Positive effects from Covid-19 on our environment

The most obvious environmental benefit is that travel has diminished significantly across the globe. Some sources have reported that CO2 emissions dropped by 25 percent on average in urban centers around the world. In Venice, Italy, you could see fish and plants in the canal water for the first time in decades due to decreased boat traffic.

Changes in the fashion industry towards sustainability

Also, the fashion industry contributed its part to allow our planet a respite. In the year of nowhere to go physically, fashion companies introduced new categories and rethought production and raw materials. It was the year of resetting and questioning. According to the McKinsey & Business of Fashion’s “The State of Fashion 2020” report, this was the year that the industry ramped up its sustainable activities. That the fashion industry is one of the most polluting industries, second only to oil, has been well-documented. The report says: “Consumers have demanded a clean-up, and 2020 will see the industry accelerate its engagement.”

The change is happening in different ways: Some brands develop new materials and ensure that products can be repaired or recycled. Gucci and Louis Vuitton, for instance, use deadstock for their productions as they had to find alternative sourcing options.

Even some big brands started to go seasonless. In Luxury, Gucci was the first one to go seasonless and cut down its fashion shows from five to two. Globally, brands focused on two prominent seasons and let go of “resort” and “prefall”. Going “seasonless” means that designers focus more on timeless clothing rather than trendy fashion with a short lifetime. This way, personal style gains more attention, and fashion as a service becomes less. This again helps to reduce consumers’ urge to adapt their wardrobe to constantly changing fashion trends and thus reduce consumption.

Some other brands got forced or decided to slow down their activities by reorganizing their strategies and slimming down their mass-consumption or -production concepts. This among others led to another change: concepts with less overproduction, less waste, and more circularity again.

Forced slow-down could become a case study for a future-save fashion model

Covid-19 has brought a new concept to light. Slowing down fast fashion by reducing seasons and focusing on quality instead of quantity. Vivienne Westwood reduced the size of its ready-to-wear business by 37 percent, bags by 55 percent and shoes by 58 percent over the past few years. Their actions proved that reducing speed doesn’t necessarily mean facing a lack of profitability.

“We can sell less, but sell better, and still be profitable.”

Global brand director at Vivienne Westwood, Christopher Di Pietro

Now their concept is the role model for a changing environment. What has been claimed to only work with regulations like taxing those actors more who pollute more, got now a single option to survive the crisis. We hope this need in combination with the already made policies and CSR plans, might lead to a long-term more natural slow down of the industry. We support the optimism of US designer Mara Hoffman who affirms our thesis: “Discomfort can be the greatest catalyst. It’s a gift to us.”.

Though, in a crisis, like the one we are facing, the very first priority is cutting costs. If priorities get shifted away from sustainability efforts, there will probably be no way around incentivizing companies to “build back better” through tax regulations.

Morten Lehmann, chief sustainability officer of the Global Fashion Agenda, is still concerned. He believes that the fashion industry just doesn’t get the urge for change.

“It’s contentious, but we need to explore how we can have a prosperous industry with less volume. The pandemic has only shown companies they have to [think about this] in order to become resilient. They need to prepare for when the climate crisis really kicks in and there’s resource scarcity. We know there aren’t enough resources in the world to continue as we are.”

Morton Lehmann

Massive overproduction triggers new business models

When sales are going down because consumer spending goes down as retail stores remain close, overproduction reaches a new level. Huge warehouse clearings with elusive discounts, like on Black Friday, led to impulse buys online. A rise in burned excess inventory fostered an already existing threat to our atmosphere and climate. But now, massive excess inventory brought not only the environmental but also the financial impact of it back to the center of attention – luckily. Revisiting business models in order to minimize excess inventory and to efficiently dispose it, became crucial. This need to simply survive the economic downturn will drive positive change in the long-term.

It is encouraging to see, that there are new business models evolving that were built to fight these issues. Queen of Raw is an online marketplace for deadstock resulting from overproduction. Stephanie Benedetto, one of the two founders of Queen of Raw, told us that they got a massive push from the crisis since a whole industry had to start looking for raw materials and supplies online. Since their launch in 2018, their platform enabled fashion companies to save 500 million tons of deadstock from being burned.

Spotlight on the brand-supplier-relationships forces transparency

Similarly, more public review on the relationship between brands and suppliers can push brands to act more responsibly. Reports of retailers canceling orders and delaying payments to suppliers in the wake of Covid-19 has brought into spotlight, how brands manage their relationships with supply chain partners. As a result many companies, from H&M to Primark, got pushed to announce that they are going to “honor their commitments“. However, details got swept behind the curtain so that we can just hope that the ones that already suffer from normal conditions don’t get treated even less fair due to savage cost-cutting initiatives.

