We want to change the fashion industry with sustainable clothing
In our Q&A short we highlight an inspiring entrepreneur or organisation. This time, Freek van Litsenburg from Bigger Picture Clothing, who is adamant on changing the fashion industry with sustainable clothing.
Who are you, what do you do?
We are Bigger Picture Clothing and we design, manufacture and sell sustainable clothing with social impact. We do all this with 100% transparency, a concept that is central to our philosophy. This means that as a customer you have full insight into the impact of our brand. This way every customer can see where and how his/her clothes are made, as well as how the money is used to create positive impact.
How did you get started with this?
This has been a combination of 101 ideas that I had in my head. To express these in words I would say a combination of personal passion for design, heart for entrepreneurship, interest in sustainability/social impact and market potential to merge this in a commercial context. We then set out to set out the lines and further finalize the concept. After the design phase, it was then time to travel to Portugal to visit a list of possible (sustainable) suppliers and select the best ones.
What do you want to achieve?
Create an internationally successful and impactful clothing brand. Moreover, we want to show the fashion industry that it can also be done in a transparent way, in which all stakeholders are aware of all underlying processes.
How do you view the sustainability problem in, for example, the fashion industry?
We look for the solution in transparency. Fast fashion will always be there, as long as it is legally allowed in the free economy. In our opinion, the real change occurs as soon as every customer knows transparently what is hidden behind his/her garment. In this way, everyone with complete information can make a decision that feels right for them. When this information is transparently available, you also know why you pay so little for one item of clothing and a little more for another.
Want to know more? Visit biggerpictureclothing.com
