SUSTAINABILITY
Sustainability is not just using organic when we can - it is ingrained in our brand. We believe that the term sustainability encompasses everything from where and how our textiles are sourced to factory working conditions to how many releases we have per year. Simply put, we just don’t agree with the way the fast fashion industry runs the game.
But, what is fast fashion?
Fast fashion is a cheap, ethically dubious, environmentally disastrous development in the commercial fashion industry. Based on micro-seasons, major brands release new clothing every week using cheap textiles like nylon and polyester that will never degrade. Clothing is cut and sewn in hazardous work conditions, and many companies still use child labor. With a new micro-season every week, consumers are constantly pressured to buy cheap clothing designed to fall apart.
However, there is a resistance movement to fast fashion. Slow fashion.
Slow fashion is the antithesis to everything described above. It is the idea that consumers will pay more for durable, natural and organic fibers that are sustainably sourced. The idea that companies have the responsibility to provide ethical work conditions and livable wages, which are vital to growing communities. It is the idea that clothing can last more than a week, a month or even a year – clothing can be designed for a lifetime of wear.
We at VAN DER NAG are committed to slow fashion. We use only organic cotton and textiles that can be sustainably sourced. Our partner factory in Poland operates shifts from 7am to 3pm, so the predominantly female workforce can be home for afternoons and evenings with their families. We also refuse to partner with a middleman, which is why our clothes are available exclusively online or in our Berlin studio. We are attempting to make slow fashion as accessible as possible, omitting the traditional 200% - 300% of traditional physical retailers.
We are working nonstop to mesh economical pricing with our curvy, sustainable brand; however, there are a number of costs associated with slow fashion that we will never be able, and never want to reduce risking to compromise our quality.