Covid-19 brought minimalistic habits

Spending much more time at home than usual, consumers got confronted with their “stuff” more than ever. Possession and consumption got questioned, which resulted, among others, in huge wardrobe clearings. Globally, second-hand, subscription, and rental were the three fastest-growing retail categories, according to McKinsey, and thus also clothing disposal got in the center of attention. Unfortunately, the majority of sorted out clothes still lands in the regular household trash. This is mainly because there is still a huge lack of awareness for the ecological impact of textiles and it’s proper disposal. This is a tragedy. In fact, the burning process does not only release a lot of carbon and other greenhouse gases in the air but burning polyamide fabrics also releases plastic microfibres and other toxins that might be harmful to us and our wildlife.

Nevertheless, the textile collection and sorting companies had a big year as well. They were widely overwhelmed with the run on containers and Co. and kindly asked consumers on their websites to wait a bit before giving away their clothes as they couldn’t handle the masses of used clothes. For some people, the lockdown and home office have brought a new realization: You can easily live with much less and there is no vital need for shopping new clothes 60 times per year (indeed, this is the average fashion consumption per inhabitant in Europe). Let’s hope that the wardrobes didn’t get cleared to fill them with new stuff once we go back to offices and events. Let’s hope that people got more conscious of what’s essential.

An enduring fashion legacy from 2020: The face mask

Nobody in 2019 would have ever guessed that the No. 1 fashion item of 2020 would be a face mask. Some fashion companies with own production facilities were able to quickly change their productions from sportswear or shirts to face masks and managed to succeed from the sprung-out-from-nothing market. During the year they turned out to be a piece of solidarity. Not only because of the obvious reasons but also because they were an instrument for supporting consumers’ favorite brands and companies.

Sources:

https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/McKinsey/Industries/Retail/Our%20Insights/The%20state%20of%20fashion%202020%20Navigating%20uncertainty/The-State-of-Fashion-2020-final.ashx

https://www.voguebusiness.com/sustainability/fashions-post-growth-future-covid-19

https://www.voguebusiness.com/sustainability/fashion-revolution-transparency-index-2020-covid-19

https://www.corporateleadersgroup.com/reports-evidence-and-insights/news-items/leading-businesses-urge-uk-government-to-deliver-resilient-recovery-plan

https://www.bbcearth.com/blog/?article=will-fashion-firms-stop-burning-clothes

The post Is Covid-19 a chance for sustainable fashion? appeared first on WONDA swim.

Christmas is just around the corner but while it’s the most wonderful time of the year, it’s not the most environmentally-friendly. The festive season is traditionally the period of peak consumption when we go all out on gifts and food to impress our guests. So the madness begins: Shopping, shopping, shopping. Consumption is rising to a whole new level within this time. What people tend to forget is what negative impact it has on our environment. So why not make this year our most eco-friendly, sustainable Christmas yet.

How to celebrate more consciously?

Small changes already make a huge difference in reducing our environmental footprint during the festive break. With this in mind, here are 5 ways for a more sustainable Christmas season:

Gift smartly

Finding the perfect Christmas present is never easy: Something the person actually needs, really likes so that it’ll be used for a long period of time. Especially gifting clothes can be very difficult because taste differs and we can never be sure about the exact fit. So this year why not give something that your friend likes and that actually fits? One of our very personalised WONDA vouchers. We know that maybe vouchers can sometimes come across as not personal enough: Not with us! You can choose the individual voucher value and make the voucher card super personal with sending us a photo that we will integrate into the card. We also offer a free 15-minute, personal, zoom consultation session for your friend. In this way, we will make sure that she’ll find her perfect fit and a piece that she actually loves. A Christmas present that couldn’t be more thought-out and sustainable.

WONDA gift voucher [Digital]

Choose the value that you want to offer.

20,00€ – 100,00€ inc. VAT

Shop now

Rent a Christmas tree

Even though on average seven million real trees are being dumped in January, they are still far more sustainable than artificial alternatives. So how about the most sustainable option: Renting a real tree. After the festive season it gets picked up at your place and will be replanted. Win, win.

Choose the right wrapping paper

Time to get creative. Either re-use last years wrapping paper, or if you buy a new one, opt for recycled wrapping paper, brown paper or tissue. Maybe your pillowcase does its job here as well.

