SIGNED, a US-based start-up of sustainable clothing, is all set to commence ‘ethical’ sourcing of its clothes from Bangladesh and the US.
The brand is working closely with the environment specialist Frédéric Amiand to develop the sustainable apparel line.
The first offering will be the Men’s fully-lined hybrid shorts.
The outer shell of the apparels will comprise of organic cotton, REPREVE (recycled fibres), and Elastane to provide a 4-way stretch.
The apparel brand, owned by The Hunt 5 Group, will focus on eliminating child labour in the supply chain. The label works on a slogan, ‘Lead with your heart’.
JD. Kahle, Co-Partner of the Group told Apparel Resources, “In June 2015, I left my brand marketing consulting position to volunteer in Syria, Greece, and the Balkans as the Syria Civil War refugee crisis exploded. During my field breaks over the next two years, I travelled to Turkey and Bangladesh where I witnessed child labour and human rights abuses in the garment supply chains.”
SIGNED’s main objectives also include a fair pay to the craftspeople; workplace safety; and producing lasting fashion, not fast fashion, made with recycled yarns and sustainable fabrics.
The brand will also take a key initiative to set up Day Care Centres in Bangladesh. The centres will allow garment workers to leave their kids there.
The initiative will put breaks on engaging workers’ kids in any of the garment production activities at the workplace.
The brand has decided to work with mills that are consistently audited. Besides, the bulk fabric orders will be tracked via GPS to prevent the transfer of jobs to an ‘unapproved’ mill.
Large companies are often not aware of the labour conditions in their global supply chains, said Kahle.
SIGNED, with fewer tiers in its supply chain, aims to keep a check on its orders and help prevent children from spending their childhood picking thorny cotton, bending over a loom, or acid washing denim.
