Hungry For Change: Meet the Women Leading the Charge for Change
“One of the commonly highlighted industries that is known for blighting the environment and the source of mass ocean pollution and destruction is fast fashion and textiles. A fervent wave of female-founded businesses are shaking up the industry, aiming for positive impact and consumption. Sophie Everard talks to Laura Thompson and Vicki Jones about how their businesses are leading the charge…”
SurfGirl Magazine feature Summer 2021
“LAURA KAY THOMPSON, FOUNDER LKT LONDON
I'm Laura Kay Thompson, the founder of LKT London, originally from Derbyshire and for the last 14 years I have lived in London. I surf, I skate, I create, I love the sea, I love the outdoors. I dream of living by the sea and having a small holding but right now I grow my own produce from my London pad.
After leaving school at 16 I went to college to study for a BTec in Fashion followed by Art Foundation. I moved to London to do a degree in Fashion Design at Kingston University. Immediately after university I was head hunted by Mulberry Ltd and worked there for over a decade designing luxury accessories and becoming the Head of Accessories. To travel and surf was my temporary escape from the constraints and pressures of working within a world of constantly changing seasons and fast fashion. Surfing was my release, my therapy, and my motivation. Whilst on surf trips, all over the world, my passion for design inspired me to collect unique pieces of art created by local artisans.
I had a vision for the LKT brand many years ago. I wasn't quite sure exactly what it was going to be but I knew that I wanted to create a brand that encompassed everything that I loved, believed in and was inspired by. I moved to Cornwall for a few months of the summer of 2020, living with my sister. This is where I dreamt up my vision. I would surf in the morning and early evenings and during the day I hiked the coastal paths giving myself the space, freedom and thinking time to envisage how the brand would be.
I was on a surf trip in Morocco when I first encountered the handcrafted pieces created by the Berber women in the Atlas Mountains. I was completely enthralled by the originality, the colours, the textures and the fascinating stories hand-woven into each piece. The LKT ethos is to engage with the artists, provide insights into their inspirations and traditional ways of working and to make these individual pieces more accessible for everyone to enjoy. Every product we buy has an environmental footprint and could end up in landfill. I believe that it is important for every individual to have an understanding of their own ecological footprint and for the sake of this and future generations make a conscious effort to reduce that footprint.
As a surfer visiting different countries and appreciating the beauty and simple lives of others my travels inspired me to understand that a slower pace of life with fewer, but very valued possessions, is very important and could be the way to live. I wanted my brand to reflect this. I became more and more aware that the throw away society is not sustainable. I decided that I wanted to work in a way that was more in line with my way of thinking than continuing to be part of the fast fashion industry. The Berber rugs are handwoven by craftswomen in the Atlas Mountains using 100% sheep’s wool, some hand dyed with pigments from spices and vegetables. Vintage rugs repurposed into poufs and cushions, nothing goes to waste! The life and story of every piece continues as does the vision of the brand.
I believe that we should celebrate the art and ancient traditions of women’s communities all over the world. Often the technique, skills and creativity used have been passed down from mother to daughter over generations re-creating motifs that date back thousands of years. For example, the Berber women in Morocco made their homes a sanctuary by weaving and decorating with simple, poetic, geometrical symbols that represented their identity expressing through art their innermost thoughts and emotions. Their crafts are rich in cultural symbolism with each piece telling its own story using symbols, geometric shapes and colours that represent protection, happiness, sadness, fertility, family, strength, life, nature and nurture.
VICTORIA JONES, FOUNDER sand&palm
I’m Vicki, founder of sand&palm and I currently live in Newquay, Cornwall.
I studied my BA in Illustration at Falmouth during which I specialised in fashion illustration. Immediately after I graduated I worked as a surf coach with O’Neil Surf Academy, whilst at the same time starting to build up my freelance design career. I then went on to work as a fashion graphics and textiles designer within the active sports industry and the high street for most of my twenties, living, working and surfing in many countries along the way. Highlights are a stint with Billabong Girls Australia, Hurley in Costa Mesa, CA, and Nikita in Iceland. It had always been a dream of mine to start my own brand, but the time was never right, until in 2016 I moved to Barcelona to study a postgraduate in Swimwear Design and thus sand&palm was born.
Sand&palm is a swim and surf wear brand which puts the wellbeing of the planet and its people at the core of its existence. I design the swimwear and prints, and currently manufacture all the pieces in house, as well as managing our boutique in Newquay. Our swim pieces are made using Econyl which is created by regenerating ghost fishing nets, and I also make a limited range of yoga and lounge wear from organic hemp. I only use dye and printing techniques that have a minimal impact on the environment. Currently I manufacture all pieces made-to-order in-house, in the studio, minimising excess stock and waste. Next to the studio, we also have a small boutique in which we stock sand&palm alongside a hand-picked selection of earth-and-people-friendly clothing and lifestyle products. It gives me immense joy to be able to showcase a small selection of the other incredible talent and small businesses that are also working in a sustainable way and aiming to challenge perceptions of ethical fashion and products.
From many years working with the fashion industry I was well aware of the harmful impact fashion can have and I wanted to steer well away from that. I struggled with the contradiction of being an environmentally friendly brand but using products such as nylon which is a plastic created from fossil fuels. That was, until, my research during The Princes Trust course in 2012 led me to newly established technology at the time, Econyl lycra which is created using discarded fishing nets and ocean plastic, collected and regenerated into a high quality nylon. No other companies at the time were using this or even had sustainability as their main concern but the idea that I could create swimwear out of recycled fishing nets changed everything! I had to do this!
The problem is that for generations, we have been well conditioned into the mindless consumption of material goods. There hasn’t yet been a reason to question where our things come from, and as a result there exists a schism between us, as consumers, and the products we consume. We assume they are just materialised out of thin air, when in fact each product has a story behind them, about how they came into being, who made them and where, what resources they are made from, and how they are made.
Education is key at this point - if we educate ourselves on where our products come from and how they are made, it gives us greater understanding of the innate worth of that product, it becomes precious, and our values will naturally shift with it. Once we are aware, we are then empowered to make choices about where we want to spend out money and thus what value system we want to support going forward. This is when change happens. Lingerie designer and activist Sam Roddick says, “money underpins everything that we do. It is actually the forecast of our future - where we plan to spend our money is actually the forecast of where we are driving the world.”
ADVICE TO START A SUSTAINABLE BRAND FROM LAURA AND VICKI
Nothing of any value is created overnight - work hard and be patient and you’ll reap the rewards.
Be authentic and make sure you practice what you preach.
Get as much experience as you can, and surround yourself with experts in the field. Look for people who are already doing what you want to do and find out how they got there.
Research, there are so many amazing new materials and technology that could be used now as alternatives to traditional fabrics. Be creative, stand out and offer something new to the market.
Dare to be different. In a time when so many conventional world views are being shattered, now is the opportune time to envision new business models and pave the way for a world that we all want to live in.
Create a brand mission statement and always refer back to it when making any decisions. Always make sure that you are aligned with your core values in everything you do.
Do your research, have a vision, be passionate and ‘Ride the wave’