Our Made-to-Measure Model
We are constantly wracking our brains about how we can do better sustainably and how to be more innovative....a step ahead so to speak, but always always remaining true to our values and business philosophy.
One of the ways we chose to do this was by choosing a “Made-to-Measure” production model. Since we are die hard sustainability freaks, we believe that choosing this production model is one of the the most critical decisions that we have made with regard to moving our business focus and philosophy forward!…..it brings us closer to the realization of our Brand vision: to disrupt the “business as usual” fashion production paradigm.
“Made-to-Measure” means no inventory for us at all!!!....none. We only produce when our customers put in their “made to measure” order. It's a win win situation, we give our customers the perfect fit so that there are no returns; in exchange we all create no waste. This model will make stocking inventory obsolete. A garment will only be produced when ordered and since it will give you a perfect fit, there will be no unwanted or returned items due to an improper fit. The many benefits of this “production-on-demand/made-to-measure” business model all contribute to an impactful decrease in these environmental degradation issues: the over use and exploitation of our resources, mass production which greatly contributes to the exploitation of garment workers, saturated landfills due to discarded mass produced clothing, and a high carbon footprint....just to name a few. And on the flip side, there are the added benefits for us of decreasing our costs, of not having to overproduce, and of not having to maintain any warehousing.
However, we knew that this was going to be a serious challenge because if we wanted to give our customers that exact fit, that meant that we had to get our customers' exact measurements. As a short term solution, we are solving this problem by providing our customers with precise and step by step instructions on how to employ certain techniques to get the most accurate measurements possible short of having a seamstress take them. We knew that our present measurement model was something that had to be improved upon and that we had to especially work on getting precise measurements for our global customers. It would be easy for our local customers...they simply come in for a fitting and that's that. We knew it had to involve creative and innovative technology to be able to achieve our goal of a perfect fit for all customers everywhere.....we were looking hard into this, but we were not there yet!
So when we were approached by the Fashion Exchange at Toronto's George Brown College, a pioneer in sustainability innovation and small batch manufacturing, about collaborating on a Research Project on the “Integration of an On-Demand Manufacturing/Made-to-Measure Model and a 3D Body Measurement in Small Batch Production”, we were elated to say the least!
We were so ready to address the challenge of producing great fitting, customized clothing for our customers regardless of where they lived, while maintaining the freedom to remain as creative, sustainable, and purpose driven as we could.
We were indeed so happy to be part of this collaboration which lasted from October of last year to February 2020. As part of this Research Project, we designed two pieces specifically for this partnership which were all constructed at the GB Fashion Exchange….the Men’s Pullover Sweater and Ladies Cocoon Coat.
As part of this project, we were introduced to PASSENfit a digital measurement technology company which has created a 3D digital fitting booth that provides customers with a personal digital measurement profile (an avatar) that is theirs to keep and that can be used when ordering fashion pieces online. PASSENFit worked with us during a Pop Up Shop which took place at the end of this project at George Brown College where we offered our “Made-to-Measure” model and in return each of our guests/customers were given the opportunity to experience the fitting booth measurement technology when placing an order with us.
So you ask....what are our long term future plans with the PASSENfit 3D fitting technology model?
Glad you asked! Please stay tuned because we are actively and presently working on a long-term partnership with PASSENfit to fully integrate their innovative technology platform with our super sustainable Brand.
So excited!!