Your clothing has an environmental footprint. From raw fibre to finished garment even the most sustainably produced clothing has an impact on the environment.

Despite this reality, every year millions of tonnes of clothing are produced, worn and discarded, often after only a few wears. The cause of this. The fashion systems linear take-make-waste model. The solution. Circular fashion.

An off shoot of the circular economy, circular fashion considers the entire life cycle of a garment. From its design, to the materials used, its production, how its circulated in society, to its end of life - the intention of circular fashion is to extend the life of clothing for as long as possible. Designing out waste and pollution creating a closed loop system, materials are kept in use through either repair, reuse, recycling or composting returning them to the biosphere when no longer of use.

Although at the beginning of our journey towards circularity, we are taking steps towards circularity in our design process as well as with our Extended Care and Take Back programmes - all core pillars to circular fashion.

Circular fashion begins with good design. The way a garment is designed destines how long it’s kept in your wardrobe, how it wears, if it can be reused or recycled at the end of its lifecycle as well as the waste and environmental impact created along the way.

We therefore take great care at the design stage to ensure longevity. Designing silhouettes with timelessness in mind rather than being driven by trend, we reflect this intention at a functional level reinforcing seams, using trims that are durable or can be easily replaced and selecting high quality fabrics that we put to the test with rigorous wash and wear tests.

Conscious of the waste we create, our use of digital manufacturing tools such as digital markers and laser cutters takes our efforts to reduce textile waste one step further minimising the waste of our fabrics allowing for more precise cuts and fabric use.

Created with the intention to become treasured items collecting memories and stories with each and every wear, by being Made-to-Order or produced in small batch runs it is our hope that they will less likely be discarded and instead passed down from generation to generation - like has been the tradition in our family.

However when one of our pieces does reach the end of its life, we have designed with disassembly, reuse and recycling in mind. Making small changes such as not using rivets in our jeans for ease of disassembly and recycling, we also have in place a Take Back programme which allows us to either repurpose our pieces giving them a second life or recycle them for new materials to then be created.

Our material choice at the outset of design therefore matters and where possible we focus our use on materials that consist of 100% of one type of fiber, known as mono-materials, which are easily recycled in comparison to blended fabrics which pose significant difficulties in separating the fiber blends.

Read more about our Extended Care and Take Back programmes below.

A core pillar of circular fashion is extending the life of your clothing through repair.

With the most sustainable clothing being what’s already in your wardrobe, the most sustainable thing you can do is to take care of them. It not only extends their life but also minimises their environmental footprint.

That is why the care we take with our pieces won’t end once they leave us.

So that your Florence & Fortitude pieces become treasured items which last a lifetime, as part of our Extended Care programme we offer complimentary repairs which includes:

- Replacement of damaged zips
- Resewing and replacing missing/damaged buttons
- Replacement of missing/damaged crystals
- Rehemming

Read our Terms & Conditions for more information and contact us so we can discuss how we can help on a case by case basis.

Every second, the equivalent of a rubbish truck load of clothing is burnt or buried in landfills.*

To combat this unfortunate reality, one of the best things we can do is reduce our overall consumption by extending the life of our clothing through repair, reuse and recycling keeping the materials in use within a closed loop system.

That’s why we offer a Take Back programme allowing us to take responsibility for the entire life of the clothes we make.

When it’s time for a Florence & Fortitude piece to move on from your wardrobe we ask that they be sent back to us in exchange for an NZD$50.00 Florence & Fortitude voucher. We will then either find it a new home, repurpose it into a new design or have it recycled.

Please contact us if you would like to be part of this programme.

*Ellen McArthur Foundation.

We are committed to reduce the waste we create as much as possible. This extends also to our eco-friendly bespoke Florence & Fortitude boxes.

Sent with the intention to store your Florence & Fortitude piece so that it stays in the best possible condition, if you however would prefer not to hold onto your box you can send it back to us as part of our Box Take Back programme.

In exchange for a 10% discount code we will either reuse, repurpose, or recycle the box on your behalf.

Please contact us if you would like to be part of this programme.