We use sustainable fabrics that have as little impact on the planet as possible, natural fibres for our knitwear and hand woven cottons for our fabric.
Much of our clothing is made from surplus fabric from the luxury fashion industry that would otherwise go to waste.
Our makers are local, within a few miles of the studio.
Deadstock, or overstock is surplus fabric created by the fashion industry that is not needed and if not used would be disposed of in landfill. It can come a variety of sources, for example from mills who typically overrun by 10% on their fabric production or from fashion companies who have fabric left over after production. Using these fabrics avoids them ending up in landfill and helps to keep them in circulation – hence a circular fabric.
Deadstock or circular fabrics are better for the environment than using virgin new fabrics as they already exist and therefore have zero resource consumption and zero emissions.
We source most of our fabrics from the luxury fashion industry and some directly from British mills.
We use natural cottons which have been hand woven by artisans in their homes in rural India. Each fabric has been designed and woven by the artisan themselves, giving them creative agency, ownership of their work and recognising their skills as craftspeople.
We work with a cooperative based in the town of Maheshwar in India who are pioneering this alternative way of working to empower makers and preserve the traditional craft of hand weaving.
Much of the cotton we use is kala cotton, a cotton variety grown only in the arid region of Kutch. It is organic, indigenous, hand-spun and handwoven, making it one of the most sustainable fibres.
We use wool for our knitwear as it is 100% natural. Every year sheep will produce a new fleece, making wool a renewable fibre source. It’s naturally thermoregulating, making it comfortable to wear, and odour resistant so it doesn’t need washing regularly.
Wool is biodegradable. At the end of its life, wool can be returned to the soil, where it decomposes, releasing valuable nutrients back to the earth.
We’re committed to supporting British farmers and UK manufacturers by using wool from our native sheep that has been processed and spun in the UK.
Our signature yarn is made from only British fleece which has been sourced and spun in the UK. The collection is made from native wool from a single breed of sheep, Bluefaced Leicester. They are known for having the finest and softest wool of all the British sheep breeds with a beautiful lustre. A hardy, versatile breed, they are mostly found in the rugged landscape of the Northern Uplands. A longwool breed, their long curls produce a very fine and lustrous, silky yarn which rivals cashmere for its softness.
Farmers send their Bluefaced Leicester fleece to the British Wool Depot where is is sorted and graded.
The wool is expertly graded by hand to select the best quality fleece.
Once the fleece has been graded it is scoured (washed) to remove dirt and other debris.
The highest grade fleece is sent to the mill where it is carded and spun into yarn.
For our fine lambswool and cashmere, we work with a Scottish spinner with over 150 years of expertise who are renowned for the quality of their yarns. Our extra fine lambswool is Responsible Wool Standard approved ensuring that fibres are responsibly sourced.
The fibre for our lambswool was originally developed from merino sheep in Geelong, Australia. Today the extra fine merino fibre comes from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa and arrives by boat. It is made from the first clip of the lambs which is exceptionally fine making it softer than traditional lambswool.
Our Scottish cashmere is spun from carefully selected Mongolian and Chinese fibre which is certified by the Sustainable Fibre Alliance.
We also use lambswool for our Ada Brushed Wool collection which is spun in the UK by a small heritage spinner using fibre from New Zealand and Australia.
Our labels are made from natural organic cotton printed with water based, eco friendly inks.
We use a mixture of deadstock buttons and new buttons made from corozo. Corozo comes from the nut of the Tagua Palm which is harvested after it falls naturally from the tree. It is a completely natural, biodegradable and sustainable resource.
Our packaging is recycled and recyclable. Our swing tags are made from recycled coffee cups by our printers in East London. Our garment bags are made from a material that is water soluble, ocean safe and biodegradable, breaking down harmlessly to non-toxic biomass in soil and sea.
All of our trims, labels and packaging are sourced from UK businesses.
We are proud to make all of our garments in the UK and are passionate about supporting UK manufacturing. Most of our collection is made within a 5 mile radius of the studio, apart from some of our knitwear.
We work closely with a female founded, local knitwear manufacturer who are experts at producing very high quality knitwear for designer brands. They are a short bike ride from the ELWIN studio. We meet regularly to develop our collections and personally know all of the people who make our garments.
Our other knitwear suppliers are small, heritage manufacturers across the UK with specific expertise from socks to scarves and gloves. All of our knitwear is either fully fashioned whereby each piece knitted individually and linked together by hand, or knitted in the round using seamless technology. Any leftover yarn is used to knit our accessories.
Our woven garments are either handcrafted by us or by small manufacturers close to the studio, who share our values both environmentally and socially. All of the people in our supply chain are paid a living wage and have fair working conditions.
