So you’re one of the early ones…
Whether your friends, family or someone who has no idea who we are, we welcome you. With one false start under our belt we are raring to go this time round, hungrier than ever to imprint the world positively with our clothing. We are here to allow backpackers to trot the globe fashionably and more sustainably. Everything we make is good for you and good for the planet!
We love exploring this floating rock we call home, from the natural to the human world, soaking it all in while on the road is an unmatched feeling for us. Think road trips with friends, rooftop beers at golden hour, beach bonfires and hammock coffees - at the heart of these moments is where iquique sits. It’s that feeling when after a day exploring a new land, speaking to new and interesting people, you get back to the hostel and someone offers you a beer and you put the world to rights as the sun finishes its daily dance. It’s living in the present moment and making stories that will last a lifetime. To continue our simple exploration we need to begin mitigating the impact humans have on our planet, otherwise the beauty and opportunity will no longer exist.
This is why all of our clothing will have a ‘wear it slow’ care label and be made from the most environmentally friendly materials we can currently use. Wearing it slow signifies our need to wear our clothing more by washing it cold, letting it drip dry and when the time is right disposing of it the right way. If we all doubled the number of times we wore our clothing we could halve the greenhouse gas emissions produced by the fashion industry. With people in the UK wearing an item of clothing an average of 7 times before throwing it away we know that doubling that is doable. To get there people need to start wearing better clothes i.e. no fast fashion! That’s why we will be offering organic, hemp or recycled clothing and nothing that uses chemicals so that when your clothing does end up in the ground it biodegrades naturally, without chemicals filtering into the ecosystem.
Unfortunately, what we are trying to prevent is already happening all around the world, particularly in a little place called the Atacama Desert. Iquique is a free trade port city in the Atacama region where tens of thousands of used clothing comes into Chile. A lot of this clothing is fast fashion and a lot of clothing is being illegally dumped in the desert, over 50,000 tonnes a year. This wreaks havoc on local ecosystems in nearby towns -nothing good comes from this. That’s why we are partnering with local Chilean organisations who are taking this dumped clothing, churning it up and repurposing it into new clothes. Keep your eyes peeled for a range in the future using these materials!
Anyway, that’ll do for now. We’ve got lots to get on with but keep checking back here for updates, stories and any old musings that pops into our head. wear it slow troopers.
