Responsibility is yours to own
4 minutes Jun 25
Responsibility is yours to own
In an interview with A Good Company, Nicolaj Reffstrup, Founder of cult Danish brand Ganni says:
“I’ve been over it a million times, but I’ve come to realize that staying in the industry and working to become more responsible is better than the alternative of opting out and doing nothing. Fashion is not going away. We need to solve the issues we are facing through growth and innovation.”
We couldn’t agree more.
But have you ever felt overwhelmed with the sheer volume of sustainability resources on the internet?
Have you been or frustrated by how jargon-filled they are?
Trying to find your way around a paywall?
Having worked closely with 40+ fashion brands to simplify their production process, we realised that it can often get hard for brands to find information that is trustworthy, practical and most importantly accessible. That’s why last year, we’d launched a range of sustainability guides — informative, easy to read, and absolutely free to download.
Our guides have been downloaded hundreds of times and we’ve received some brilliant, positive feedback from design and production teams.
We’ve also collaborated with some other big names — The Woolmark Company and Flexport — drawing upon their expertise to create useful resources accessible by everyone.
The Hemp Renaissance
Our latest Sustainable Materials guide explores hemp—one of the most historically celebrated textile fibres in human history.
Once one of the most important fibres, the cultivation of hemp began to decline in production due to the controversies surrounding the plant but it is now being increasingly recognized once more globally for its numerous useful and sustainable properties.
But what’s amazing about hemp? In short, a lot. Hemp has a much lower carbon footprint than other textile crops, requires no pesticides or chemicals to grow, plus a lot less water than crops like cotton. That’s the reason why brands like Levi’s are betting big on hemp and releasing entire collections around on this wonder fibre.
Our hemp guide also features an interview with Indian company CanvaLoop, which has developed its own technology to process hemp and launched the world’s first Himalayan hemp jeans. Download the free guide here to read more.
Download all our other free guides
If you’re working on sustainable materials, certifications or improving your logistics we’ve got a guide for you.
- Cotton ????
- Polyester ????
- Leather ????
- Leather Alternatives ????
- Viscose ????
- Wool (Written with The Woolmark Company) ????
- Certifications & Standards ????
- Logistics (Written with Flexport) ????
Delivering sustainability initiatives is hard.
In January this year, we pivoted to being a software business – from starting as a digital outsourcing business. We launched the SupplyCompass platform aimed at helping brands to collaborate with their manufacturers on product delivery (and vice versa).
Since then, we’ve had brands like Hype, Eat Your Water and RIXO sign up to use our platform for their whole product development and delivery process.
- What we’ve also realised is that we need to make solutions that are accessible to all brands to maximise our impact on the industry.
- This means working alongside existing PLMs and processes.
- Many brands wanted ways to start using tech to collaborate better internally before using it with their manufacturing partners.
Do you struggle with hitting product lead times and delivery schedules?
This led us to insight around managing the Product Delivery timeline/schedule / critical path.
- Product teams talked to us about the ‘black hole’ between ordering and delivery.
- Marketers and growth teams have explained that launches rarely happened on time due to product delivery issues.
- Operations teams are having to use air freight at huge expense to their profit and our planet.
- Founders + design teams want to know what is going on without chasing and searching for information.
Are you an early adopter at heart?
Flora, Co-Founder and Head of Product, is leading a private BETA launch of a new product designed specifically for Collaborative Product Delivery. It delivers the product you’ve been asking for, and we’d love the early adopters and change-makers amongst you to take this opportunity to raise your hand and get involved.
It is limited to just 25 spaces, and anyone who participates will have a special rate for life on the new product to say thank you.
If you own your product delivery schedule & critical path and the problems described resonate with you, please email flora@supplycompass.com.
We’re also in the process of writing our next guide combining all of Team SupplyCompass’ expertise in production, one that we’re most excited about.
Keep an eye out for news soon!
The latest in our range of Sustainability Guides
Nayanika is a designer, writer and illustrator whose work spans research, storytelling and strategy for sustainability in fashion. Her interests specifically lie in sustainable supply chains, craft production/innovation, circular economies and design for social innovation. She graduated from the prestigious MA Fashion Futures program at London College of Fashion with a Distinction in 2019, and has researched at and written for Centre for Sustainable Fashion and Fashion Revolution, amongst others.
More on our blog
We’ve launched our comprehensive Product Features Guide!
We’ve just launched The SupplyCompass Product Features Guide. We break down all our 95+ features and sub-features, explaining how you can use them and what makes them tick—so you can understand how SupplyCompass can help SME fashion brands like you.
Right Thing #5 – The name of the game is Agility
In agility, there’s a real emphasis on co-creation, on a cycle of continuous improvement, production and distribution with regular reflections on how to be better by constant fine-tuning and adjusting. Brands and supply chains being agile will, no doubt, be the most successful — and sustainable — organisations of the future.
Here’s how tech enables sustainability
What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of sustainability? Data is rarely the answer. Watch/Listen to Co-Founder and Head of Product Flora Davidson explain how technology can enable brands to embed sustainability principles into their business.
Get started with our platform
Read the Right Thing
Subscribe to join sustainability nerds, production gurus and thought leaders from companies like Ganni, Adidas, AllBirds and Finisterre & become part of the 10,000+ community who get The Right Thing—a fortnightly letter straight from our Co-Founder’s desk.