Winners in the Encouragement for Action category Fashion Retail Talks Sustainability

Because their business idea includes the usage and reusage without compromising on identity, personal expression, and style.

The use of digital or physical meetings with the customer to encourage consumers to make more sustainable choices regarding how and what to consume at the time of purchase. Sales must involve caring for the customer, and all actors must be part of the journey towards a more sustainable consumer society.

GRANDPA (2023)

Grandpa was started in 2003 by friends Anders, Martin and Jonas with a basic idea of being an inclusive meeting place. A thought about being something more than just a store. An inspiring place with a nice atmosphere and personal service.

They offer a carefully selected and curated range of fashion and lifestyle, with timeless design, high quality and high demands on sustainability. What they sell must withstand wear and tear with both eye and hand. They appreciate the contrasts in life and see themselves as a link between fashion and the big city and outdoor life and nature.

The business must be run in a way that is economically, socially and environmentally sustainable from a long-term perspective. They want to use our influence to create a positive change towards a more sustainable society.

Grandfather is: Good people, good products, good effect.

Photo: Rasmus Lindahl

Houdini Sportswear (2022)

“The world is crying for less. Less stuff. Less pollution. Less recklessness. But in the pursuit of less, we need to do a lot more. We need to learn more. To love more. We need more ideas. More courage. More small changes that add up to big ones.  

No, we don’t need more clothes. We need clothes that can do more. We need more design that considers life in all its complexity. Business that generates more than just money. Technology that makes an actual difference.  

Humans are not built to go backwards, but we can go pretty fast when we know the right way forward. Forward to nature.”

– Houdini Sportswear

Dedicated (2021)

Dedicated is a Swedish clothing brand founded in Stockholm in 2006, offering timeless yet unique garments with a creative edge. To Dedicated, sustainability is not just a buzzword — it’s at the core of the business and has been a part of the company’s DNA since day one. Their products are made with respect for everyone across the value chain, from cotton farmers and factory workers to designers and store staff. Today, they are offering thoughtfully designed collections for women and men, consisting of items made solely in more sustainable fabrics such as organic cotton, recycled wool, recycled polyester, and sustainably sourced lyocell. And since creativity lies close to their hearts, they are always on the lookout for new creatives to join forces with. This has resulted in a range of capsule collections with everything from globally renowned artists, iconic photographers, and celebrated illustrators, as well as licensed collections with pop-cultural phenomenons like The Beatles and Twin Peaks.  

Arkivet Second Hand (2020)

Arkivet, a modern second-hand concept that offers curated fashion for the trendy and environmentally conscious woman, was founded by Caroline Hamrin in 2017 in Stockholm, Sweden. Today, the business has four physical stores and an online platform planned to launch in December 2022.   

Arkivet has a business model with much relevance for its time. The company has, during its first years, contributed to normalizing the general perception of pre-owned fashion and handles already impressive volumes where more than 200,000 fashion pieces find new owners each year. Arkivet aims to tackle the climate impact associated with the fashion industry by encouraging the consumption of pre-owned garments as opposed to new production. Furthermore, Arkivet helps to increase the number of uses per garment, thereby encouraging circular fashion.        

”For us at Arkivet, sustainable fashion is about going from wear-and-tear consumption to longer life cycles where the clothes can live on with new owners.” – Caroline Hamrin, founder of Arkivet.   

 

Nudie Jeans (2019)

Nudie Jeans is based on an idea. This idea is in turn composed of several concepts, beliefs, and a good portion of old-fashioned fighting spirit. The pursuit of doing the opposite was one of the main reasons the brand got started, although not an end in itself. It was rather the passion for dry denim that pointed the brand in that direction. The raw, untreated fabric had at the time been falling into oblivion, and it wasn’t sought after by the public. 

Nudie Jeans’ environmental philosophy was present even before the first collection was designed. Back then, organic cotton had been around for a while, but more or less as a fly-by. The demand for these fabrics was on the decrease. The supply followed. Yet another opportunity to do the opposite. Driven by conviction and determination, the process for an all-organic denim brand took off. The share of sustainable materials increased over the years, and since 2012 all Nudie Jeans denim is made with 100% organic cotton. 

Filippa K (2018)

Filippa K’s sustainability work includes both rental services and take-back of garments. The brand was an early adopter to offer rental clothes in-store – an alternative for the customer to keep their wardrobe updated by renting instead of buying. The brand has since continued to offer garments for rental through partners and not directly in their own stores, and the learnings from running rental have informed their continuation of rental through partners. Filippa K has also provided the customer with the opportunity to return their old garments, which are either washed and repaired to be sold again via their online preowned site or in limited Filippa K stores. The brand is also working with recycling partners and innovators to initiate recycling streams for those garments unable to be repaired. They have also received funding to pilot a digital platform to track the costs and time associated with repairing and reselling the garments they collect from consumers.