OLVI'S FOR SUSTAINABILITY
Life is a journey, and so is sustainability
This life is a journey!
We are here to fall down and make mistakes, but we have to get up and stand up for ourselves. We are lifelong learners that are on this planet to learn, find their own purpose and unique ways to make an impact. But even more important, we are here to be perfectly unperfect.
We know that sustainability is high on the run, which means a lot of companies are promoting being sustainable, having this ‘green campaign’ here and that new ‘totally eco-friendly line’ there. It is all beyond impressive but is it also the absolute truth?
We could provide you with the perfect story, stating ten different fields in which we as a brand are sustainable that might sound fantastic but might not be entirely true.
This is not the way we want to go.
We want to share our thoughts, our current actions, and most importantly our future aspirations for more sustainability.
And with that, welcome to our journey.
Transparency. Ethical Responsibility. Made-to-last designs.
As we did research about consumer preferences and attitudes about sustainability in the Fashion segment, we noticed that there is a clear shift not only in desired brand behavior but also in the actual purchase behavior of today’s consumers.
We distilled the three key concepts that portray the big idea behind that shift of thought and behavior and would like to share our thoughts in our very personal Olvi’s context.
If I would simply tell you here and now: ‘’We are a completely sustainable brand!’’, would you believe it? No? Well, that is understandable since it is a claim without any factual backup. And that is exactly what transparency means for us. We want to be clear about how we produce our beautiful gowns, tops, or loungewear. In order for you to understand the context of it, we would like to explain our ideas in connection to the seventeen UN Sustainability Goals.
Sustainability Development Goal #12 – Responsible Consumption and Production
The most important factor for us is that we offer pre-order. That means, we produce almost our entire collections only when someone actually places an order with us.
We have a very small stock room that is not overfilled with clothes that might eventually end up not being used. We aim to have as little stock as possible and therefore, we have our own production site in Eastern Europe producing our Olvi’s garments.
Sustainability Development Goal #8 – Decent work and economic growth; #3 – Good Health and Well Being; #5 – Gender Equality
We want to provide the best working conditions possible and that our seamstresses come to work with a smile on their faces. Sustainability means for us not only caring about the environment but also having responsibility for our workers. We do not only have high safety standards but also ensure that our workers are healthy and have access to health care. Furthermore, we hire our workers upon skills, work ethics, and the will to continuously learn new things and commit to personal growth. We are an equal opportunity employer.
Sustainability Development Goal #12 – Responsible Consumption and Production
We are continuously improving our manufacturing processes. To produce as little waste as possible, all our fabric leftovers are given a second-life chance. We created the cutest stuffed animals for our Little Lady Collection that are made 90% out of leftovers of Olvi’s signature French stretch lace. Furthermore, our gift sets contain a sleeping mask and matching slippers, or our protective facemasks are made entirely out of leftover fabric materials. With every purchase, you can not only protect yourself during the very strange times at the moment or give a beautiful gift to your loved ones, no, you will also contribute to producing less waste and giving our lace leftovers a second chance.
Sustainability Development Goal #17 – Partnership for the Goals
But this is simply not enough for us, we would like to optimize our main materials to be more eco-friendly. Let’s be honest, the pandemic influenced us all and priorities had to be set. But we think that it is now more than ever time to build a more sustainable supply chain. Therefore, we are currently looking for new fabric suppliers and fabric manufacturers that are certified. A certificate is easy to obtain but we want to make sure that it is 100% trustworthy since there are so many certificates of which some are either fake or are simply not meaningful. We are searching for suppliers that already have shown sustainability initiatives in the past and will perform an internal supplier evaluation on their sustainability status. We are truly committed to cooperating with suppliers that share our sustainability aspirations. We believe this is one of the most credible ways to prove our sustainability efforts.
Furthermore, our goal is to make the dying process of our main materials less damaging for the environment and more energy efficient.
For some, it might look like a small-scale change, but we want to do it the right way, with proper research, and with 100% certainty that it is the most sustainable way that lies within our possibilities.
Sustainability Development Goal #4 – Quality Education
Our seamstresses enjoy a high education and are trained how to make a dress from scratch to the finished product. They see the product come to life and build a strong connection with it. We do not support mass production. Craftsmanship is one of our core values and we only work together with the best seamstresses that take their time to create a unique product. It is like a project that you have to plan in detail and that at some point becomes a part of you.
The pandemic slowed down life, made people reflect more, not only on themselves but also on their behavior. The purchase behavior has changed to a more thought-through purchase decision of products that promise a long product lifecycle and that tell a story to the consumer. There are enough brands and styles out there; what matters is not only the product anymore but rather how trustworthy and authentic a brand is seen.
We do not want to sell you a product that needs replacement after wearing it only a few times. If you decide to buy a dress at Olvi’s, we hope that it accompanies you on your journey and that you can make unforgettable memories with it. Our goal is that you buy something you can make memories with, something that is not outdated or outworn within a couple of months. Therefore, we offer customization of the dress. You will get a dress, that fits not only your body 100% but also your mind. There once was a woman that wished for some changes on her dress even one year after purchase and after looking at her case, we decided to make the changes on the dress for her. Our thought behind it was, that we did not want the dress to end up in a dusty attic or even worse, in the trash.
The demand for quality is increasing and with qualitative products, waste production will decrease.
What do we as a brand, see as our responsibility to give our loyal consumers on their life journey?
We can definitely give you one thing on the way: Every small step in the right direction is a step, that will make an impact. Even if the effect does not show immediately; to every action there is a reaction.