Send eco-friendly Christmas cards

Make sure to use certified or recycled cards. Also, recycle or compost the cards you receive in January or why not turn them into decorations for next year.

Reduce your (food) waste

Try to get creative with your leftovers. There are enough apps and blogs that help you create something amazing from your leftovers. There are also food waste apps that you can use. They connect you to people in need in your local area. You simply list what’s available, snap a photo and share your location with other app users. When going food shopping (and shopping in general) try to bring your own shopping bags, avoid plastic bags and plastic-wrapped products. Small steps already make a great impact if we all do them.

Happy holiday season!

The post It’s time to say ‘Merry Christmas’ appeared first on WONDA swim.

Why are we celebrating such a sad occasion like a farewell? Isn’t it hard enough to leave your comfort zone, your friends, and the place you know behind? Why confronting yourself with that struggle?

You usually leave your comfort zone because you want to start a new adventure. A new job. A new city. Maybe even a new country. A new relationship. A fresh start. Because for most people change is a challenge, who could support and encourage you better than your closest friends?

A farewell is a great opportunity as well to look back and be thankful for the time and the people you leave behind. Those people will be the ones who know you the best and they are the ones who can build you up and make you face the challenge with arm wide open and with confidence.

And in fact, nowadays a distance is not really a reason anymore to not stay in touch and to keep each other updated. Therefore, you can easily put the new adventure in the centre of attention and celebrate the experiences that you are going to make. Sharing your excitement. I couldn’t imagine a better reason to celebrate actually.

How to find the right gift?

2 options: You either get something that remembers your friend about you and the time that you spent together and or you give something that reminds her of you. Something that she will find useful for her upcoming journey and that accompanies her in her day to day life. Something that makes her feel strong and confident. For the first option, we can’t really help you. Collect some pictures, videos or things that connect you. But for the second option, we have got an idea for you!

A gift that sticks and lasts: Our WONDA voucher

Our high-quality swim and sportswear products will be definitely something that accompanies your friend for several years as they are made to last! All our products are designed with body diversity in mind and are made to feel confident and powerful! Gift vouchers are a safe choice when it comes to gifting. Therefore, with one of our WONDA gift voucher, you can make sure that she will find something that she will love – not only this season but for ages! If she appreciates timeless high-quality designs from a sustainable brand built on values instead of profit, there is nothing that can go wrong with this choice.  

We know that vouchers may come across as not personal enough: Not at WONDA though! You can choose different voucher values and make the voucher card super personal. Just send us a picture of you and your friend, add a personal note and we will do the magic. We also offer a free 15-minute, personal, zoom consultation session for your friend. In this way, we will make sure that she finds her perfect fit and favourite piece. Every time she wears this timeless piece, she will be reminded of you.

WONDA gift voucher [Digital]

Choose the value that you want to offer.

20,00€ – 100,00€ inc. VAT

Shop now

Collect memories

Yes, it is true that recalling all the great memories that you had together, won’t make it easier to say goodbye. But: it is not to be foreseen whether everything will run super smoothly in the new future or if it takes a bit to get used to the new environment. In situations which let you feel lonely or a bit depressed, it is great to remember that you have a bunch of people behind you that believe in you no matter what. During the farewell party (this also works virtually as we can’t really make parties nowadays), collect little notes from everyone in a jar with the best memories they had with the person who leaves. In the future, whenever there is a little sign of loneliness coming up, you can then take a “bite” from the memory jar and you’ll know that you are not alone.

The post It’s time to say ‘goodbye’ appeared first on WONDA swim.

When was the last time that you showed someone your gratitude?

Not only that you make that person smile, there is so much in for yourself as well!

It strengthens your relationship towards the other person because it expresses your respect for his or her actions. This then builds confidence and prosperity – 2 of the basic need of a person that will not only make their life better but also will come back to you especially when this person is closely connected to you.

On top of that, showing gratitude helps your own psychological well-being as it makes you consciously feel thankful. Why is this so important? Thankfulness is one of the key factors of luck, happiness, and fulfilment. Therefore making yourself conscious about what you are thankful for and expressing it by making a thank you gift or by writing a thank you note will eventually make you feel happier and more satisfied in life!

How to find the right gift?

Giving is easy when you know exactly what the other person likes or needs. Being attentive to little hints is crucial to succeed smash hit gifting. But let’s be honest: We know that is really tough to hit the nail on the head from the experience we have from receiving gifts.

The right gift though expresses empathy and can strengthen your relationship with the other person even more and also helps not to boost overconsumption. So how can we make sure to find a thank you gift that is useful and has a personal touch?

