One of the many things you probably did not really think about before becoming parents is the amount of clothes shopping that comes along. Let me tell you, it is a lot. Some people love it, some hate it. All have to deal with the same question: how can I dress my kid properly and ensure that they continue to have a planet to live on? I spoke to Anne, Founder of solastseasons about how to make sustainable kids› fashion accessible for everyone, about truckloads of leftovers that overflowing landfills and how we can contribute to reducing the incredible amount of clothing waste of this world. While we cannot save the world single handedly, there is a lot we can do even without big compromises.
Landfill of wasted clothes as we find it in Chile, Ghana and many other less developed countries
Every second, a truckload of clothes is dumped in a landfill
Statistics and pictures like these were one of the reasons why Anne started to think about how she could make a difference in kids› fashion. As a mom of two herself, she has been living outside her home country Denmark for many years. Working for different companies, Anne was only thinking about want could be done about this issue. About a year ago she switched gears from thinking to doing.
I want to make a difference
On a sunny Tuesday morning, I felt instantly connected when this friendly, energetic, blonde woman appeared on my screen. You can tell that she is on a mission, and it is a good one to have. Making sustainable fashion accessible to all. There are a lot of brands out there that produce sustainable and fair kids› clothes. Most of them are from Scandinavia and incredibly expensive. Being out of financial reach, a lot of new parents pick more affordable brands and often end up with fast fashion stores like H&M, Zara, UNIQLO, etc. without knowing the impact that these brands have on our planet. Research says that Fast Fashion Brands comprise 10% of total global carbon emissions. As a comparison, that is as much as the entire EU.
People want to, but it needs to be easy and affordable
Anne is convinced, that people want to be more sustainable. However, it must be easy, affordable and look as good. She realised that her favourite brands also have a lot of excess stock and that the difference between the seasons are pretty much zero. Her idea got a lot clearer and she rolled up her sleeves.
Do you think our kids care about the difference of these two seasons?
She noted down a list of brands she wanted to work with and contacted them all. Don’t misunderstand, she had to accept a lot of «Nos» that seemed to prove right the people who told her upfront that it would never work. However, once you have a purpose, you have a different persistence. And here we are, fast forward one year. Anne has convinced over 15 brands that giving their clothes a 2nd chance with consumers is much better for everyone than filling up more landfills.
Fast delivery and free returns is a must
You can tell that Anne is very proud of how far she has come in just one year. She purchases directly from her favourite brands› excess stock and ships it in empty truck slots to Switzerland. That means, she buys clothes that would otherwise end up in landfills. She uses several small, unused slots on trucks that run anyways from the Nordics to us. With the built up stock, she can make sustainable kids› fashion accessible, affordable and easy to order for users all over Switzerland. She is convinced like this people will reduce their fast fashion purchases.
Before writing about and recommending solastseasons, I ordered for my little girl myelf. Let me tell you, Anne can definitely be proud of how far she got in only one year. She is already taking a large step towards more sustainable kids› fashion, and we are excited to see more.
Find out more about solastseasons on instagram and website.
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