What We're Doing:
ReWork: Giving New Life to Our Surplus Goods
Through our Re-Work program, we reimagine extra fabric to create new styles, often with the help of local creative friends. To date, we’ve upcycled more than 4,000 garments into one-of-a-kind designs.
- Some local makers we’ve collaborated with: Jenny Cooper, designer and owner of Brooklyn’s no-waste IXV Coffee, integrates vintage finds to repurpose our garments. Artist Mary Matson (if you’ve been to our stores, you’ve seen her illustrations) renews old tote bags with one-of-a-kind paintings. And that’s just to name a few.
- We’ve partnered with Green Matters Natural Dye Company to overdye overstock with all-natural plant-based dyes. Check out our Botanical Dye collection to see these deep, nuanced hues.
- We use our leftover shirting fabric to make reusable travel-size laundry bags which are available to purchase as gift wrap in-store and online. We’ve also made totes and dresses entirely of mixed leftover shirting fabrics.
- We turn fabric scraps into our signature rosettes — bright boutonnieres that can be casually slipped through a buttonhole.
- We are thoughtful about how much we produce, making clothes in small batches to reduce waste. We do not incinerate or dispose of unsold inventory.
Fabscrap: Recycling Unused Fabric
We work with Fabscrap, a non-profit org, to collect, recycle, and track textile scraps from our design process that would otherwise end up in the trash. Fabscrap is a 501(c)3 non-profit that collects and publishes data on pre-consumer textile waste. Since July 2018, Alex Mill has saved an estimated 1,941 lbs of fabric from landfill by working with Fabscrap. This saved 14.27 tons of CO2 and is the equivalent of planting about 214 trees and counting.
What You Can Do:
Make it Last
By caring for your clothes in an environmentally friendly way, you can extend the life of your clothes while doing less damage to the environment.
- Wear and love it for a long time. Our clothes are designed specifically to last for years—not just in terms of quality, but also when it comes to style. Classic, timeless pieces, thoughtfully designed and meticulously made.
- You’ve probably noticed the “Wash & Go” tag inside many of our pieces. It’s a nod to the ease of care…but it’s also a reminder to wash only when necessary, and hang to dry if possible. Washing and drying breaks down fibers over time and contributes to visible wear, stretching, and fading. For thoughtful laundering, we love the gentle detergents made by Celsious and microfiber catchers like the Cora Ball @thecoraball.
- Avoid fabric softeners. They coat fabric with a layer of residue, and they comprise chemicals that can irritate skin and are bad for the environment.
- Almost all of our clothes can be hand or machine washed. If dry cleaning is absolutely necessary, we recommend using a dry cleaner that doesn’t use the toxic chemical PERC. (Note: companies often recommend “dry clean only” for items that could safely be washed, in order to avoid liability.)
Shop Vintage
We are constantly inspired by vintage clothing — in fact, we frequently mix in our favorite pieces when styling our photoshoots. These pre-loved pieces not only look cool, they also reinforce a sustainable approach to fashion.
- We collect and re-sell vintage pieces we love in our Soho store, including our collection of hand-picked denim.
- Our designer, Somsack, is an avid collector of vintage clothing. Here are some of his favorite places for great finds:
- Front General Store in Brooklyn @frontgeneralstore
- Stock Vintage in Manhattan @stockvintagenyc
- Manhattan @stockvintagenyc
- Chickee’s Vintage in Brooklyn @chickeesvintage
- Stella Dallas in Brooklyn @10ftsinglebystelladallas
- Kaufman’s Army & Navy in Manhattan @kaufmans_armynavynyc
