We know we’re not perfect, but we’re proud of our efforts thus far and are excited for where our commitment to sustainability will take us. We will continue to press for more sustainable business practices and are eternally optimistic about the future however, we feel it’s important to be honest about the problems faced by our industry. Here are some of the challenges we face as a growing business.
Minimums
We are constantly looking to improve our products and processes but as a small company minimums can be a hurdle - we will often find a supplier or partner who we are excited to work with only to find that the minimums are prohibitive for a company of our size.
Quality
Our priority will always be to make the best possible product - if the quality is not there, we will not make the switch because we ultimately believe that creating the best possible product, a product that will be loved and treasured forever, is the most sustainable option. One example of this is peace silk - it is an exciting concept for many reasons but unfortunately it is still in its infancy as a material and the quality is not yet a match for traditional silk.
Design
Many of the prints we create simply would not be possible to achieve with digital printing methods. They lack saturation of colour and the mis-registration that makes each piece unique and gives our prints character.
Supply Chain
As a small business the influence we have over certain areas of our supply chain is limited, but we are proud of the long-standing and close working relationships with have with all our partners and are committed to working with them to strive for progress so we can move forward together.
Seasonal Timelines
A significant percentage of our business replies on wholesale and thus we are at the mercy of the fashion calendar. This limits the time we have to produce and deliver product once it has been sold to our wholesale partners, which can limit the options available to us during production and means product has to be air freighted. Until we can find a solution to this, we have committed to offsetting the carbon emissions resulting from freight. Read more about our commitment to carbon neutrality here.
Awards & Accreditations
We have spent hours pouring over the many NGOs that offer help to brands and all our partners are carefully selected for greatest impact. Where we find an organisation that we would love to work with but for whom we are still too small a business to partner with, we utilise their publicly available advise and framework where possible. We truly believe it’s not enough to say we have it, we want to be it.
Resources
We are a small team - but what we lack in time and resource we make up for in passion. We know there is no quick fix, but we are committed to building sustainable practices into every tenant of Olivia von Halle as the company grows.
We’re on a Journey
If you have any ideas as to how we can improve, we’d love to hear from you. Contact us here.
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