Actors of a more responsible fashion: the Organic Basics case

A crowdfunding campaign and a delivery service

When Christoffer Immanuel, Mads Fibiger and Alexander Christiansen came together to found Organic Basics in 2013, they had no experience in the field of fashion, only the urge to change the industry. Based on the observation that the latter is a "dirty bastard" (their terms) and that men's underwear is often of poor quality, they have the idea of ​​launching a crowdfunding campaign to promote a brand of quality basics respectful of the environment. The first business model of the Danish brand is simple: a monthly or quarterly subscription to save its customers the chore of regularly buying underwear. Launched on Kickstarter, the crowdfunding campaign is a success and the goal is reached in less than 48 hours. On the strength of this dazzling success, the trio will again use the crowdfunding platform on two other occasions to test the enthusiasm for its new products.

An eco-friendly policy

While the quest for greener fashion is what motivated the creation of the brand, the latter does not however define itself as eco-responsible. “We tend to avoid saying that we are a sustainable brand, explained Christoffer Immanuel to the website “Re/Make” in 2019. We rather emphasize the responsible practices that we employ. This intersects with marketing. We try not to be too pushy. We prefer to explain what we do and how we do it, while ensuring that these are the best possible options. »

His commitments? Only work with recycled or eco-responsible materials and only team up with factories and partners whose ethical principles are aligned with ours. In order to go further, the brand has also set up the Organic Basics Fund, which allows it to donate a portion of its profits twice a year to associations working to protect the environment. So far, she has collaborated with WWF, Amazon Watch and Danmarks Naturfredningsforening, which work on reforestation, fight climate change and support local communities.

Modern, Organic Basics is committed on all fronts, including new technologies thanks to a responsible website, available in two versions. The first e-store thus presents product sheets enriched with its "impact index", which testifies to its best practices by detailing the way in which the manufacture of its creations requires less water, energy and emits less CO2 than the mean. The second e-store, presented as "low impact", strives to reduce data transfer by at least 70% compared to an ordinary website.

Also read: Pascal Brun, sustainable development manager at H&M: "Sustainability should not be a luxury"

An extensive wardrobe

Following the success of the brand when it officially launched in 2015, the founders quickly expanded their scope and abandoned the delivery model. Initially specializing in the design of men's underwear, the label quickly launched a women's range before presenting an athleisure collection as well as everyday essentials such as t-shirts and sweatshirts in organic materials and accessories. in recycled cashmere and wool. More recently, Organic Basics has also embarked on the denim adventure. Renowned for being ultra-polluting, denim has been the focus of attention for several years. Under the impetus of the Ellen McArthur Foundation, the fashion industry now benefits from established standards for the manufacture of eco-responsible jeans. Guidelines scrupulously followed by the Danish brand which intends to transform this segment. “The cool thing about denim is that most people wear it and it was designed to be extremely durable, explained Christoffer Immanuel to “Lampoon” magazine in 2019. (…) I jeans that I've worn for fifteen years and still love the look and feel of them. I have never actually washed them because they are one of those products that are worn away from the body. If their production requires multiple resources, they can last several years when they are well made. From a design point of view, we kept a lot of good elements from traditional denim and sorted out what worked and what didn't. »

Wash less, wear more

However, reducing the environmental impact of its production was not enough for Organic Basics. His other battle horse? The pollution generated by the multiple washing of its products once they are in the hands of customers. Requiring water but also energy and detergents that are often harmful to the environment, textile washing is increasingly being singled out. The idea? Produce pieces that can be worn longer and washed less often. This is how the SilverTech range was born, whose particularity lies in its composition: enriched with silver, a natural anti-bacterial, its fiber eliminates bacteria and bad odors on its own in order to help keep clothes cooler for longer and therefore space out the washing cycles. Another way of thinking about green fashion.