INTERVIEW #6 DEDICATED
“The more we saw, the clearer it become that either we leave the industry for good or we do something to change it.”
What is Dedicated and why did you start it?
“Cotton is the fibre we used the most for DEDICATED and it has been GOTS certified from day one and 7 years ago we’re able to make it Fairtrade certified too. ”
It started as a value driven brand. Me Johan Graffner and Johan Mooe, Joakim Knapp and Karin Veghed, have been in the fashion industry for 26 years. We have done extensive production trips to the world’s main textile production hubs and seen the harm caused by the fashion industry with our own eyes. The more we saw, the clearer it become that either we leave the industry for good or we do something to change it. When we started in 2016 our take on sustainability were there already from the start. Cotton is the fibre we used the most for DEDICATED and it has been GOTS certified from day one and 7 years ago we’re able to make it Fairtrade certified too.
We thought that there was a lack of ethical street fashion brands. None of the popular brands seemed to care about the planet or its people. The few responsible and ethical brands back then were too basic and boring! They didn’t have the design and style relevance to make them attractive to a contemporary audience. We wanted to make clothes in a fashionable and a responsible way with plenty of culture and graphic relevance. From the start we have been collaborating with artists, illustrators and photographers and this helps us to create truly unique collections. After 8 years we now have a very good distribution and we supply most of the “eco-fashion” stores as well as all kinds of other fashion retailers. Our tagline is “Support Your Local Planet, as we do everything in our power to ensure that our clothes have high quality standards and a low environmental impact..
We are sourcing from producers who are passionate about sustainability and are GOTS and Fairtrade certified as well as are running on renewable energy. We visit them 1-2 times per years and if they have difficulties we then we’re more able to help and collaborate. We have learned a lot from them.
There’s are environmental laws in place, but since the police are not enforcing them enough, it’s common that there not being followed, for example related to waste water management. That’s why it’s so important that the factory management takes pride in best practice. Now we have amazing production partners, but in the early years we had to move production to many different countries since we weren’t satisfied.
What is your sustainability profile and what materials are you using?
“With production in India we can also keep a price people can afford which allows more people to enjoy ethical clothing. It also helps more people escape poverty in India. ”
We have developed our profile very carefully. We are a European company, we sell our clothes here but we produce in India. It’s because cotton doesn’t grow here in the EU, but also because India has the biggest and best organic cotton production and they have good sewing factories. The climate impact of producing everything in India and ship the clothes here is lower than for example shipping cotton from India to Portugal and then shipping the clothes by truck from Portugal to Sweden. DEDICATED’s climate impact mostly comes from the production of our recycled fabrics, the sewing, transportation and our travels. With production in India we can also keep a price people can afford which allows more people to enjoy ethical clothing. It also helps more people escape poverty in India.
After having reduced the CO2 impact at every stage in our supply chain, we will compensate for the residual CO2 emissions that we casue as a company. Our project for that is called #letsgrowaforesttogether.
We also produce Tencel and recycled polyester clothing. We use natural fibers whenever possible, but polyester is preferred for swimwear and outerwear. We’re also looking into a mix of cotton and hemp that is extremely durable, anti-bacterial and good for the climate. We’re also aiming to use more recycled cotton in our production. But none of the choices comes without consideration, Tencel is a wood-fibre (considered to have lower climate impact) that is still transported from Europe to India. The best recycled polyester fabrics are produced in China.
But let’s go back to cotton. It was the most used fibre until 2000. In the 50s polyester clothing production started. In the past 20 years, polyester has grown to be 3 times bigger than cotton since it’s dirt cheap to produce. It’s produced in Kina with coal as an energy source and the material comes from oil. The cotton production is still on the same level as in 2000. Organic cotton is around 1% of all the cotton being produced and 59% of all cotton produced is Better Cotton Initiative (BCI), which is not a proper standard or certification. What it means is that farmers has been educated on how to protect themselves from dangerous chemicals. But there’s still 1kg chemicals on 1 kg cotton, even if its BCI! No educated person would say that BCI is sustainable! The climate impact is also the same as for conventional “poison cotton”! Nothing in the production has really changed. There are big interest behind BCI, since it’s effective and convenient for giants like H&M and Levi’s to fool the consumers that BCI is an environmentally friendly choice. It’s completely infuriation considering that GOTS cotton has a 46% lower carbon footprint compared to BCI cotton and uses zero chemicals.
“There’s about 3 million cotton farmers in Gujarat and the trainline that goes to the Calcutta where the state hospital is located is called “The cancer-express”, that’s how common cancer is among the farmers.”
We believe that we use the best and fairest organic cotton and we source it from two cooperatives in Gujarat in India called Suminter and Chetna Organics. We have visited the farmers, seen how they have been able to invest their Fairtrade premiums to improve their communities by building a school and so on.
There’s about 3 million cotton farmers in Gujarat and the trainline that goes to the Calcutta where the state hospital is located is called “The cancer-express”, that’s how common cancer is among the farmers, and they are a part of BCI!
Of the non-organic farmers there’s a suicide every 20e minute, due to farmers getting indented and lose their land and it’s been like this for decades. They’re extremely vulnerable and we want to support them.
It’s no coincidence that goal No1 in the United Nations 17 sustainable development goals is “No Poverty”. As the saying goes: No food equals no morals.
