The LOTI Heroes Campaign
Being obsessed with all things London, we try to experience as much of the city as possible, from eating out at new openings to visiting the latest exhibitions or heading down to whatever crazy event or festival is taking place. Along the way, we meet so many amazing, inspiring Londoners, those creative individuals who contribute to making this city the best in the world. While we have been celebrating our favourite people for years now, in our weekly LDNERS interviews (and soon to be podcast), this week we’re launching a brand new campaign, LOTI Heroes, to highlight those extra-specially brilliant Londoners who are striving to make London and the world a better place, through charity, social enterprises, ethical fashion and sustainable living.
Each day this week we’ll be bringing you five Londoners in five different categories that we think are truly inspirational. Today is all about the Style Conscious, the forward-thinking fashion brands putting the environment and sustainability at the core of their business, enabling us to make more eco-conscious decisions about the clothes we wear. We think the five below are doing great things and we hope you enjoy reading their stories.
We Want YOUR nominations
But that’s not all – we want to hear your suggestions too. If you know a London fashion brand that’s leading the way with an inspiring sustainable approach, please get in touch using the form at the end of this article. We’ll add the best to our own to create a list of our favourite Londoners championing change for the better and announce the full LOTI Heroes list in early July.
Zanna van Dijk & Natalie Glaze | Stay Wild Swimwear
Created by two bloggers, Zanna Van Dijk and Natalie Glaze, Stay Wild is helping fight the scourge of plastic in our oceans with their eco-friendly swimwear. The swimwear is all made from a genius little thing called ECONYL®, a yarn crafted from regenerated fishing nets collected from the ocean as well as other scrap materials, which is turned into high-quality fabric that can be used to make premium swimwear. Although they’re tackling an issue that affects the whole planet, we love that it’s a London brand through and through – the factory is based in north London and at every stage of the process they work with London-based start-ups and sustainability leaders. What’s more, the factory is a social enterprise that brings women from disadvantaged backgrounds in and trains them in clothing production, developing their skills to a high standard and improving their job prospects for the future. Good for the planet, good for London, and looks good on you: we love Stay Wild.
staywildswim.com
Anna Foster | E.L.V. Denim
Apparently, it takes around 4 – 10,000 litres of water to create your average pair of jeans – YIKES. A simple solution would be to buy more second-hand vintage jeans but if that’s not really your thing then meet Anna Foster of East London Vintage (E.L.V.) who’s here to solve your sustainable denim dilemma. Each pair of jeans is made from two old pairs that have been stitched together to make a fresh new pair in a completely new style. Plus no two pairs are ever the same, so you’ll be the only one wearing your unique pair. For even greater customisation there’s even a fitting service available so you can get a pair made to fit you perfectly.
elvdenim.com
Elliss Solomon | ELLISS
ELLISS was founded by Elliss Solomon in London in 2016 after graduating from Central St Martins with a degree in Womenswear Fashion Design. The collections feature everything from t-shirts to swimwear and lingerie, with striking and bold contemporary designs – there’s no playing it safe here. A wholly ethical fashion brand, the ELLISS was born out of a desire to create clothing using conscious design methods and minimal waste. She uses soft, natural fabrics like organic cotton, hemp and bamboo, which are light and have as low an impact on the earth as possible. Brilliantly she also shares a building with their manufacturers, allowing the production process to maintain a low carbon footprint.
elliss.co.uk
Henry Hales | Sir Plus
Henry Hales started Sir Plus in 2010 after discovering the surplus material from shirtmaking could be used to make… pants. Yes, the amount of material was perfect for making a nice pair of boxers and used up fabric that would have otherwise been chucked in the bin. Fast forward to 2019 and Henry has shops on Portobello Road and in Islington and now has a whole smart menswear range made from surplus materials, including waistcoats, jackets and grandad shirts.
sirplus.co.uk
Ben Tattersall & Nia Jones | Good News
Founded by Ben Tattersall and Nia Jones in London in 2016, Good News is a contemporary British footwear brand with a conscience. As well as making some very stylish kicks they have sustainability and a sense of purpose as a core business model, not just some tacked on idea to score sustainability points. The shoes themselves feature recycled rubber soles and organic fair trade cotton and their production uses as few processes as possible to reduce carbon and chemical footprint. Any deadstock they end up with is donated to homeless charities in London and further afield too – through their partnership with Good Luck Shoes they’ve already donated 3,000 pairs of shoes to refugees and migrants arriving in Italy.
goodnews.london
Tell us about the London fashion brands you know that are doing things a little differently, with sustainability and the environment built into their core values
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