Quality was at the top of my shopping list when selecting my raw materials. If the fabrics and components aren’t of high quality then the garments won’t last and that goes against my belief that your purchases should be made to last and treasure. Our products and materials are ethically made and all of our suppliers are Oeko-Tex certified (free of harmful chemicals and are safe for human use) and our embroidery supplier is also REACH certified (meaning the products are compliant with the EU REACH regulations).
While I do my very best to make the brand as sustainable as possible, I’m not going to greenwash it - we are by no means an example of a truly sustainable brand - if you see sustainability as circular (cradle to cradle) - like most of the clothing and accessories out there, our product doesn’t decompose. To do this, it would have to be made from a natural fibre like cotton or silk and unfortunately these fabrics don’t lend themselves to embroidery for long-term use. The natural fibre yarns tend to break and pill over time - therefore not providing the high quality we desire. However we know that our embroidery house is looking into this and hopefully there will be a solution in the near future - I’m keeping a close eye on it as there would be nothing that I would love more than having a high quality, long lasting but ultimately biodegradable product (that’s my dream goal - I really hope it can happen!).
In order to bring Somewhere Never to life I had to negotiate very small quantities with my suppliers (I’m a one man band and have used my savings to create the brand - if you know of an investor then please send them my way!) - therefore I couldn’t order large quantities and was restricted on fabric choices. When I make the next collection I will be using recycled tulle and will incorporate more embroidery ‘printing’ which will allow me to also use recycled yarns (Super Fan is an example of a printed embroidery).
For the next order I’m also looking into using recycled elastics - again, I had a minimum issue for my first garments - I know that there are some biodegradable elastics available, but the quality isn’t quite there (they tend to have poor recovery and go wavy very quickly). Our current supplier is used by global brands such as Nike and Marks and Spencer, both of whom have rigorous quality testing standards so the elastics are of premium quality and built to last.
As I am hand cutting all the pattern pieces I spend a lot of time making sure I am laying them out in the most economical way, so as not to waste fabric. I have a pile of tiny scraps and it’s my next project to create something from them! Maybe some little patchwork bags or tops? Watch this space!
Producing small quantities is another way I am trying to be more planet conscious - the world doesn’t need another brand with a load of unloved deadstock. I wanted to make limited numbers to test the market and see what you guys truly love (feedback is always welcome :)).
The metal fittings are produced by a supplier with over 150 years of manufacturing experience and every product is subject to in-house testing and independent laboratory analysis is regularly carried out.