True Tribe, a manufacturer of functional handmade clothing using recycled plastic waste, and SUKU, a blockchain-based supply chain tracking solution, today announced the first batch of True Tribe transparent apparel. The clothes, whose life cycle began as nylon waste such as discarded fishing nets and fabric scraps, were transported to the iconic Browns Fashion in London on November 6th.
With consumers increasingly concerned about where the product they buy comes from, the conscious consumer expects brands to be more transparent and products sourced ethically and sustainably. Conscientious consumers who CARE more, SHARE more, and spend more than the average user, will now be able to access this information.
Sustainability
Stories are selling, and more than ever, consumers want to know the stories behind their favorite products including who makes them and how the raw materials come from. In fact, sales of products marketed on sustainability grew 5.6 times faster than conventionally marketed products over the past five years.
Setting the framework for the rest of the apparel industry to follow, True Tribe announced in August 2020 that it would adopt the SUKU Omni SaaS supply chain management platform to track and track clothing. Fragmentation and inefficiency are plaguing global supply chains and leading to a lack of data flow and validity of claims about ethical and sustainable sources. By creating an unchangeable ledger of transactions throughout the True Tribe supply chain, Omni SUKU allows stakeholders to prove their claims of authenticity, legality and sustainability.
As raw materials travel through True Tribe’s supply chain and eventually become well-crafted, each step is entered into the blockchain and validated using the OK’s SUKU platform. For the first time in the clothing industry, this provides an additional degree of visibility into the product’s supply chain, from (1) the initial plastic waste collection by Healthy Seas in the Mediterranean, Adriatic or North Sea, to (2) the recycling of the nylon by ECONYL in Ajdoviscina, Slovenia, (3) the regeneration of nylon fabric in North Lombardy, Italy, (4) the manufacture of luxury hardware by RIRI in Mendrisio, Switzerland, (5) hand-making in Pakistan by one dedicated craftsman and finally (6) the shipment to the store or online.
Empowering consumers through transparency, every garment purchased has a QR code on the hangtag or is mounted on the garment. Using the SUKU Scanner app available for iOS or Android devices, users can scan the QR code and view the journey of their product, allowing them to learn about its story (through videos and images) and creators, all while knowing that the product is authentic.
“We aim to set a new standard in conscious fashion, without claiming to be truly” sustainable “because no one is in fashion. That said, we strive to be more aware of our footprint and to minimize it. Today, consumers increasingly support brands that better identify with their values. We believe that authenticity and transparency are the keys to creating more meaningful connections. Thanks to SUKU, True Tribe benefits from the latest blockchain technology to provide full transparency for its products, while connecting at a deeper level with its conscious consumer by revealing its story. “
– Alexandre Sundberg, Founder and CEO
Commitment to Sustainable Sourcing and Slow Fashion
Founded on the principle of ethical fashion, True Tribe aims to redefine conscious fashion codes with sustainably crafted swim shorts made from plastic waste, collected by Healthy SEAL, a non-governmental employee organization a diving professional who removes plastic waste from the Mediterranean, Adriatic, and North Sea. The brand uses only ECONYL (R) revitalized nylon fabric made from discarded fishing nets and other plastic waste. This reduces their water consumption and helps divert plastic waste from oceans and landfills while reducing CO2 emissions. Each pair of swim shorts results in 145g of fishing nets being recycled.
In addition, as a pioneer in Slow Fashion, True Tribe aims to make a major contribution to helping apparel businesses in developing countries such as Pakistan to significantly diversify their business models from the reliance on Fast Fashion brands. True Tribe aims to achieve this by having all of its production vertically integrated to set its own quality standards and working environment. Local craftsmen use French luxury knowledge and work in a peaceful environment under respectful working conditions.