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As Christmas is starting to look around the corner, how many of us don’t start to think of our nearest and dearest? What should we get them for Christmas, what would they appreciate, and what can we do that reminds them of us, sounds familiar? 

The season is all about care and giving, however, the twist for many is the question of; what can I get my people, that will be appreciated by them but at the same time will support my own values of sustainable thinking, and could introduce them to the world of sustainability as well?

I always liked to get my nearest something fashion related, like a jumper or a shirt. But coming from the fashion industry myself, knowing the downsides of it, I strive to always turn my eye to brands that work to improve the industry. This hasn’t always been easy however, it’s becoming more accessible to us all nowadays. In the end, don’t we all love a new addition to our wardrobes occasionally, and what better time isn’t there than Christmas to give, and get one?

So, where do we find these sustainable brands then? In this post, I introduce you to Unravelau, one of my latest fashion obsessions due to the brand itself, and the lovely Laura, the founder of the brand. By the end of the post, you will know what the brand is about, how it’s sustainable, and where it is available. 

WHAT, WHY, AND WHERE THE ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS ANSWERED

Previously this year I had the opportunity to meet the founder of Unravelau, Laura Meijering. She truly has something grand going on and whilst I know it is always easier to form an understanding of something and someone in person, I will do my best to resemble the wonderful feeling she left me with regarding the fashion she makes. Then you can have the same experience as I did when getting to know the brand. 

When familiarising yourself with a new brand, always start with the what, why and where questions.

These questions regard what material, why they do what they do, and lastly where do they do it? With these questions, you proceed a long way in getting to the bottom of a brands mission and vision. The reason you would want to know this is because it guides you towards a better understanding of what sustainable act you do, as well as how your consumption matters to the environment. 

WHAT

Challenging the founder, Laura with the questions, resulted in astonishment from the answers, and here’s why. There are two main factors that the design of Unravelau aims to fulfil with each piece, these are: 

• having a low ecological footprint avoiding harming the environment 
• the used material should be recyclable and repurposed at a later stage

Unravelau strives to source their material from as sustainable origins as possible. The main materials used are Ahimsa Silk, Tencel, Hemp, and Linen. The materials are mainly sourced from Europe. This means that the carbon footprint has also been minimized in the production of the clothes. Out of all material silk is the one that is not sourced in Europe, however, the silk used by Unravelau is sourced by local farmers that receive fair wages that enable the workers’ families to be educated. 

WHY 

To answer my ‘why’, Laura scooped me on a fascinating story of how the clothing of Unravelau communicates the harshness in the fashion industry. When we as consumers don’t change the way, we consume, the resources of the world will run our rather sooner than later. Therefore, does Unravelau aim to set the example for us on how to rethink the concept of fashion consumption, and yet not take away our desire to be elegant. 

“If you want to make a change, start with one thing at a time and try to excel at it. Next, try to make an even bigger step.”

The quote is the key to a better fashion story tomorrow. Being more conscious about quality than quantity takes us a long way, the next step is to consider where we consume from. What do the brands we support do to make the fashion industry a batter place for the environment, the workers and frankly us as consumer? The message behind the ‘why’ is to understand the power we have as consumers to change the industry, through our consumption habits, to become less demanding on environmental factors, and support human rights. 

WHERE

At this point, I was already amazed. The warmth inside of me had grown from hearing there are brands out there with strong messages that want to support us towards a more sustainable consumption pattern rather than push us to consume more. This leads us to the last question, where do they produce? If this doesn’t hug your hearts a tad extra when you read it, I don’t know what will. 

Unravelau has an atelier in the north of The Netherlands in the city of Utrecht. They found a space that had been used as a school back in the days but now has been transformed into a fashion atelier where all the collections of Unravelau are produced. Not only did they repurpose an old building, but they also focused the interior to be mainly second hand.

THE STORY TO SOMETHING MATERIAL WILL MAKE CREATE THE EXPERIENCE YOU DESIRED

Laura is just that kind of a person that you can talk to forever. As we chatted on, she told me about the latest designs and the collection story. The latest collection ‘Plato’s Mind’ changed my way of deciding what to wear daily. Getting dressed in the morning isn’t enough anymore, I now grasped the idea of sending a message through your clothing to society. Here’s how it’s done. 

The story about ‘Plato’s Mind’ collection originates in Plato’s theory where two worlds, the ideal world and the reality collides. The ideal world is our desire and perfect scenario. The reality, however, comes between and lays a shadow upon us as perfection only exists in our minds. 

The way the collection communicates this theory is that we, as consumers, often seek glamour, creativity and social status for our fashion choices. Our desire and what we seek symbolises the ideal world. The reality, however, is that today’s fashion world, is filled with quantity over quality, and it wears out the natural resources of the environment as we speak. As we desire to stay in our comfort zone the ideal world when consuming fashion, a shadow is laid upon us, and we tend to turn a blind eye on the problems, the reality, that come with our fashion consumption. If you now seek to do better, a choice to consume more consciously can be made, and that is where Unravelau comes in. 

With this thought in mind, I hope to leave you with the same warm feeling of love and care that I had when I first met Laura. As promised, you can also get a first-hand look at the latest collection and seek out your favourites from it.

 To come back to where we started from, Christmas presents and the thought behind them, a story told with a present will increase the value of the present itself so for the giver as for the receiver. During these busy times of Christmas, it’s not always easy to come up with the story and idea behind a gift but this is one and you can keep it as an option you can consider. In the end, the clothing by Unravelau is a stylish and sustainable fashion item, with a meaningful story and an origin of love and care so for the environment, as for the workers, but also for you.