A gift that sticks and lasts: Our WONDA voucher

Give options! Gift vouchers are a safe choice when it comes to gifting. Identify what brands she may like. Wouldn’t it be great if she could then choose something that lasts for years and will always remind her about your special unexpected gesture? You should consider gifting our WONDA vouchers of different values. Timeless high-quality swim & sportswear from a sustainable brand build on values instead of profit will definitely make her happy for several years. Is that concept s something that she would identify with? As we based our product development on loads of research you better trust us with what women really need.

We know that vouchers may come across as not personal enough: Not at WONDA though! You can choose different voucher values and make the voucher card super personal. Just send us a picture of you and your friend, add a personal note and we will do the magic. We also offer a free 15-minute, personal, zoom consultation session for your friend. In this way, we will make sure that she finds her perfect fit and favourite piece. Every time she wears this timeless piece, she will be reminded of you and your gratitude.

WONDA gift voucher [Digital]

Choose the value that you want to offer.

20,00€ – 100,00€ inc. VAT

Shop now

Food is always a good idea

Food is a great idea because everyone loves it and it is definitely no waste as it gets consumed. Your friend is a Pizza lover, has a sweet tooth or loves to enjoy a well-mixed drink? What about a surprise delivery that speaks for itself? Pizza services nowadays deliver personalized messages with their food. Let it drop at your friend’s house or office right before lunch or dinner. Leave a thank you chocolate like this eco-friendly version from nu-pro on your colleague’s desk or a cupcake with a thank you topping.

Make it easy

We know, pictures say more than a 1000 words and so do actions, but sometimes words can be powerful too. Let your friend, colleague,… know why you appreciate her. Write a letter, hide notes with different statements all over her belongings, or make it public on social media, so that others can profit from your positive vibes and might get infected by your enthusiasm.

Happy gifting!

The post It’s time to say ‘Thank you’ appeared first on WONDA swim.

How to find the right gift?

And there is usually no better way to do so than with a great birthday present. However, when it comes to finding the perfect gift, I think we can all agree that at times it can be a bit of a struggle. To find that perfect birthday present. To find something your friends actually needs. Something she really likes. So that she’ll use it a lot and for a long time. Pretty much finding something that is really worth investing your money in.

The risks of gifting clothes (for our planet)

Especially when it comes to clothes, taste differs and we never know what exact size will eventually fit. And even if you go all in and purchase a piece for your friend, it is often the case that they are too shy to tell you they might not like it or that it doesn’t fit. And we definitely don’t want this to happen, the piece will end up in your friends closet and will never be worn. Not nice for you, your friend nor our beloved environment. Over 40% of people own clothes that are not worn because they’ve gotten it as a gift and they either don’t really like it or it doesn’t fit. This is definitely something that should be avoided.

A gift that fits and lasts: Our WONDA voucher

So why not give something that your friend actually likes and that really fits? Because she can choose it herself. Why not give something that lasts? Because it gives her access to high quality timeless designs that she can use for several seasons and years. One of our WONDA vouchers. We know that maybe vouchers can sometimes come across as not personal enough: Not with us! You can choose the individual voucher value and make the voucher card super personal with sending us a photo that we will integrate into the card. We will also offer a free 15-minute, personal, zoom consultation session for your friend. This way we make sure that she’ll find her perfect fit and a piece that she will love for ages. A birthday present that couldn’t be more thought-out and sustainable.

WONDA birthday voucher [Digital]

Choose the value that you want to offer.

Happy celebrations!

20,00€ – 100,00€ inc. VAT

Shop now

Eco-friendly surprise party alternatives

And if your friend is still unsure what to do for her birthday, here are 3 ideas for some fun activities that at the same time do good for our beloved environment:

Clothes swap. We all have clothes that have been sitting in our closet for a while now because we don’t like to wear them anymore. This doesn’t mean that your friends don’t. Invite your girlfriends over and ask each to bring 10 items from their closet. Happy swapping!

Host a (dinner) party. For this, you only need to adjust your mindset for a couple of things in order to least impact our environment. Use only reusable and no disposable decoration, cups, cutlery etc. Ditch Balloons. Serve healthier treats. Maybe even opt for a specific theme where you ask each one to read himself into a little so that you can have some interesting, rich conversations around it.

Clean Up. If the weather plays along why not spend your birthday outside for a nice walk at one of your favourite spots? It doesn’t matter whether its the beach, forest or just somewhere in the city center – anywhere you like. Combine it with a super fun clean up. Just bring a bag and a glove for each of your friends and you can all together pick up a piece of trash here and there on your walk. An easy, active and cheap activity. So much fun, believe us!

