Skip to main content
Seljak Sisters prove it's possible to build a circular business that also gives back

Seljak Sisters prove it's possible to build a circular business that also gives back

Samantha & Karina Seljak manufacture beautiful blankets - that are regenerative by design & give warmth beyond their customers

Seljak Brand have built their business by regenerating waste products into something beautiful that is needed by everyone - blankets. Seljak make blankets out of mostly recycled wools, collect their own blankets back free of charge when you are done with them and turn them into new blankets. For every 10 blankets they sell, one is given, free of charge to Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC) in Victoria.  

From when Seljak Brand launched in March 2016, they began working towards a circular economy business model. With the launch of a new blanket range, Dune, they have taken that dream global. We sat down with the sisters and asked them to share how they have successfully built a business that is both circular and gives back.

What are blankets made of?

Seljak blankets are made from a minimum of 70% recycled merino or lambswool and a 30% blend of other fibres (recycled mohair, cotton and alpaca) and a bit of poly for strength. Seljak uses wool because it is a natural fibre that is incredibly hard to replicate. It’s also a renewable resource, it is odour and stain resistant, antibacterial, lightweight, breathable, insulating and doesn't break down into plastic micro fibres.

Seljak Dune is made of textile waste gathered from other mills around Europe and woven in Lithuania.  

Where do you manufacture?

Our respect for Australian wool first led us to the oldest weaving mill in Tasmania, which retains all of its production off-cuts for future use. Using these offcuts to make blankets, we incorporated a closed loop system that uses the blankets for re-manufacture at the end of their life. And that's how Seljak Brand was born.

The mill we're working with in Tasmania does an incredible job at creating our waste-to-resource yarn and weaving on dobby looms (cheques & stripes). When it comes to abstract or curved patterns however, you need a jacquard loom and there are none in Australia.  That's how we ended up with a second mill in Lithuania.

Samantha was based in Scandinavia for the last few years, so we naturally looked across the Baltics to Lithuania, a place known for its rich textiles history. We found a 92 year old mill with Italian machinery that produces very high quality recycled textiles. After visiting the mill, we commissioned a 3rd party textiles sustainability specialist to conduct an independent audit of the facility to ensure environmental protection measures and workers rights were both up to the high standards we expect in Australia. 

We are now working with them and they collect textiles waste from 16 mills around Europe and transform the recycled yarn into beautiful designs, including our Dune Blanket. The scale of European manufacturing allows us to divert a lot more waste from landfill to make blankets and we’ve carbon offset the emissions from shipping the Dune Blanket from Lithuania to Australia. 

Design

The design for Dune was created by Karina and reflects the beauty and vastness of the desert dunes in central Australia.  The blankets are lightweight but warm – perfect as a throw for the couch and bed, for outdoor dining or taking to the moonlight cinema. Karina Seljak says 

“OUR DUNE DESIGN IS A CONNECTION TO LAND AND LIGHT. IT IS CAMPING IN THE SAND DUNES OF CENTRAL AUSTRALIA, AN EXPLORATION OF GORGES, ANCIENT ROCK AND OCHRE PITS UNDER THE EVER-CHANGING AND VAST SKY. THE LUMINESCENCE OF DUSK AND EARTHLY DUST IS WOVEN TOGETHER TO EXPRESS THE SURPRISING SOFTNESS WITHIN THE DESERT ENVIRONMENT.”  

Textile Waste Partnerships

The rag trade have very few options for disposing their textile waste, which comes in the form of tonnes of offcuts and unworn clothing.

We’re working to turn the offcuts of local t-shirt label Citizen Wolf into blankets suited to the cool summer breezes Australia is known for. The cotton, linen, bamboo and merino offcuts from Citizen Wolf’s t-shirts are high quality and silky soft. A resource too good to waste! It’s proven challenging to find the right composition of textiles waste to make a strong enough yarn for weaving, we want to release a report on the research and development process in the coming months. 

Seljak's journey 

As sisters and close friends we always knew we’d collaborate. Karina had been working in local food production in Brooklyn, New York and having been trained in fashion design, she’d become acutely aware of the waste in the manufacturing world. Sam's expertise was grounded in social entrepreneurship and sustainability having started multiple community-driven initiatives in Brisbane (No Lights No Lycra Brisbane and The Box art gallery) and working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australia for several years. 

"INSPIRED BY THE RESOURCEFUL AND MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL PRACTICES WE ARE SAW SPROUTING UP ALL AROUND US, WE POURED OUR TIME INTO UNDERSTANDING THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY AND CLOSED LOOP METHODOLOGIES. ULTIMATELY, WE WANTED TO TEST THE NEW PARADIGM OURSELVES, WHERE THINGS ARE BUILT TO LAST AND BE RENEWED. AND WE BEGAN IN 2016."

Since beginning, Seljak brand have:

  • Diverted 2,300kg of textiles waste from landfill 
  • Donated 177 blankets to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre in Melbourne
  • Numerous Australians have been exposed to closed loop business practices thanks to the press Seljak have received
  • Crowdfunded $32,000 to help fund the research and development of using other businesses' textile waste to make more blankets
  • Awarded $15,000 in funding from Macquarie Group to continue development of textiles waste to resource products. 

What has been some of the biggest challenges?

It has been difficult to access equipment for textiles recycling research and development. Small scale production testing often isn’t viable due to the size and scale of machinery – i.e. it’s hard to test small amounts of waste at a time – and large runs are costly meaning there needs to be significant investment in each test. The limited onshore manufacturing capability in Australia also makes for challenges. So we’d love to have access to a facility where testing was an easier process! 

What motivated your choice of Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC) ?

Our grandparents were refugees from Slovenia and we want to support asylum seekers making a new home in Australia.  Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC) provides job training, access to health services and legal advice, as well as food, household goods (and warm blankets)! It is the support and opportunities asylum seekers need to live independently. For every 10 blankets we sell, we send one to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre in Footscray, Victoria.  



Something incorrect here? Suggest an update below: