We want Thi Thao Copenhagen to be a sustainable company. We have narrowed down our thinking to 5 sustainability principles.
There are many records of how the fashion industry contributes significantly to the global CO2 pollution. The Geneva Environment Network sums it up pretty well: https://www.genevaenvironmentnetwork.org/resources/updates/sustainable-fashion/
We have purposefully built Thi Thao Copenhagen as a company where we strive for environmental harmony.
We do not claim to be CO2 free – we have too many suppliers to reliably make such a claim, but we are guided by 4 principles that help us minimize the environmental impact of our production and 1 principle to secure fair working conditions for those producing our clothes.
Sustainability Principle 1: We do not over-produce
Fast-fashion companies can sell their clothes cheap because they minimize production cost per unit. An important part of minimizing unit costs is to place large orders. We believe this leads to overproduction and is a fundamental misbalance in the fashion industry.
Instead of striving for minimizing per unit production costs we keep our costs down by not producing clothes that are not needed. We also focus on making high-quality clothes that people will use many times and keep for a long time.
Often we make just a few samples of any new style. We use these both as samples, and they are available to our customers as off-the-rack items. This gives our customers the benefit to choose between ready-made clothes in our standard sizes or custom-made clothes in their specific sizes and their preferred colors.
Sustainability principle 2: We minimize transport
Transporting fabrics and other materials to our production facilities is unavoidable, and we leave it to the transport sector to minimize the pollution generated by the transport.
However, what we can influence is the distance from production to the end user. We therefore consciously produce our clothes as close to the end user as possible. If you visit our flagship store in Copenhagen, you will notice that our production is located directly under our store.
Sustainability principle 3: We prioritize sustainable fabrics
Around 95% of the clothing fibres we use are natural fibres such as wool or silk. If we need to use cotton, we will try to find a sustainable, ecological cotton.
For the remaining 5% of fibres used in our production we also prioritize sustainable alternatives if they are available. This could be fabrics from regenerated fabric fibres, overproduce from other fashion houses or certified sustainable fabrics.
We also prioritize fabrics with minimal chemicals. It comes down to simple tests like feeling the fabrics and making sure they do not react with our skin.
You can check out some of our products in our webshop.
Sustainability principle 4: We minimize waste
We use high-quality, expensive fabrics. The pattern pieces are carefully placed on the fabric to maximize the utilization of each and every fabric we use. The cut-offs are collected and given to schools and refugee institutions where they help children develop their creative skills.
You can click HERE to contact us about receiving cut-offs.
Sustainability principle 5: We secure fair working conditions
We own our production. This ensures fair working conditions at least for those producing our clothes. And, if we have a feeling a supplier does not provide fair working conditions for their employees, we will replace that supplier.
If you are interested in our open positions you can follow this link.
