Sustainability 2.0
‘Sustainability’ is not a buzzword. It’s not a marketing strategy. It’s not a slogan to print on a one-off collection made from a few recycled bottles.
Sustainability is not a choice, it is our default. It is about respecting and protecting ecosystems, people, animals and the resources upon which we depend. It is about balance.
This is sustainability 2.0.
Huelwear is built around seven pillars that represent our responsibility to the planet. They steer us towards a sustainable way of designing, manufacturing and selling clothes.
1. Fast fashion Timeless style
Fashion used to have two seasons. Now, fast fashion brands produce a conveyor belt of new clothes that are often worn once then discarded. We don’t do seasons. Our clothes are designed for life, so they’ll look as good in five years as they do today. That way, you can buy less but buy better. You can invest in products made from the most sustainable materials, because you know you can wear them every day, forever.
2. Animal products Animal free
Huelwear is completely animal-free at every point in its supply chain, and vegan-verified by Intertek. Because if you don’t have to use animal products, why would you?
3. Throwaway culture Repair, recycle, redesign
We own on average five times more clothes than our grandparents, but only 1% of all the materials in clothing is ever recycled into new garments. We want to make that 100%. We offer free repairs on all our products, use recycled materials wherever possible, and will soon be launching a circular programme to reuse clothes that have reached the end of their life by transforming them into brand new products. Wherever possible, our clothes are made from single materials, not blends, so they’re easier to recycle when you’re done loving them. We’re constantly redesigning our clothes to make them more sustainable, more durable and better to wear. That’s why each item of Huelwear has a version number, so you can see how we’ve improved them.
4. Hidden supply chain Traceable
Fast fashion puts unmanageable demands on supply chains, which means that even when brands claim to know who produces their clothes, that work is often subcontracted to factories with no control over labour standards and no visibility over working conditions. We only work with mills and factories that share our ethics. We’re proud of our partners and we want you to know about them. That’s why we tell you where every product was made. You can see all our factories here.
5. Damages environment Minimal impact to environment
Fashion has long been one of the world’s most polluting industries. Textile treatments cause 20% of global water pollution and it’s estimated that by 2050, the fashion industry will use 25% of the global carbon budget. Everything we do starts with one question: can we do it better? From our design process to our packaging, we strive to minimise everything, from our use of natural resources to our carbon emissions.
6. Shortcuts Holistic approach
Our ethics are in our DNA and they inform everything we do. Huelwear is not a one-off collection, it’s not an eco-friendly influencer partnership, and it’s not a way to greenwash the environmental impact of the rest of our business (we don’t need to our food is just as sustainable. It’s about taking the time to do the right thing, to look for the most environmentally friendly options, and putting durability before fashion. It’s about doing the right thing from day one, then working every day to make those things even better.
7. Exploitation Ethically made
All our factory partners are regularly audited by third parties to ensure that they treat their workers with respect. This is the start of our journey and we’re aiming to develop long-term relationships with our partners, to support them and improve together. We have a duty of care to everyone who makes our clothes, everyone who wears them, and everyone we share a planet with. We want to do right by all of them. And we want to do right by you.