A friend and a supplier called ”Sreeranga Rajan” in Bangalore has also mentioned that there are more GOTS cotton and Fairtrade-cotton on the market in relation to what is demanded, this is why the excuse used by buyers of fast fashion companies that there’s not enough organic cotton available is not valid. Further, one can wonder why H&M use GOTS certified clothes on the children swear and Weekday and not all their lines? GOTS is starting to become more of a norm within Europe when it comes to clothes for children, since the whole supply chain is free from chemicals that are otherwise in all textiles.
“If you can’t afford to produce in a responsible way, you’re your business model is wrong in the first place.”
The price for GOTS and Fairtrade is about 20% more expensive compared to conventional “poison cotton”, so the reason that it’s not demanded more is the effective disinformation made by the chemical and fast fashion companies. Clothing has never been cheaper and it’s a big scandal that we allow products that harm our planets environment to be sold, especially here in the EU. If you can’t afford to produce in a responsible way, you’re your business model is wrong in the first place.
What has been and are the major challenges?
In the beginning it was the process to get all the certificate and be able to produce small volumes in a sustainable way. We learned a lot the first years when we tested factories and places around the world but now the collaboration with our factories in India works very well. The tipping point for sustainable fashion came in 2017. Already in 2006 when we started TSHIRT STORE, we talked about organic cotton and the need for responsibly produced clothing, but most people thought regular cotton was organic. It was hard to communicate towards consumers what it meant, so therefore we mostly communicated about our design collaborators and the creative part of the business. We basically did 10 years of “Green Shading” which is the opposite of “Green washing”, we were investing in becoming sustainable, but where not really talking about it. The consumer awareness cam later with documentaries like “The True Cost” and “River Blue” and more debate and climate focus in the media. Now things has changed and the climate debate has really helped, more people know that 8% of the global climate impact comes from the textile industry. Our sustainability work has finally become a good business driver for us.
“Now things has changed and the climate debate has really helped, more people know that 8% of the global climate impact comes from the textile industry.”
What has been and are the largest gains?
The main reason why we are successful is because we were ready when the public finally started to catch up and become aware. We have fourteen years of experience in producing clothing in a more sustainable way.
It’s great with all these creative people who like to collaborate with us. It’s also fun with our staff being personally involved and engaged in these topics. It’s fun to work with the whole process and in our case both retail, wholesale and online is doing well. Everything is just growing.
“In EU this (sustainable fashion) market is growing with 20% per year and globally with 9%. ”
We’re growing by about 40% per year and have been able to develop the brand from jersey garments into full collections for men and women, including swimwear and outerwear. The demand is specially grown in countries like Germany, Switzerland and Benelux. There you have a larger part of the conscious consumers who demand products that are produced in a responsible way. In France people are starting to wake up. In these countries there’s actually plenty of “eco-fashion stores”, conscious stores that only take in certain brands that meet their ethical requirements. In EU this market is growing with 20% per year and globally with 9%.
What do you think needs to change now in the fashion industry to make it more sustainable?
There’s to many standards, certifications and labels which makes it very confusing for consumers. The label “Svanen” in Sweden is popular, but it’s not very strict and most people don’t know about GOTS which is much better.
We should have some grown-up people coming into the room to set some rules. I’m certain that political legislation is the only hope. The EU should just ban virgin polyester, BCI and conventional cotton. Everything that is sold within the EU, consumers should be able to buy without a bad consciousness. Consumers can’t take the whole responsibility and big brands and producers are clearly not taking their responsibility. The industry and the consumers won’t solve these issues by themselves. What can be called sustainable should be regulated, BCI is not one of those things!
Everything that is related to the welfare of the planets environment and biodiversity should be a part of it! Make it easy for the costumer.
What do you believe is “greenwashing” and what can producers and consumers do to avoid it?
The current largest greenwashing that is currently going on is the BCI label. It’s really confuses consumers to believe they’re doing something good when choosing “Bra Miljöval” (good choice for the environment) in the stores. You think you have done a responsible choice, but in fact you have been fooled.
My advice is to watch documentaries and platforms like this in order to educate yourself. You should be able to figure out yourself that just because a brand is communicating about sustainability, it doesn’t mean that they’re really serious about it! It’s a good move communication-wise but it doesn’t have any real good environmental impact compare to the other things that still is “business as usual”.
Another thing related to greenwashing is also products that might be produced in a sustainable way, but that it’s not demanded on the market. Is there really a need for that jewellery just because it’s made out of ocean plastic? I believe sustainable products also should serve some kind of purpose.
“ Is there really a need for that jewellery just because it’s made out of ocean plastic? I believe sustainable products also should serve some kind of purpose.”
What would you advice consumers to do who seeks to create a sustainable closet and lifestyle?
You should ask yourself before you buy anything new if you’re going to use it at least 10 times or hopefully more! Can it be washed several times? Will it last?
Have a basic closet where your clothes can be combined in an easy way.
Don’t wash your clothes that often. Hang them in the sun instead.
Clothes that you’re not using very often can be rented instead, like for a skiing trip, weddings or a party.
Also go for second hand and exchange clothes with others. Buy and sell your clothes with others. Find your favourite stores or platforms for that.
Learn how to fix easy things such as a broken button. That can easily be done in front of the TV!