The three sewing workshops used by Ecouture are all located in Europe (Poland, Bulgaria, Lithuania). This facilitates easy and close communication. We are able to pay visits to ensure that no mistakes occur during production. And we know that the staff enjoy decent conditions and a good working environment, in accordance with the law. The sewing workshop in Poland – Qualitex – is responsible for most of our product assembly. I’ve just been there on a visit, and I’d like to give you a little glimpse inside the ‘workshop’. It actually looks quite cosy!
Visit to the sewing studio in Poland
Well, they certainly do get up early! And they start work at 6.00 am – but then again, they finish at 2.00 pm, and that apparently suits them best, so they can get home to their children and gardens in good time.
1. First, a quick peek at our production. They were sewing ‘Bike’ skirts when we were there. Oh dear – a silly mistake in the pattern! Hmmm, how shall we sort that out now? But luckily they’re so resourceful, so they sorted it out again :)
2. The owner, Anita, shows us round the small three-storey building… In the largest sewing room, there were some ladies who love sewing our clothes. And, of course, they recognised my dress! So I had to lift up my skirt so they could see from the care label who’d sewn it. It’s actually lovely that each lady is ‘allowed’ to sew a garment from start to finish herself, so you’re not just sitting there doing zips all day, for example…
Og det betyder faktisk at, i ALT det tøj vi får produceret her i Polen, kan man se nogle initialer skrevet på vores vaskemærker inde i tøjet. Og derved, kan vi finde ud af, hvem der har syet dit tøj:) #WhoMadeMyClothes
3. But of course, the tasks are divided up a little to ensure efficiency. For example, there’s a small group of women here who do all the hand-sewing. And in the cutting room on the ground floor (a small house, three storeys, no lift), only men work, because you need to be as strong as an ox! It’s hard work lugging all those rolls of fabric about!
Photographer: Peter Mark (my husband).
Behind the scenes of design and production…
It’s lovely to visit the seamstresses or have the chance to take a closer look at the manufacturers’ workmanship. I love creating high-fashion garments to the full, but it has to be done with respect for people and the environment!
Design comes first, but the clothes MUST also be sustainable. Ecology and sustainability are MY pet subjects. The textile industry is one of the most polluting in the world and, in many places, forces people to work under highly questionable conditions. This is simply unacceptable. That is why respect for people and the environment has been a cause close to my heart from the very beginning. Women buy clothes primarily for themselves because they like them, not because they’re environmentally friendly! But fortunately, sustainability has become a sort of seal of quality for most people.
I use all kinds of eco-friendly fibres in my range. Most often natural textile fibres such as organic cotton, flax, hemp, silk and wool; fibres that can be grown in an environmentally friendly way and in accordance with the rules of organic farming. These textiles are certified by organisations such as GOTS. But there’s a lot happening, and I’m always on the lookout for new sustainable initiatives…
Instead of creating entire collections, I design new pieces on an ongoing basis throughout the year… And there are many benefits:
- One of the major benefits is that we can produce during the eight to nine months of the year when the sewing workshops are NOT incredibly busy in the run-up to trade fairs, and as a result we achieve much better results from them, as they are not under the same time pressure! But it’s also a very sustainable partnership for them, because they’re keen to have orders all year round!
- As a web brand, it is absolutely vital to keep introducing new products on an ongoing basis. It would, of course, not be a good idea to have a huge collection every six months to post on, say, Facebook. That’s why we’ve launched the ‘Design by Order’ concept, where you can pre-order your clothes on an ongoing basis and get a good discount.
Read much more about “Design by Order” here and see what you can pre-order right now.