Citizen Wolf<\/a> has turned that traditional production model on its head. According to its co-founder Zoltan Csaki, \u201cIf you\u2019re successful in fashion, you\u2019ve been successful with a mass-production model and therefore you think it\u2019s the only way to proceed.<\/p>\n\u201cWe went right back to first principles and asked ourselves: \u2018If we were making clothes for the first time ever today, with the technology that exists, would we do it in the same way that everybody else does it?\u2019 The answer was quite simply \u2018no\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
Citizen Wolf, which first formed in 2016, uses technology to automate and simplify the process of tailoring. The team built an algorithm known as Magic Fit, which requires your height, weight, age and bust for women, which can be inputted online. This data creates a mathematical model of your body so that customers can select their fabric and fit before the piece is cut on a laser and sewn by hand in Sydney.<\/p>\n
Standard sizes fail 81 per cent of people. If your clothes are made to actually fit you, in your choice of colour and fabric, you\u2019re more likely to take care of them and repair them when needed instead of rushing to replace items.<\/p>\n
While Citizen Wolf currently only produces T-shirts, the idea goes beyond just the products offered. \u201cOur mission as a company is to prove and validate that on-demand manufacturing is a viable alternative to making clothing at scale. We are a small company right now, we only make one thing, T-shirts, but it\u2019s not about that \u2013 for us, it\u2019s about the model, the manufacturing system we built and the technology that powers it,\u201d Zoltan says.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn a few years, our aim is to offer that technology to the rest of the industry. If brands adopt this as the default position for creating clothing, the world is going to be in a better place.\u201d<\/p>\n
Waste-free clothing<\/h1>\n
In today\u2019s tech-savvy society, it\u2019s hard to believe that mass production is still the superior way of creating garments for most fashion brands. One in three pieces of clothing made every year goes straight to landfill unsold or burnt, like in the case of fashion giant Burberry, which admitted last year to burning unsold clothes, accessories and perfume instead of selling them off cheaply in order to protect the brand\u2019s luxury reputation. A further one in three pieces of clothing ends up in landfill within the first 12 months\u00a0 after being purchased.<\/p>\n
The reality is, forecasting fashion trends and consumer demand for these trends is near impossible and is essentially why the clothing and textile industry is the second-largest polluter in the world, after oil.<\/p>\n
With an on-demand manufacturing model, Citizen Wolf is able to produce clothing waste-free. \u201cWe don\u2019t sit on stock, we don\u2019t go on sale and we don\u2019t send things to landfill if they don\u2019t sell,\u201d Zoltan explains.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll of the scrap that\u2019s left over from our T-shirt production we keep, we patchwork together and then we make it into what we call the zero-waste collection, which is primarily tote bags at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Citizen Wolf\u2019s algorithm works instantly once the required data has been received, the entire process still takes time. From the moment your piece is ordered, it takes around 10 days to receive. Therefore, they\u2019re not impulse buys like most fashion purchases are, but Zoltan believes that this is actually the brand\u2019s biggest strength.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe way people buy and consume things needs to change if you believe the planet is in crisis,\u201d he says. \u201cIf you start from the position of what we\u2019re doing today is not okay or sustainable, and you realise we are absolutely over-stressing Mother Earth, then we all need to be more considered and more conscious in our purchase decisions.<\/p>\n
\u201cGetting something made for you<\/em> is basically forcing yourself to wait, instead of that instant gratification and dopamine of an impulse buy.\u201d<\/p>\nFive ways to reduce your fashion waste:<\/h1>\n\n- Buy less.<\/strong> Ensure that what you buy is good quality, adaptable across seasons and won\u2019t easily go out of fashion.<\/li>\n
- Don\u2019t be so quick to replace your clothes; take them to be repaired when you can.<\/li>\n
- Shop consciously.<\/strong> Be mindful of where you shop, as even brands that label themselves as \u201csustainable\u201d still likely use a mass-production model. Buy second-hand when you can.<\/li>\n
- Don\u2019t throw out your clothes. Instead, find them a new home. Be cautious where you donate as a lot of donations end up in landfill.<\/li>\n
- Be patient.<\/strong> Don\u2019t make impulse buys for the instant gratification because it will soon wear off. Wait until you find something you really love.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Unfortunately, even some brands that purport to be sustainable run a mass-production model and are still contributing to the landfill crisis.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe landfill problem is the biggest issue from an ecological standpoint,\u201d Zoltan says. \u201cAll the organic cotton in the world and ethical labour counts for nothing when one in three pieces of clothing goes straight to landfill in a mass-production model. It\u2019s just crazy and nobody\u2019s talking about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
So it has never been a more important time to be conscious about where you shop and what or who you\u2019re ultimately supporting. Until more and more fashion brands utilise technology and implement an on-demand manufacturing model, you need to be well aware of how your purchases are impacting the environment.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Words LAINE FULLERTON<\/p>\n
Laine Fullerton is a freelance writer with a journalism degree from the University of Technology, Sydney. Laine is passionate about wellness, animal rights and living a sustainable life. She can usually be found with her head in a <\/em>Lonely Planet book and daydreaming about travelling to the most remote places around the world.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The rise of tech-focused fashion brands allows customers to not only personalise their clothes, but it\u2019s also helping drive the ethical fashion movement. We speak with Sydney-based tech-fashion brand Citizen Wolf, which is creating staple fashion pieces on an on-demand basis, benefiting both the individual and the planet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1105,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[102],"tags":[208,138,173,207,209],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wellbeing.com.au\/curious\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/856"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wellbeing.com.au\/curious\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wellbeing.com.au\/curious\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wellbeing.com.au\/curious\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wellbeing.com.au\/curious\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=856"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.wellbeing.com.au\/curious\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/856\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":857,"href":"https:\/\/www.wellbeing.com.au\/curious\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/856\/revisions\/857"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wellbeing.com.au\/curious\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1105"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wellbeing.com.au\/curious\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wellbeing.com.au\/curious\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wellbeing.com.au\/curious\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}