For those of you who've been following Aesthetic Laundry for a while, I'm sure you know we're committed to sustainable fashion. It's something we really strive to make transparent and accessible, and key to all of our decisions.
However! There's so much that we haven't been able to share with you... far we just haven't had the right platform to express it all. There's so many little (and big) ideas we've had to change the industry for the better. We've be thinking hard about the best way to bring all of these ideas to change the industry for the better.
So here we are!
On AL Impact you'll find all of the fantastic things we've be dying to share with you.
A BIG part of AL Impact is AL Academy. We firmly believe that arts are as important as academic subjects, and it can be so frustrating to see how limited funding for arts can be. The resulting exclusivity of creative subjects leads to an intense inequality of representation and narrowing of ideas and perspectives. It's pretty shocking, but it's something that our industry can take responsibility for. We love what we do and really want to share the first hand experience we've had working in fashion with those who might not otherwise have had access to it.
Here's where AL Academy comes in. Over time we've built a wonderful team of seamstresses and cutters working entirely in house at our East London studio. We want to invite to invite trainees in to share our studio; skills and experience in what we hope will be a totally unique learning period...and potentially a full time job!
All garments under our AL Academy label are the work of our trainees. We have one rather fantastic trainee who has been with us for a few months. From cutting squares to cutting garments, they've done a marvellous job! AL Impact will showcase their work and allow you to support new career paths and opportunities for our future trainees. Our first trailblazing trainee has honestly done so brilliantly, and we're so happy that they've finally got the right platform to shine.
That's not all you'll find on AL impact. You may also have noticed our End of Roll collection.
When it comes to clothing production, fabrics don't always make it from roll to garment. Over-ordering and cancellation leave mills with excess fabric. Excess in any sort of production can lead to waste and we've decided that this is something that needs addressing. Our end of roll garments are cut from those new unused fabrics that would otherwise have been disposed of. It's a great chance for us to be super playful with our designs, and for you to find some very exciting limited runs!
Previously we've released one End of Roll drop a year (ish) as it wasn't really something we could consistently co-ordinate with our main collections. It was kind of a shame. They're such a unique opportunity to bring you even more AL loveliness, so we absolutely HAD to find a way to keep our End of Roll garments visible to you! Any ideas where you'll find them?
You can find our End of Roll garments...drumroll...on the End of Roll menu button!
Not to blow your socks too far off, but I've got one more thing to tell you about.
Waste is really one of our number one pet peeves. It's a bit more than a peeve, actually. It's a very real challenge. We all know about the impact that throwaway fashion has on the world around us. Unfortunately, there isn't quite so much discussion about the waste generated at the production stage. When garments are cut from rolls of fabric, there will always be areas that have been cut but aren't quite enough for a new garment: offcuts.
A lot of thought goes into the way we source our fabrics; colour, texture and location are all important factors in a very considered decision. We want to make the absolute most of them! We were (are) super reluctant to bin the little bits that didn't make it into the garment. One of our first zero waste initiatives was Kidswear. You'll still be able to find these garments on AL Impact, but we're expanding on this idea with a new Zero Waste Adults collection. Tote bags, anyone?
Phew...what a start!