On a Mission
It's about time we mention the rush hour Auckland traffic jam sized elephant in the room:
Greenwashing.
How many clothing brands do you see now days throwing around the words 'sustainable' and 'ethical' just because they ship their orders in compostable postage bags? This is one of the biggest issues in the fashion industry.
We've made a promise to ourselves and to you that we won't be throwing those words around unless we've absolutely without a shadow of a doubt earned it. At the moment the only brand I can think of that has that right is Patagonia (Yvon Chouinard you legend).
We aren't perfect purely of the back of it being a flawed industry, but what we can do is aim to be a transparent brand that is up front about the good, the bad and the why we operate the way we do.
Our Mission
Creating Better Clothes, Inspired by Aotearoa.
You know that one piece of kit you found at the bottom of ya Dad's wardrobe? Or the grail that caught your eye in between racks of clothing at the op-shop? The kind of piece that makes you think - "They just don't make em' like they used to". Well we do make em' like they used to. Every item we release is designed to be a certified slap, a generational noggin pleaser. We aim to make clothes that will still be going strong for future generations to pull from your wardrobes.
Our biggest focus right now is to be making pieces that don't end up in a landfill, instead can stand the test of the New Zealand lifestyle n' weather. We make durable and quality clothing. For every Lid, Tee or Hoodie that we make that can become your go-to for the next 5+ years, that's countless items of clothing we're preventing from being tossed. We may not be perfect yet, but if we can slow the rate that clothing ends up in a landfill it's a bloody good start.
The vision of the future we want to be a part of is one with legacy at the core of everything we do. We have loved growing up in such a stunning part of the world and want to be able to leave it in a better place for future generations, with clean oceans to surf in, snow on the mountains, kai in the seas and a bloody sweet Shaggy lid on their heads!
We're making a commitment to you (and you can hold us to this) to be transparent on what we do. While we know we aren't perfect we'll try to always do the right thing, and aim to get that little bit better everyday.
The Good
Currently
Certified manufacturers. Our manufacturers hold BSCI (amfori) social compliance certification, which covers working conditions and fair treatment of workers, and OEKO-TEX certification, which means the fabrics are tested for harmful substances. It’s not the same as us standing on the factory floor ourselves (see our work ons), but it’s a solid start.
Giving back. Over 10% of our profits go back into the community, to local non-profits and causes we actually care about, both social and environmental. They’re the people and places that keep our coastlines and communities in good nick, and supporting them is part of how we run Shaggy, not a marketing add-on.
Limited runs, no mass sales. We make our gear in limited runs rather than flooding the market. When a style sells out, it’s usually gone for good. That keeps waste down, means we’re not sitting on mountains of excess stock, and keeps every piece a bit special. It’s also why you won’t see us doing Black Friday or other big blanket sales. We’d rather make good gear people buy because they love it than push discounts just to shift units. A sale for the sake of a sale isn’t how we want to do things.
Built to last for AGES. The most sustainable product is the one you’re still wearing in 10 years. Everything we make is built to go the distance: heavyweight fabrics, solid construction, and a care guide with every order to help it last even longer.
The not so Good
Our Work Ons
100% cotton hoods. This is the big one. We’d love our hoods to be full cotton like the rest of our range, and we’ve been sampling cotton fleeces to get there. So far, none have made the cut. Some went flat and lost that soft brushed inner after a few washes. Others shrank. And some came from mills where we couldn’t properly see how the cotton was grown or the fabric was made, which is a hard no for us.
Cotton isn’t automatically the greener choice, either. Conventional cotton can use huge amounts of water and chemicals. We want to get this right, not just tick a box. Until we find a cotton fleece that’s built right, sourced right and priced fairly, we’ll stick with our recycled poly blend, and we’ll tell you here when that changes.
Visiting our factories. Our manufacturers hold BSCI (amfori) and OEKO-TEX certifications, and we trust the people we work with. But a certificate on paper isn’t the same as seeing it with our own eyes. We haven’t independently audited our factories yet, and we want to change that. We’ll be visiting in person, walking the floors, meeting the people who make our gear, and checking the working conditions and material sourcing for ourselves. When we do, we’ll share what we find here and on our blog: the good and the not-yet-good. Until then, we won’t use words we haven’t earned.
