Sustainability
All products from Sophia Vassallo are produced by the supply chain model of ‘Print on Demand’.
What is Print on Demand?
Print on Demand means that the product only goes into production once someone has purchased them from my store.
There is no bulk stock sitting in a warehouse.
There is no additional wastage.
Life-cycle and overall quality of product
One thing I love about the leggings from my supplier, is that they dry really easily because the fabric is ‘moisture-wick’ and the colours still pop after more than 20 washes.
The better the quality, the longer the product lasts. Before my supplier adds new products, they do durability tests to make sure they’ll stand the test of time.
They work with suppliers and manufacturers that produce high-quality products that last many washes, keeping print colors vibrant and the fabric soft.
Did you know that sublimation printing, (which is how my products are made) saves water and reduces pollution of freshwater that comes from standard textile dyeing compared to inkjet printing?
Here are some ways that I would like to make Sophia Vassallo more sustainable as the business grows:
Introduce a Pre-Loved Collection
If your size doesn’t fit you anymore, or you are clearing out your closet, you could post your old leggings to me, and I will resell them at a discounted price with photos and description.
Recycling Items - If they are damaged or unclaimed by customers
In 2020, the supplier I work with partnered up with waste management service providers to take care of fabric waste in 2 of their facilities.
In total, they sent 93,774 kg of fabric waste to recycling within the first year.
Last year, we’ve also found recycling solutions for our Barcelona, and Riga facilities, which has enabled us to recycle a total of 131,665 kg in 2021. And whenever possible, they also donate damaged and returned products to local charities, like the Red Cross, the American Kidney Fund, and Goodwill.
No more plastic packaging
I really dislike the current packaging from my supplier and as the business grows, I would like to have the investment to supply biodegradable packing to my supplier who then sends the final product to customers. I have already chosen the ones I would like to use, however, they require an initial investment with MOQs and additional costs to send to my supplier’s fulfilment centre. It will be one of my first improvements when the time comes.
Lower the Carbon Footprint - change my fullfiment centre location
In the future, I would like to have all UK orders delivered within the UK.
Currently, my supplier has fulfillment centres in California, Mexico, Barcelona, U.K. and Latvia.
When someone places an order, my supplier routes orders using an advanced algorithm, taking into account the end customer's address, where the product is available, and other factors. 99% of the time, the algorithm chooses the closest fulfillment center to your end customer, but rarely—usually if a product is unavailable—it will be routed to another location. For the majority of my orders, it will be fulfilled from the fullfilment centre in Latvia, which is a part of the EU.
This is because the pre-made patterns for the leggings are only available in Latvia, Mexico and the U.S.
Spain: The Barcelona fulfillment center is located in Travessía Prat de la Riba, 91-95, and serves the Western European market.
Latvia: We have two fulfillment centers close to the Riga International Airport and our shipping partners.
Facility 1: This fulfillment center is located at Lidostas parks, Marupes novads, LV-2167, and it's where we fulfill apparel products and offer warehousing services for pack-ins. This facility also serves as a pickup point.
Facility 2: This fulfillment center is located at Plienciema iela 5, Marupe, Marupes novads, LV-2167. It's where we fulfill non-apparel products and offer warehousing services for products and pack-ins.
The UK: The Birmingham fulfillment center is located at Antar 2 Headway Road, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, WV10 6PZ. This fulfillment center primarily serves customers in the UK.
The Latvia fulfilment centre is 2063 kilometres away if I were to deliver to my current office and that doesn’t include the travel from the courier provider.
As the business grows and I am able to invest money back into the business, I would like all my orders for UK customers to be fullfilled in the Birmingham center, reducing the carbon footprint from Latvia.
I could also then send the biodegradable packaging to the Birmingham fulfiment centre instead of the Latvia one.
Eco-Friendly Collection
There are a number of items such as swimsuits and bikinis that are made using recycled fabric. The supplier’s criteria is that the fabric must be at least 70% recycled fabric and I think something like swimwear which is small and flimsy and so easily discarded is a fantastic first step into more mindful choices in the summer.
The eco-friendly products from my supplier have also been approved by PETA which is even more incentive to explore working with them in the future.
If you have a background in fashion sustainability and can see some ways that I could make my brand more eco-conscious that is low cost and efficient, please feel free to contact me at contact@sophiavassallo.com as I’d love to hear from you.
