In an era where fashion is often synonymous with excess, greed, and environmental disregard, there emerges a beacon of change, a brand that dares to defy conventions and raise the standards of ethical, sustainable fashion. We invite you to step into the world of KOHR, a brand that bears the promise of a brighter, greener future for fashion.
Can you tell me a bit about the inspiration behind starting your sustainable fashion brand?
The seed of KOHR was planted in 2018 when I, Amy, KOHRs founder, first stepped into the fashion industry. I soon realised it wasn’t where I belonged. I saw first-hand how greedy, destructive and exploitative the industry was.
I wasn’t able to make any amount of difference working as a junior so I decided to start up on my own. It was really important to me to be as sustainable and ethical as possible from the get go. So, I researched, watched documentaries and read all about sustainability and ethics so I was able to choose the best possible practices for KOHR.
Along this incredible journey, what have been some of your favourite moments or accomplishments that stand out to you?
A recent achievement has been receiving an accreditation of ‘great’ from the Good On You app, which is the highest rating they offer. I feel honoured that my passions and hard work to implement sustainability and ethics into every part of KOHR have been recognised. With this great sense of achievement, it makes me believe I can take KOHR to the next level and use KOHR as a platform to educate, campaign, train and expose the fast fashion industry. All while making sustainable fashion as accessible as possible.
On a personal achievement, as a new business owner I won the ‘Northern Power Women’ Award for ‘recognising the influencers and change makers who are already making a difference in their community and environment’ it was an amazing achievement to be recognised amongst so many incredible women.
Sustainability and inclusivity are a significant part of your brand’s identity. Sustainability often involves innovation. Can you explain your approach to zero waste design and production for those who might not be familiar? What are some of the sustainable materials and techniques you use in your creations?
We work with two sustainable frameworks ‘offsetting’ and ‘insetting’.
Offsetting: My deepest passion and one of the reasons I founded KOHR is to make sustainable living accessible. I bark on about accessibility a lot because it’s so important to me that we all have the choice/option to make a more sustainable decision whatever that looks like within our individual lifestyles.
Whilst we have implemented different ways to make KOHR more accessible, it’s still not to the wider audience and truth is that’s down to price. I can harp on about why the price is what it is until I go blue in the face, and I promise you, neither of us want to see that. So, instead I’ll tell you why this range will be slightly cheaper (in comparison to the KOHR Essentials collection)
The answer is deadstock. Deadstock fabric is otherwise known as surplus fabric from textile mills, brands and factories. There’s several different reasons to why they end up in the ‘deadstock’ pile. It could be due to the fact it’s been dyed the wrong colour, no longer in season or has a slight fault.
I’m assuming you’ve all heard about wonky veg, how their perfectly fine they just don’t meet the ‘beauty standards’, well think of deadstock fabric as wonky veg. Perfectly fine, just not quite right to the original consumer. This fabric would usually be thrown away and end up in landfill but thanks to deadstock suppliers and brands that use deadstock they are saved from their sudden death and bought back to life (just call us Dr. Meredith Grey).
All of the above makes this fabric cheaper than the organic raw materials, we use for our KOHR collection, resulting in cheaper end products.
KOHR has partnered with One Tree Planted to plant a tree for every order. Trees clean our air and water, create habitats for biodiversity, contribute to our health and wellbeing, and create jobs for social impact. We’re honoured to have reforestation through One Tree Planted as an integral part of our business model.
Insetting: Our insetting model maps out the garments entire life cycle and it starts from the raw material. We have extensively researched our suppliers in terms of their sustainable and ethical practices. Everything in our essentials range is natural, non-dyed material that is biodegradable.
We use organic, biodegradable and deadstock fabric, components and packaging materials to ensure as little waste as possible. Our poly mailers are made out of a compostable material. Our stickers, postcards and tissue paper are all made from recycled paper.
To reduce fabric waste, we use efficient layout plans to cut our garment patterns. Any scraps are saved and used for our scrunchies and bags or donated to local community art projects.
Every journey has its ups and downs. Can you tell me about some challenges or setbacks you faced while building your brand and how you overcame them?
Every business journey has constant ups and downs. The main one that’s affected all business owners over the past few years has been covid. Consumerism is constantly changing making it very difficult to forecast and plan what’s going to happen. Learning to adapt and not worry are two skills I’m still trying to master, but that’s the fun of it!
What are your long-term goals for your brand in terms of sustainability, growth, and impact? Are there any exciting upcoming projects, collections, or initiatives you’d like to share with your audience?
We’re constantly developing our two sustainable frameworks; insetting and offsetting. There’s lots of exciting things happening behind the scenes at KOHR, but all I can say for now is watch this space!
Finally, if you had one piece of advice for someone aspiring to start their own sustainable fashion brand, what would it be?
Biggest advice for anyone starting their own business is to get some business friends. These are the people who completely understand what you are going through, they’re your support system, your critics and your champions.
KOHR is not just a fashion brand; it’s a movement, a symbol of hope, and a testament to the transformative power of unwavering commitment to sustainability and ethics in the world of fashion. Stay tuned, for KOHR is blazing a trail toward a more sustainable and inclusive fashion future.