The post It’s time to say ‘happy birthday’ appeared first on WONDA swim.

The true cost of Christmas consumption

The holiday season drives consumption to a ridiculous whole new level where people often end up buying things the recipients might not even like or use. Everything – even the smallest things – get wrapped up in wrapping paper creating huge amounts of unnecessary waste.

Companies and brands use this time of the year and the consumer behaviour to maximize their profits by offering discounts, selling their products for the cheapest prices. With actions like this people forget what the true cost behind these products is. They simply get dragged into this mass consumption. The overload of bullshitting marketing and promotional campaigns simply manipulates people’s minds and lets them forget what negative causes actually come along with the Christmas season.

No hunt for discounts with WONDA. Sorry, not sorry!

At WONDA we support a conscious Christmas, we don’t want to support this ridiculous mass consumption of products which the recipients might not even love and we don’t do discounts just to drive our sales. This is why we have thought about a very special Christmas Campaign for you guys.

We have an alternative with purpose for you instead

We have designed some super cool and sparkly Christmas Gift Boxes. With our gift boxes nothing can go wrong, as every single one of them has the purpose of finding the perfect fit and makes your beloved ones feel just as beautiful as they are to us!

With our gift boxes, you are paying the price we need to set in order to make up for fair production, using sustainable materials & sustainable packaging and ethical working conditions. However, since its Christmas, we do want to give something to our amazing customers and supporters. That’s why we tuned our gift boxes with:

• A 15-minutes fit consultation session with our fit experts so that we can make sure that the recipient will find the bikini set that fits her individual body best;
• A super cool eco-glitter bottle from The Sparkle Effect that can also be worn as a necklace and brings sparkly holiday celebrations;
• A customizable triangle gift box with a bunch of WONDAful compliments.

So if you are still looking for the perfect Christmas present: With our gift boxes, we will make sure that your beloved ones will not only love their present but also that it will fit and can be worn and used for a very long time.

Have a WONDAful sparkly Christmas and happy conscious holidays!

The post Conscious Christmas at WONDA appeared first on WONDA swim.

We believe that being sustainable doesn’t mean that we have to compromise on looking just amazing and showing our personal style. Buying sustainable clothes is already a good step in the right direction. But to become a real FAIRshionista, there is so much more fun things to do that help you to find and support your style. And the good news is: There are ways that don’t have a negative impact on the environment, the life of the people working in the fashion industry and our future generations.

To support you being a FAIRshionista à la Emma Watson, we created this “Fabulous for Future” blog series.

WONDA swim

Fabulous for future movement

Since Greta Thunberg’s introduction of the Fridays for Future, there have been a bunch of movements going on against environmental harmful institutions, products, processes and habits. They are promoting consciousness, transparency and action in the name of our environment.

Scientists for future, tech for future, and many more. The parties involved started these movements because they have the skills to make an impact, but also because their industry is responsible for climate change and other environmental threats. The fashion industry is one of the biggest industry in this world. Every 6th employee is working in the textile industry worldwide. Therefore, every one of us is somehow connected with that industry – most likely as a consumer. But unfortunately: the fashion industry is also one of the biggest polluters of our environment:

• The production of a single Jeans consumes in average 7000 litres water 
• The fashion industry consumes 30% of all chemicals used worldwide (20.000 different chemicals btw)
• With every washing cycle in your washing machine, 700.000 microfibres get washed out of the fabric and most of them cannot be filtered out by the machine and end up in our wastewater
• In average our clothes are worn 4 times before they get sorted out and either end in landfills and get burnt or hopefully go to second-hand (Statistics gathered by FEMNET).

The good news is: Since we FAIRshionistas have this connection to the industry, we have the possibility to really make a change – and also the responsibility if we’re honest about it. Therefore we want to start a new movement of being, looking, feeling, living FABULOUS FOR FUTURE! Are you up for that challenge? Doesn’t sound too hard, right?

Kickstart your FAIRshionista career

You ask yourself how you can prepare for that challenge of becoming a FAIRshionista?! If you really want to understand what threats the fashion industry bears, we would recommend you to watch the Netflix documentation “The True Cost”. Although we already had an idea about the impact of the industry, seeing real pictures and hearing real stories really gave us another push to take action. Take that push, if you want!

If you are ready to become a FAIRshionista, read here our first blog article from our FABULOUS FOR FUTURE series. 

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