From the clothes we wear to the food we eat, and even in how we interact with each other and our shared planet, we believe that we have the power to make choices in our business and our everyday life that contribute to the betterment of humanity and Earth -- rather than detract.
Though we may be thousands of kilometers apart, recent global crises have shown us how intricately connected we are to one another through natural occurrences, our global economy, trade and travel, because we all share the earth’s spaces and resources. This truth tells us that it is each and every one of our responsibilities to protect our home and leave a positive impact for the future generations to come.
As fashion companies, our shared responsibility means we need to be aware of how our production process and product life cycle affects the environment.
Replacing Fast Fashion With Circular Design
Offering more sustainable products or relying more on eco-friendly materials is a start, but true change stems from redefining the design process. Circular design focuses on turning waste into value. No more single-use plastics, toxic byproducts or fast fashion. Instead, circular design transitions the industry to renewable energy sources and the ability to repurpose the materials used, instead of the product ending up in a landfill.
Investing in high quality, low impact materials that last, and designing products that are timeless and valued by the owner for years to come, are how we, as a fashion company, can begin to leave a positive impact.
While sustainable design is focused on the sourcing of the materials used and the minimizing of damage during its manufacturing process, circular design goes one step further to include the optimization of a product’s entire life-cycle, focusing on recycling and reuse possibilities.
In a perfect Circular Economy, there are no end-of-life products that find their way into dumps and landfills. Instead, they are brought back into the economic cycle at the end of their use, and converted into another resource.
Natural Nuance’s Commitment to Cyclical Life Cycles
Being mindful of the impact we have on our world and all who share it is one of our core values and the very reason we started Natural Nuance. Each production and purchase decision we all individually make can ultimately affect us all. This interdependence and the responsibility of the individual for the world was harder to really fathom until the current Covid-19 crisis, when we saw just how connected and reliant we are on each other to act responsibly with the larger community in mind.
In terms of fashion, we want to encourage stepping away from the make, take, dispose model that only harms our planet and takes advantage of low-cost labour. Instead, let us all focus on ways to design, produce, and repurpose our products so they are more regenerative.
Natural Nuance's design strategy for cyclability enables re-use, upcycling and recycling of our products. Once it’s time to let go of your bag that we hope you’ve loved for years, our handbags are ready to take on a new life as something new. It is our aim that none of the parts used in our bags will be sent to landfill.
Our products are designed so that material types can easily be separated without damaging the leather, even for the average consumer. Large swatches of leather sewn together at the seams makes it easy to undo and preserve the leather, and reuse towards new products.
We are a signatory company of the Global Fashion Agenda 2020 Circular Fashion System Commitment, which calls for the fashion industry to take action on circularity and accelerate the industry’s transition to a circular fashion system. While Circularity has always been our goal from day 1, we are excited to further our commitment with our upcoming Circular line of shopper bags.
As inhabitants of this one earth we share, it is the inherent responsibility of each person to appreciate and take responsibility for the impact we have on each other and environment. Design sits at the center of the circular economy, so what better way to get started than with high-quality, low impact products that you will love for years to come, and will be loved by another once you are ready to let it go?
