ABOUT
Reformation is a sustainable fashion label set out to produce high-quality products with a vintage trendy flair. Reformation’s design mission is to make effortless silhouettes that celebrate the feminine figure. They take inspiration from vintage garments for their designs, as they initially started out to use deadstock vintage fabrics and even some vintage clothing. Now, they source all kinds of beautiful and sustainable fabrics to bring those designs to life quickly. They currently have brick-and-mortar stores in selected cities in the USA, Canada & UK, and ship worldwide.
IMPACTPeople
They are committed to making clothes with a reduced environmental impact in places that treat workers well. They work with 20 finished goods factories in Los Angeles, and 11 subcontractor facilities (e.g. printers and embroiderers). Internationally, they have 14 suppliers across 19 factories in China, Mexico, Turkey, Morocco, Portugal, and India*. 42% of their vendor facilities meet their standard (green), another 42% have some issues (orange), and the rest 16% still have safety, health or labour-related violations. They are also transparent about their workers and what conditions they work under in their LA factory. Furthermore, they incorporate materials like LED fixtures, rammed earth and recycled fabric insulation in their stores and facilities. Product
They source locally when possible, and screen all of their suppliers. They have their own system of classifying the fibres they use on their own scale from A (best) to E (worst). Their classification takes into consideration the water input, energy input, land use, eco-toxicity, greenhouse gas emissions, human toxicity, availability and price. They also look at garment care implications, like microfiber shedding. Their goal is to make 75% of our products with A & B fibres. They consider the environmental impact of their fibres based on how the garment is washed and potentially recycled. They are very transparent on what fabrics they use, and where it comes from.
Packaging
In stores, they use recycled paper hangers instead of the conventional plastic ones and lessen the demand for new materials and to keep junk from landfills. They use reusable tote bags in-store. In terms of plastic packaging for shipping, they use various types from compostable to recycled. Some are 100% compostable bags made of bio-based materials. However, they’ve switched from the compostable ones to 100% recycled LDPE bags with a biodegradable polymer (BDP) that allows it to break down in landfills as composting is not as easy for many countries.
Planet
They have been 100% carbon-neutral since 2015, but now they also work with Climate Neutral, a non-profit organization, to make it official. Manufacturing sustainably isn’t enough to improve their impact on the planet, so they also invest in programs that replace the resources they’ve spent, which is where offsets come in. They source electricity offsets from 100% wind power suppliers and use LED lighting and Energy Star-rated appliances in their offices. Reformation recycles, compost organic wastes, and recycle or donate their textile scraps whenever possible. With their ultimate goal of zero waste, they are trying to recycle more than 85% of their garbage this year.
Principles
Reformation places sustainability at the core of their business. They invest in green building infrastructure to minimize their waste, water, and energy footprints. The brand also makes it a point to create quarterly sustainability reports to track their progress. They calculate all the costs involved in producing their garments, including the environmental and labour costs. They are able to do this by following the lifecycle of each product – from growing textile fibres and making fabric, dyeing, moving materials, manufacturing, packaging, shipping, garment care, and even recycling clothes.
