‘King Louie?’ Yes I know that one from those cute colourful prints!’ When we ask followers whether they have already discovered the King Louie clothing brand, this is the answer we always get. And we get it, because their signature ‘vintage look’ is also unique. But that King Louie is also a sustainable fashion brand, few people know. Time to change this!
My introduction to King Louie
In collaboration with King Louie
There is a lot wrong in the garment industry. Exploitation, child labour, environmental pollution and what about all the water, poison and land needed to make all those ‘beautiful’ fabrics. And on top of that, we buy massively too many clothes of mediocre and poor quality, and so that garment waste mountain is only getting bigger. If a clothing brand wants to ‘do it differently’, they have to think about a lot of things because the problems in this industry are so big and wide-ranging. How is King Louie tackling this?
I started my search in King Louie's webshop because I was looking for a good dress that I can wear (almost) all year round. My eye immediately fell on a colourful dress from their ‘renewed collection’ which immediately ticked off a number of boxes: made from residues (awesome!) as well as from the sustainable material Ecovero. That looks good and promising! But of course, just choosing materials is not enough when making an informed sustainable decision. What else are they doing on the sustainable front at King Louie?
Dress made from the sustainable material ecovero. But what is this fabric?
What is ECOVERO?
If you start looking into sustainable fashion, you are guaranteed to come across the sustainable material tencel. Ecovero is similar. It's from the same manufacturer, but even more sustainable. I really like both materials! It's comfortable, it doesn't crease, it dries quickly and you never have to iron it! Ecovero is made, from sustainable wood (pulp) from controlled FSC and PEFC certified forests in Europe. In most cases, these are eucalyptus trees. These trees are cultivated in a sustainable and controlled manner, require less water compared to organic cotton and, compared to ‘regular’ cotton, also much less pesticides. Thereby, the chemicals used to soften the wood pulp are filtered from the water, and collected, to be reused. Lenzing is the Austrian company behind these fine fabrics.
Want to know all the ins & outs about the eco-friendly production process? Then check out this article. Tencel is certified with a EU Ecolabel.
What is King Louie doing sustainably?
From production to transportation and from design to packaging, at King Louie they try to do better in all areas, I learn. What have I come across about this brand?
Opting for sustainable, certified materials that are less harmful to the environment
It is no coincidence that my intended dress is made of a sustainable material: 70% of King Louie's garments are made from sustainable and certified materials. And the intention is for this percentage to creep ever closer to 100 in the coming years. The nice thing about certified materials is that you know that independent organisations behind the labels have examined the fabrics and rated them as eco-friendly(er), otherwise the fabric may not carry the label. You can buy in the webshop quickly see what a garment is made of and which hallmark the fabric has. They use handy icons for this. So I come across clothes with the GOTS label (certified organic textile), OCS (organic textile), Ecovero, Better Cotton and also from the Leather Working Group (the leather used by King Louie is ‘Gold Rated’, which is the highest achievable).
Giving clarity on where your clothes come from
This unfairness in the garment industry remains persistent. For example, the VPRO documentary ‘The battle of the clothes world’ see clothing orders from big clothing brands being secretly resold to cheap factories inland where children work in unsafe factories, all to make it cheaper. To stop this, transparency is needed in the chain. As a fashion brand and as a consumer, you need to be able to see by whom, where and how your clothes are made. Only then can practices like this stop. King Louie works with regular suppliers in Turkey and China and they also publish about this online, so you can totally check. They also started a new collaboration in 2022 with Retraced. This is a consumer tool that provides easy access to honest information. King Louie: ‘With this, we want to promote a transparent chain that encourages better working conditions and sustainable production processes.’
Choosing modes of transport that are the least bad
Transporting clothes also has an impact. King Louie has a ‘no-airfreight-policy’. This means that in 99% of cases, clothes are transported by boat, train or truck, and even within the Netherlands - when shipping - conscious choices have been made about which parcel services they work with. Having fewer items flown in and opting for more sustainable modes of transport, such as trains, are important to minimise CO2 emissions. Want to know more about King Louie's transport and more sustainable packaging choices? Then check out this page with detailed explanations on transport and packaging.
More good initiatives from King Louie
- King Louie has been affiliated with Fair Wear Foundation. This is an independent non-profit organisation dedicated to improving working conditions in the garment industry. Among other things, they work against child labour, for living wages and a safe and healthy working environment.
- King Louie also has the Amsterdam-based Green Deal Circular Textiles signed, a fashion alliance to make fully circular clothing.
- Areas for improvement from the annual audit are taken seriously and addressed. 90%t of cooperating factories are continuously audited.
- King Louie has fun ‘Relove’ initiatives to help customers have a more sustainable wardrobe and so not everything is focused on selling. They organise swap meets, give workshops and tips on how to combine more (with less clothes), how to repair, wash and recycle.
King Louie shows it can be done: more sustainable
My search started with a timeless dress made of a beautiful sustainable material and I came to the conclusion that Amsterdam-based fashion brand King Louie thinks and acts on all fronts to show that affordable clothes can also be made in a more honest and environmentally friendly way. So if you will soon be looking for a garment that can be worn for years and can be combined well and versatile thanks to the colourful prints, then King Louie is the place to be. Curious about the collection?
More sustainable tips from thegreenlist.nl
- Also see: sustainable materials, which fabrics are eco-friendly and fine?
- Also see: Laura's capsule wardrobe: less clothes, more yourself.
- Also see: Styling tips without spending a penny.
- Also see: A Perfect Jane: vegan women's shoes made of apple leather and sustainable.
Photo credits: thegreenlist.nl.
