We all have a responsibility to protect our planet and our people. As a start-up fashion brand FéRí feels, even more so, the need to do things the right way from the beginning. FéRí is on a mission as a slow fashion brand, focused on creating beautiful, thought provoking and unique pieces , designed to be treasured. It takes all colours to make a rainbow and we embrace the beauty and strength that comes from diversity across race, gender, age, religion, identity, culture and experience. At FéRí, we love and value our community of Ferifolk. As we grow, we are continually learning ways to celebrate this positivity across the business and we value all you have to say to help us do better with inclusivity.
Our goal is to become a fully sustainable business. Although we have limited resources in what we can achieve as a small independent brand, we are always striving to do better and we guarantee our honesty and our commitment to our responsibilities by being transparent in what we are doing today. We stand over our motto ‘Wear , Care, Mend, Lend’ to encourage a circular economy within our community of Ferifolk and beyond.
WHERE WE MAKE OUR PRODUCTS
Our creations are mindfully made in small quantities to avoid excessive production. We believe in manufacturing garments local to where the raw materials ( fabrics/ trims etc) are sourced. Everything we create is 100% designed in Ireland including all of our prints and embroideries which are drawn and hand-painted by designer Faye Anna in the FéRí studio in Wexford .
IRELAND-A large percentage of our collection is made in Ireland, using locally sourced fabrics and trim. The raw materials we use are Irish Linen , vintage, up-cycled or dead-stock materials, trims and locally made covered buttons. Everything is made to the highest quality in very small batches.
INDIA-We are very grateful to have built a relationship with a supplier in India who understands our core values and is willing to work with our very small quantities, something that is essential to our business model that does not engage in mass production. Our supplier sources our natural fabrics (orange crepe, organic cotton and silk) and manufactures our garments in her family run factory. We do not own the factory or know how they work with other brands, but we are proud to say the factory that we work with is a four pillar *Sedex approved factory and provides us with ‘open costing’ on all our designs to ensure transparency with costs.
*SEDEX (sedexglobal.com) is one of the worlds leading ethical trade service providers, working to improve working conditions in global supply chains. They provide practical tools, services and a community network to help companies improve their responsible and sustainable business practices, and source responsibly.
The four key pillars that the factory is audited for are – Labour Standards, Health and Safety, Environment and Business Ethics.
OUR DESIGN PROCESS
Everything FéRí is 100% designed by Faye Anna in the studio in Wexford. We collect and deconstruct vintage garments and textiles to inspire each piece we design. Each of our FéRí prints and embroideries begin as drawings and paintings and are exclusive to FéRí. Once our artworks are designed, we create repeat prints in a digital format and sent to our supplier in India where they are digitally printed onto our natural fabrics. Digital textile printing is a far more sustainable option of printing when compared with traditional rotary screen printing which uses in the region of 50-60 litres of water per metre. Digital textile printing also uses smaller quantities of colour, typically 10% of the volume used when compared to screen printing. All of the dyes we use are Azo-free.
Some of the pieces that we make in Ireland are made using dead-stock fabrics which are often already printed when we buy them.
THE NATURAL ORGANIC FABRICS WE USE
FéRí products are made using ‘reclaimed fabrics’ (see more under next heading below) OR natural fabrics. All of the ‘new’ fabrics that we are responsible for producing (Orange Crepe, Organic Cotton, Silk and Irish Linen) are made of natural fibres. Natural fibres are biodegradable, unlike polyesters and other petroleum derived and plastic based fabrics which and do not decompose over time often ending up in landfill and shedding particles into the worlds water systems. All of our packaging is 100% plastic free, recyclable and/or biodegradable, sourced locally. We deliver our clothes in keep- sake luxury magnetic boxes which ship to #ferifolk inside a paper recyclable mailer bag.
Organic Cotton is a vegan product made from natural seeds and has a lower impact on the environment than conventional cotton. It is grown without the use of toxic pesticides and fertilisers. Instead it uses methods and materials that replenish and maintain soil fertility and ensure a safer working environment for the farmers and manufactures. All of the organic cotton we use is *Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) certified. (see more below)
Orange fiber is a textile made by extracting the cellulose from the fibers discarded from citrus fruits by-products that would otherwise be thrown away. The peels are processed to extract the cellulose that is spun to form the final yarn. The final yarn or fabrics are then dyed, printed & coloured to create fabric. Finally, a biodegradable material like silk is produced which is soft to touch and shiny in appearance, suitable to be woven with any type of existing yarn. We source EPFC (Ecological Plant Fiber Certified) standard orange fibre , third party certified by the *Global Organic Textile Standard
*The Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) is the worldwide leading textile processing standard for organic fibres. It ensures the organic status of textiles from the harvesting of the raw materials, through environmentally and socially responsible manufacturing, all the way to labelling in order to provide credible assurance to the consumer.
*What is Third-Party Certification?
Third-party certification means that independent organization has reviewed the manufacturing process of a fabric and has independently determined that the final product complies with all standards for quality, safety and production. It covers material reviews, testing and facility inspections.
RE-MADE/ RE-CLAIMED/ VINTAGE
At FéRí we love and value the story of a garment or fabric. We are interested in the story of where clothes come from and where they end up. We aim to be a no-waste company and we repurpose the fabric we can’t use. We constantly ask where and why something is made, and by whom. End-of-roll fabrics also known as ‘deadstock fabric’ destined for landfill, are combined with hand embroidered textiles ( vintage table cloths, napkins) and locally sourced Irish linen to create unique pieces that embody and continue the story of the brand.
Our motto at FéRí is ‘Wear. Care. Mend. Lend’ and it is key to everything we do. We are a brand born out of creativity and resourcefulness. The love of up-cycling is embedded in the FéRí ethos. One of the ways in which we are accomplishing our sustainability goals (and having a lot of crafty fun) is by eliminating our waste output. We do this by up-cycling and re-claiming any of our unsold fabric and pieces from previous collections. We don’t believe in discounting our designs dramatically below their worth. Instead, we value each and every fabric we work with and enjoy the creative challenge of making something new from something old.
Wear. Care. Mend. Lend
SLOW FASHION MOVEMENT
The slow fashion movement encourages slower production, quality materials and ethical manufacturing to lengthen the life cycle of a garment. FéRí pieces are designed slowly and mindfully using natural and re-purposed fabrics to create quality timeless pieces. We do not align with fast fashion trends that change weekly. FéRí items are created in small batch quantities. In order to keep our promise to the authenticity of our products, we do not engage in mass production. We create unique and memorable pieces, designed to be loved and passed on.
BE PART OF THE STORY
At FéRí we are interested in the story of clothes, where they have been and where they are going. In keeping with our commitment to a circular economy, We encourage our FéRí followers (#ferifolk) to wear, look after, re-wear and when the time is right, pass on their FéRí pieces.
Ready for a change? Customise or alter your FéRí piece and post a picture of your work, tag us @ferifolk and #wear-care-mend-lend, and we will give you 15% off your next order! We invite you to be part of the story.
# ferifolk
#wearcaremendlend
#bepartofthestory