An interview with NOUMENON.
Let’s give the spotlight to a fashion company, where you can buy sustainable, environmentally friendly and vegan brands. A business which keeps in mind the human and animal rights. A fair deal. Did you know that there’s child labour and lack of human rights by executed by companies, that are damaging for the world we live in? Animals who are treated brutally. Did you ever wonder who made your clothes, or what it has been made of? Nowadays, I think the world is ready to make a difference, take a stand. Choose something better. I have discovered Noumenon, where you can buy your items with good conscience. I asked them about their work & philosophy – here are some of the questions:
Q&A:
- How do you contribute to a better fashion industry?
At Noumenon we sell sustainable and vegan clothing. We make sure to pay attention to every detail of the whole company structure and make every step as sustainable as possible for us.
A few examples of this:The collections exist of linen, organic cotton, cupro and Tencel (recycled woodpulp), but we also work with innovative recycled fabrics and give surplus fabrics a new life.With our own label every fabric and garment finds its origin in Europe, to reduce as much CO2 as possible. Furthermore the ink used for the prints is environmentally friendly. Also, the brandlabels are made from recycled cotton and the tags are made of recycled paper. Last but not least, every order placed in Amsterdam will be delivered in a recycled package by the 100% electric company car BIRO.
We also sell other sustainable labels on our webshop, but before they are placed on our store we first ask a lot of questions about the fabrics, production methods and how ethical the company is. We make sure to do all the research, so that our customer can mostly enjoy a fun shopping experience without the guilt.
“With our own label every fabric and garment finds its origin in Europe, to reduce as much CO2 as possible”
- What got you the idea in the first place?
It was a combination of a few things actually. During my fashion studies I became a vegan and could not find vegan and ethical fashion that fitted to my fashion taste. At the same time I saw the documentary “The True Cost Of Fashion” and this made such an impact on me. I could not imagine working for any company that is this unethical and cruel. I actually wanted to make sure myself that the working conditions were fair and that the clothing was sustainable and that there was no animal cruelty involved. Therefore I though let me just try and do this myself. And that is how it basically started. Challenge accepted.
- Why is it important to change the fashion industry?
The fashion industry is the second largest polluter in the world.That’s the biggest reason, I mean for us and for our future generations to exist, drastic changes need to happen within this industry. Luckily second hand clothing has a trendy image nowadays compared to the past, this also makes a huge difference.
- What would you change in the fashion industry?
Top priority for us is best described with the word cruelty-free, meaning both for the people, animals and our planet. We think that today nobody should suffer for the sake of fashion, it is not worth it. When people learn to value the true cost of fashion and its impact on the planet, great changes will take place.
- What do you think would happen if we don’t change the fashion industry?
If we continue like this, I think the planet and the animals will suffer, also our future generations. Luckily change in the industry is happening every year, the only thing is that it’s still a bit slow. The biggest challenge is the market. The market demands ethical fashion, sustainable and vegan fashion. But the consumers are not always prepared to pay the extra price. We have a lot of fans, who ask for garments for free. And this is not very good for our growth as a business. There is still a lack of knowledge/understanding how much a garment actually costs. Stores require high mark-ups, sustainable fabrics are much more expensive than conventional fabrics and the factory employees also need to be paid. Besides all of that, you should be able to pay yourself and your office employees as a business. People don’t realise the costs that a brand has.
Thank you to NOUMENON – check them out on:
| www.nou-menon.com |
