We did it, L2R is officially a year old! This was an amazing year for L2R, not only for our team, but also for the countless collaborators whose partnership and support helped build our brand into what it is today. We are incredibly thankful for the moments that made this possible, from our first pop-up nearly a year ago to our second show at NY Fashion Week just last month.
Please join us in celebrating this huge milestone with a recap of our year’s successes and what you can expect to see from us in 2020!
From day one L2R has centered itself around a zero waste, sustainable business and production model. Our garments are designed with one thing in mind: providing fashion lovers with the power to advance their values without compromising on personal style.
Each L2R creation begins with sourcing our fabric through ongoing partnerships with artisans and small factories throughout Morocco to utilize their deadstock fabric. All scraps generated during our own garment production are further recycled into our accessories line or donated to toy makers to be used as stuffing, resulting in absolutely no material waste and truly sustainable apparel. See the chart below for a quick recap of how these efforts have diverted fabric and chemical waste from landfills and ecosystems over the past year of L2R’s production.
For us sustainability is not limited to our impact on the environment, it also applies to our relations with our workforce of artisans. The time, talent and labor of our workers must be fostered through sustainable working conditions, living wages and fair trade, so that as L2R grows so does their business. We do not just exploit laborers and leave, we are committed to establishing long term working relationships with a small, but strong team- one that is built with equal opportunity for minorities, illiterates and the disabled. Over the course of our first year we have developed a network of 10 artisans, each specialized in different trades and aspects of production, and all of which embody Moroccan craftsmanship and traditional artistry.
What is in store for L2R in 2020?
This year is already shaping up to be a busy one for L2R. We started off the year by joining the NYC Fair Trade coalition, an all-volunteer grassroots organization that provides development support for small businesses and fair trade advocates. In February 2020 we were accepted as a featured designer at Wolf & Badger, a global online marketplace for independent brands, with storefronts in London and NYC. We will be participating in both the Sustainable Fashion Forum and Portland Design Week just next month, in April 2020.
We are developing an assessment tool to evaluate textile waste in Morocco. Currently data is scarce and almost non-existent on fabric over-production, fabric deadstock and non-usage. By establishing collaborations with textile factories and garment units, we intend to use technology to improve visibility around the environmental impact of the textile industry in Morocco and by extrapolation worldwide.
In collaboration with Proactech, we intend to put in place an e-learning platform to educate users on ecological issues and simple ways to implement a sustainable lifestyle across daily routines. The goal is to popularize and bring awareness to the environmental movement in a way that is both interactive and easy-to-digest. We are aiming to have the platform released by Fall 2020 in 4 languages: English, French, Spanish and Arabic.
We are so excited to see these developments come to life and to share our work with each of you as we continue to grow and expand. We would like to take a moment to thank all of you for being a part of the L2R community, your support has truly made all the difference.
If you have any suggestions about the information listed in this article or ways we can further our mission please email us at contact@l2rthelabel.com, we would love to hear from you!
