Sustainable fashion is my day-to-day. It is, first and foremost, the focus of my work; however, it is also a life philosophy. I love living in a time in which it is getting easier to consume fashion responsibly – and that goes for myself and my family. Finding sustainable fashion is also about raising my son to understand what his mum does – and why it’s important. So, with motherhood came a new challenge: delving into sustainable children’s fashion.
Children grow up quickly, and it’s ever so tempting to fall into fast fashion to clothe them. Thankfully, there’s an increasing number of brands dedicated to filling the gaps for parents looking to dress their children ethically. I’m always in the search for companies that put their values into manufacture, and attentiveness to organic textiles seems like the best way to do that when it comes to newborn and infant clothes.
Organic textiles stem from an all-around commitment to make clothes that damage the Earth as little as possible. That means changing up the structure of how things have been done for decades: there’s far less water involved when sowing and harvesting, and there no harmful chemicals are used at any point of production. And that’s the basis of the entire philosophy behind Serendipity Organics.
Serendipity Organics is a Danish brand of baby and children’s clothes, from 0 months to 11 years, and they are committed to having the most ethical process possible. They work with entirely natural fibres and materials; in fact, their entire cotton production chain is 100% certified by GOTS, namely the Global Organic Textile Standard. For Serendipity, however, making clothes ethically doesn’t stop at organic materials, as they also make sure that their workers are paid good wages, and the factories they work with in India are SA8000 certified for social accountability.
I’ll always support a company that does its best to ensure sustainability and humane treatment of workers, in each and every step. The Serendipity brand is guided by organic textile production, starting by getting rid of harmful pesticides and dangerous chemicals, such as heavy metals, AZO colours, and chlorine. While this is always of the utmost importance to me, it becomes critical when it comes to my child: I need to know that every little thing he touches is safe for him.
Baby clothes are some of the most delicate things in the world. When a child is that small, parents are unaware of what they might be allergic to, and any clothing item can potentially cause a reaction. It’s the age when children are most susceptible to allergens, and it’s crucial to be on top of every material they come into contact with. As makers of clothes for newborn babies, Serendipity Organics is fully aware of this. Every single one of their products is made to be soft to the touch and not harmful to human skin; and that goes for their cotton, alpaca, and llama wool items. They also steer away from all types of toxic chemicals during production, and they naturally dye raw fibres for more lasting and vibrant colours. Fabrics are then pre-washed, taking out any possible residue and also ensuring a perfect fit and the least amount of shrinkage.
I’m in awe of the dedication Serendipity puts on being organic on every possible step of their manufacture. They use natural materials whenever possible, resulting in precise details like buttons made out of seashells, coconut, and tagua nut. If there’s no current alternative to a less-than-ideal material, they’ll still go the extra mile to make sure there’s some thought behind everything, like nickel-free zippers. They also encourage their providers, present and future, to come up with all-natural alternatives to the normalized artificial materials.
The Serendipity Organic cotton is grown in India, where every other phase of production then occurs, at the hands of local crafters who are well treated. The fact that every step happens in the same area, from harvest to sewing the final fabrics, diminishes the carbon footprint considerably, as there’s less transportation between places.
While they’ve worked hard to fit GOTS standards when it comes to their cotton products, the Serendipity Organics alpaca and llama wool items (from their winter collection) aren’t certified. There’s no possible certification due to a variety of reasons, the main of which being that these animals live without fencing. The company maintains the same standards for wool as they do with cotton, although with a detail I love: they upkeep the traditional way of treating the material. Semi-handmade or entirely handmade in Bolivia with yarns from Bolivia and Peru, the knitting has been collective work for centuries, and it’s a testament to Serendipity Organics that they’ve maintained this for their alpaca and llama pieces. Small groups of local women knit while surrounded by their families, as newer generations learn a trade that has been passed along for generations. A second team of expert local knitters oversees production for quality control, just as it has happened for many years.
It was their ecological and otherwise ethical practices that drove me to Serendipity Organics, but it’s their beautiful designs that made me stay. Their clothes are sweet and classic, inspired by the all-encompassing Scandinavian belief in clean and simple lines. They make clothes for children since the time they’re born (even if they do so prematurely) to nearly the teenage years, and their designs are focused on comfort above all. The Serendipity Organics classical-looking pieces are made to fit ergonomically, thanks to their thorough and chemical-free processing.
The Serendipity Organics fashion philosophy is all about children wearing clothes, instead of the other way around, which makes for snug and sweet clothing items. The brand’s baby and children’s fashions offer modern designs without steering away from classic childhood pieces, most of which are in soft colours and pastels. Serendipity Organics is the kind of brand I want to see my boy grow up with, between its beautiful designs and its all-around commitment to making the world a more conscious place through their business. I’m delighted to have found them – even if it didn’t happen serendipitously.
Visit the Official website to find out more.