and both current and future generations. Laiska Ebba is our life work and our way to try and make amends and do something good in the world we live in during our own lifetime.
What is your sustainability profile?
We want to challenge the way clothes are made today by seeking out the best possible ways to produce our garments. We use sustainably sourced (mostly deadstock), ecological fabrics free from chemicals, and repurpose existing materials to the longest extent possible in our production. All our products are hand made locally at our own factory in Tammisaari, minimising shipping and emissions. Our design is timeless, durable and made to last, with the idea that each piece could be mixed and matched to eternity. Besides that we make most of our pieces with different functions and alternations to give each piece the possibility to live longer with your child.
As we all know the modern fashion industry isn’t famous for its sustainable ways or longevity. But if we only travel back in time half a century, clothes were made to last. If a seam ripped or a pant knee wore out, it was stitched up to be used again. That’s what we want to do, too.
How and where are the products produced?
We love to keep it local an small! As previous mentioned we have our own factory in Tammisaari, Finland. Our design office is located about a 5 min walk from the factory. This way we have full control over our production and can keep a full transparency towards our customers, which is a must for us. It’s a really nice feeling when people drop by our factory due to curiosity and we can give them our time, story and as a bonus a quick course in our work and sustainability.
We opened our doors on the 29th of oktober (2021) so we are very new on the market, meaning there is still a lot of trial an error going on. But our main strategies is:
Our Sustainability-first ideology, if we can’t guarantee the garment is safe (fabrics, accessories etc) in every single way, we won’t make it.
Keep a small production and not overproduce. We respect our planet and its beings to much for that.
Make timeless pieces that can live on forever, we pay close attention to the durability of the fabric, the construction of the pieces, and naturally, the design. We want to make fun, long lasting garments with the lowest possible impact – clothes to proudly pass forward when your little ones have outgrown them!
Your best selling product?
Wow, tough one! For now I would say our trademark piece -Rova Dungarees.
Where do you find inspiration?
Our Scandinavian nature (man it’s cool sometimes), kids and whatever stuff they need to have going on in and on their clothing but mostly just from life and everywhere I guess.
What has been and are the major challenges?
Starting up a small, locally produced and sustainable clothing brand in a world where overproduction and outsourcing is standard rather than the exception, we’ve been and still are facing a lot of challenges. You get the feeling that every single step, from branding to sourcing materials to production needs to be discussed, changed and gone through a ridiculously amount of times to get the end result we want. In the end though, the feeling is that it’s 100% worth it, for us, for our suppliers, but most of all for our customers.
What has been and are the largest gain?
Would definitely say our customers, followers and new acquaintances. Getting feedback, seeing their happy faces and being able to create a sense of solidarity is really cool and something we didn’t expect in any way to happen. We are really thankful towards the reception we have gotten these last 2 months since we opened our doors.
What do you think needs to change in the fashion industry to make it more sustainable?
This is a tough nut to crack and has a lot to be wished for. Transparency, smaller productions, making recycled materials and up-cycled garments standard rather than alternative I think would be good keywords to go with on this question.
What would you advise consumers to do who seek to create a sustainable closet and lifestyle?
Go local, buy second hand/circular, make conscious decisions when you buy new stuff.
What's next?
Being so new on the market we have a lot of exciting times, nice ideas and hard work ahead of us. We are currently working on a 100% up-cycled collection, that will be a collaboration with one of the biggest recycle centers in Scandinavia. Parallel with that we are working on our first spring/summer collection, which we are also super stoked about!
Who else should we interview?
Myssyfarmi! Super impressive Finnish knitting brand, all of their products are hand-knitted by grannies here in Finland. Seriously, how cool isn’t that?
