MARVELL LANE, Fashion and Environmental Sustainability.
Many people would think that fashion and sustainability are two diverging concepts, and for many generations of designers and fashion labels this is the case. If not consciously, then unconsciously by not understanding, addressing or attempting to minimise their impact on the environment. We see this particularly with the “fast-fashion” movement. Millions of garments being continuously produced, with no intention for the garment to have any longevity or use outside of wearing it once, or perhaps twice, as a fashion trends come and go. This is having a negative impact on our environment and it is not sustainable.
MARVELL LANE will not be participating in the fast-fashion movement.
MARVELL LANE cares about the environment, we want to contribute towards ensuring we can pass this world safely onto the generations who follow us. We want to make sure we practice what we preach and our aim is to eventually use 100% sustainably sourced materials for fabrication. We’re not there yet, this we admit, but we are actively working towards this goal.
What is MARVELL LANE doing to support sustainability?
We are proud to say that at this stage, our outer fabric for our swimwear is an Italian Lycra. The company who produces this fabric source the nylon component (78% of the fabric) from Econyl. Econyl make 100% of the nylon yarn component from post-consumer material - think: old fishing nets and plastic water bottles. If you want to see what amazing work Econyl are doing, then follow the link to their site and take a peek! We are also aiming to minimise the amount of plastic finding its way into landfill. We will only supply our garments to our customers in individually wrapped tissue paper, no polybags in sight!
Something we've battled with since launching MARVELL LANE has been reconciling our waste output with sending our products to our customers and all our other sustainability measures - they were incompatible. However, we are very proud to say that for over two years now our products are sent in mailer bags which are plant-based and completely compostable! So not only our our products supplied in tissue paper (fully recyclable), they're also now sent in an environmentally friendly and sustainable product.
Our customers can now either re-use the mailer bag (preferred first step - extending the life cycle of a product) or they can compost their bags. If you're a business who wants to use a better mailing bag then this is the company you need to reach out to: The Better Packaging Co or Hero Packaging.
We’re constantly on the lookout for new and innovative fabrics which could be used in our products, particularly an inner lining fabric and a power mesh fabric! In fact, if you think you know of a particular product which might be suitable or aligns with our values, then get in touch! We’d love to hear from you.
Manufacture
We’re constantly liaising with our manufacturer to ensure they understand why we’re approaching fashion the way we do - from a sustainable perspective. We've even taken steps to ensure our patterns are cut in a way which maximises the surface area of the fabric to minimise "cut-off" waste. We know many labels are already doing this and would love to hear from you as to how you ensure that these practices are followed or implemented effectively. We've love it if you would reach out and have a chat - as a community we can have a larger impact upon manufacturing processes and encouraging change.