To assure shoppers that these recycled garments are not only eco-conscious but also new and hygienic, Redress came up with the R Certificate (patent pending).
"The need to identify to consumers that the recycled content was clean and 'factory fresh' is particularly important for Asian consumers, who, on the whole, tend to be more suspicious and conscious about wearing secondhand products," Christina Dean, the British founder and CEO of Redress, says.
She says more retailers are interested in obtaining the certification, which enables consumers to track where the garments were created, as well as how green they are.
Such initiatives, though still in the margins of the fashion universe, are votes for a cleaner choice.
"I think that what we are doing in terms of sustainable fashion is creating an alternative," Orsola de Castro, founder of the London-based sustainable fashion label From Somewhere, as well as a judge of the Ecochic contest, says.
"It's unbelievable now to think that cheap fashion, fast fashion ... will suddenly disappear and everything will be eco-friendly. I think it's impossible to imagine. But equally, what we need to do is to make way for an alternative."
This is exactly what Lam is trying to do.
