What is Sustainable Fashion? With Jeff Duke
Jeff sporting a L/L Supply t-shirt, credit: Mackenzie Duncan
“Sustainable is the dirtiest word in fashion.”
Jeff Duke tells it like it is. As the head of a local apparel brand he knows the good and the bad of the clothing industry. At L/L Supply, Jeff is pioneering a circular economy system by using upcycled and recycled materials to create functional clothing. This is never where he imagined himself ending up though.
“I grew up wanting the big house, fancy cars, expensive suits. I originally went to school to be an investment banker and I just was super miserable. Travelling reset me and taught me about what’s important in life.”
L/L Supply actually started as a photography and sustainability blog where Jeff could share his new perspectives gained through travel. He called it Lifestyle over Luxury to represent an ideology that values “memories over material and passion over practicality.”
The L/L Supply flagship store in Victoria, B.C., credit: Mackenzie Duncan
The shift from a blog into a clothing brand was born out of necessity rather than intention. As avid surfers, Jeff and his friends were looking for clothing that was durable, affordable and didn’t look like the technical workout gear that seemed to be their only option at the time. This led to L/L Supply and a career trajectory that Jeff couldn’t have predicted.
When I ask if he sees himself continuing in the business, he responds “I couldn’t picture myself doing anything else, I do love it.”
Jeff at one of L/L Supply’s partner factories, credit: Mackenzie Duncan
L/L Supply now offers comfortable clothing that is ethically and consciously sourced to not only mitigate their negative environmental impact but actually have a positive effect on the industry.
Jeff describes the power that his brand has to change the clothing game: “I feel like I’m in a position now where I can make an impact globally. I don’t know any other industry that I could step into and make the level of difference that I know I can make in this one.”
Their truly innovative practices include manufacturing with upcycled materials in small batches, offsetting the carbon emissions of all incoming and outgoing shipments, and paying more than the living wage for a family to their factory workers. Their roster of upcycled materials includes end-of-roll fabric, factory floor cuttings, regenerated nylon and recycled water bottles.
And they aren’t done yet in innovating new ways to manage a clothing company. Jeff explains his vision for the brand that the fashion industry has never seen before: “Our goal is to become completely circular. We want to manage the products when they’re going out and at the end of their lifecycle. We’ll take items when you’re finished wearing them and turn it into a new product.”
Jeff acknowledges that this hasn’t been easy along the way and still isn’t: “We’re building this model from the ground up which is hugely costly. We are working with people who have a vision for what they want the industry to be and not just what’s just best for the business right now.”
Changing the industry cannot be achieved just by producers. We discuss how consumer education is critical in a shift to a low impact industry. Brands are jumping on the fact that 70% of millennials are willing to pay more for sustainable products and are planting misleading terminology throughout their marketing. You may be seeing “organic cotton” advertised as the newest sustainable material, which Jeff shares is just not the case:
Quote by Jeff Duke, credit: L/L Supply Journal
“To make a single organic cotton t-shirt is 2,700 litres of water which is enough water for someone to drink for 7 years. You’re using a resource to create a linear product that will end up in the landfill in two to five years. That’s the farthest thing from a sustainable garment.”
This example illustrates the need to be educated before you head out for your next shopping trip. While organic cotton cannot be considered ‘sustainable’ in the literal sense of the word, it is better than synthetic materials and regular cotton garments.
L/L Supply took the initiative to break down exactly what you’re paying for when buying one of their garments in a post titled ‘Why Pay $40 For a T-Shirt?’. Jeff admits “I don’t know how great it is from a business perspective to tell everyone how much we make off each shirt but at the same time maybe it is. Sustainability ties hand in hand with transparency and ethical manufacturing.” They want to bring consumers along and tell the story of their journey to a circular economy model.
Jeff sums up his outlook on sustainability and business in a simple sentence: “As long as I do the best I can individually for the issue and hopefully inspire others to take a little bit of action in their life that’s really all you can do.” While the name has been shortened, it seems to me that L/L Supply is succeeding in spreading their message of lifestyle over luxury in everything they do, and educating their community as they do it.
To shop and follow along with L/L Supply’s content check them out on Instagram, Facebook, and at their website.