This week Luna and Sun, a new Brisbane fashion label joined ekko.world and they are set to launch their new website this Friday. As most ekko.world traders know, I am always looking for back stories and inspiration to share, because supporting and learning from each other is such an important part of our movement. When I asked her for her back story, I realised that the importance of stories like Teshani McManus from Luna and Sun is that hers isn't a new story; it is a familiar one. Every eco business that starts with the same focus of ethical materials, local support and fair trade, edges out un-eco products and adds another layer to the good fashion outfit.
Like many women I always loved fashion and I was most definitely a fast fashion addict when I was younger. After learning more about the impact the fashion industry had on people, the environment and animals I wanted to make a change. This wasn't only in my shopping habits but I wanted to help in some way to educate other women too. I think the big changing moment was when I watched the documentary 'The True Cost'. I was mortified to know that I had supported big labels that paid their workers only a few dollars a day and subjected them to horrific conditions. This is why I want to show women how important it is to know who is making your clothes. Also how investing in better quality, ethically made clothing is so much more important than buying the latest trend from a fast fashion store.
I think what makes Luna and Sun different is we make our clothes locally in Brisbane, Australia. I would love to grow my label so I can not only use my platform to sell eco-friendly, ethically made clothing but I want to be able to educate other women and hopefully more and more women will make the shift from fast fashion to ethical fashion. I would also love my little business to grow so I can offer mending services for my customers to extend the life of the clothes and once my garments are no longer able to be worn offer recycling options for my customers.
For our first collection the fabric we use is linen and we source this fabric from a local fabric supplier in Australia. We also use organic cotton labels, linen ribbon (used for hanging) and linen tote bags for packaging. Also our tags and thank you cards are made from recycled paper and we use Hero Packaging for shipping as it's compostable.
Our clothes are made locally in Brisbane by a manufacturer who is accredited with Ethical Clothing Australia.
I wanted to ensure that every item used for our clothing is sustainable and cruelty free. I was able to do this with the fabric, labels, ribbons and tags however for the zips and the small amount of elastic that was used I wasn't able to find biodegradable options. This is something I want to improve on in the next collection and look internationally to source any options that might be available. I think as my business grows we will continue to invest more in this area.
In creating my brand, one of my key focuses was on leaving a lighter footprint. One way in which that has been achieved is by minimising our fabric wastage. Alongside our amazing pattern-maker Renae, we focused on ensuring that our patterns were arranged in such a manner in the designing phase that they would best utilise the available fabric. Any excess fabric has been made into linen tote bags which we use for packaging. Another way in which we have left a lighter footprint is by using compostable packaging made by Hero Packaging. Although we are only just launching our first collection, I am already looking ahead at additional sustainable options for every item on our clothing (e.g.zips, elastic etc). I would love to grow our brand so I can invest more in this space and source new cutting-edge materials.