Who Made My Clothes?

In April 2013, 1133 workers died and a further 2500 were injured while working for well-known fashion brands at the Rana Plaza clothing factory in Bangladesh. This tragedy marked the beginning of The Fashion Revolution, which aims to highlight such accidents and unethical practices happening behind the scenes in the fashion industry. The Fashion Revolution is asking you to question ‘Who Made My Clothes?’ and be curious about the processes and impacts involved in the creation of the clothes you’re buying.

 

According to the team behind The Fashion Revolution, “We want to use the power of fashion to inspire a permanent change in the fashion industry and reconnect the broken links in the supply chain”. And we couldn’t agree more!

“At the moment of purchase, most of us are unaware of the processes and impacts involved in the creation of a garment. We need to reconnect through a positive narrative, to understand that we aren’t just purchasing a garment or accessory. By asking consumers, designers, brands, and all those who care to ask a simple question ‘Who Made My Clothes?’, we envisage a change in the perspective that will lead to a deeper understanding”.

 

What Does Our Production Process Look Like? 

As outdoor lovers ourselves, we’re extremely passionate about the environment and committed to ethical and sustainable manufacturing. We monitor the entire process from ‘sheep to shelf’ and have formed close relationships with our production partners over the years. We work together to make premium products while caring for the people who make them and protecting our environment along the way.

 

ioMerino Founder, David Michell has a very simple mission;

“Here at ioMerino we’re all about keeping our production process as ethical and close to home as possible. Aussie wool from Aussie farmers made into clothes, mostly by our friends in Fiji”.

 

Right at the beginning, the wool is sourced locally from Australian Merino farmers who are just as dedicated to the environment (and their sheep!) as we are. David says,

“In many cases, they’re not just our suppliers. As a family owned business, we truly believe they’re our friends and part of the extended ioMerino family".

 

Most of our super-duper MicroMerino® fabrics are made at textile specialist in Australia - with some also now made in Thailand. The Australian operation is globally recognised as leading the way in innovative sustainability practices and holding an ISO 14001 environmental accreditation, deploying global best practice to minimise its environmental impact. With a strong focus on lowering the environmental impact normally associated with textile manufacturing, they promotes the reduction of waste wherever possible. They’re also the only Australian textile plant to achieve over 85% recycling of waste water.

The final 'cut and sew' of the vast majority of our garments is undertaken at a fully unionised manufacturing facility in Fiji which is monitored by Fiji’s TCF Council – a body designed to support the fair trade and ethical treatment of workers within supply chains. We have quality assurance officers regularly on site during production to check adherence to all standards. (A few products get made in Sri Lanka and Vietnam, and they also come from hand selected facilities that meet our standards.)

 

So there you have it. A completely ethical and sustainable supply chain that allows us to create the world’s softest, warmest and most comfortable Merino layers for all your outdoor adventures.

 

Click here if you’d like to find out more about The Fashion Revolution.