Sustainability Q+A with Repose AMS
In-Yeo Couperus
INTERVIEW WITH IN-YEO COUPERUS
FOUNDER REPOSE AMS
WHAT IS THE REPOSE AMS ETHOS?
Repose AMS is an extension of myself. I want to create something special and something that makes me happy. I work very organically and I am not always making the best business decisions :-) but at the end of the day I want to fully support the things I am doing.
WHERE ARE YOU LOCATED, IS YOUR WHOLE TEAM THERE?
Our shop and office are combined in the lively Amsterdam Oost. This area has a good mix of locals and import and most important, good vibes.
WHERE ARE THE COLLECTIONS PRODUCED? ARE YOU ABLE TO CLOSELY MONITOR YOUR PRODUCTION?
80% is produced in Portugal and 20% is produced in China. We have been working with the same suppliers from the beginning.
For me it is really important to have a strong relationship with the suppliers so we can work towards trusting each other, that's why we only work with a few so we can establish a strong relationship.
WHAT WAS YOU PROCESS IN SELECTING YOUR FACTORIES AND HOW DO YOU ENSURE YOUR MANUFACTURERS ARE MEETING BEST ETHICAL PRACTICES? DO THEY HAVE ANY CERTIFICATION?
I knew a few suppliers from my time before Repose AMS and I already had a good relationship with them.
I aim to work with GOTS, organic cotton, all our fleece and jersey jackets are made from this or we aim to work with recycled materials and Oeko tex certified. I don't request any other certificates from my suppliers.
DO BOTH YOUR PORTUGUESE AND CHINESE HAVE THEIR GOTS AND OEKO-TEX CERTIFICATIONS?
Yes, they have but production takes longer and price will go up.
WHAT KIND OF FABRICS DO YOU MOST USE? ARE YOUR FABRICS GOTS ORGANIC OR OEKO-TEX CERTIFIED?
We try to use as much GOTS organic, Okeo Tex Certified and recycled materials as possible. At this moment we are also looking into stock fabrics, so we can use this for new items, as it is just sitting around, if you know what I mean.
CAN YOU PLEASE TELL US ABOUT HOW YOUR FABRICS ARE DYED?
All our Jerseys and Fleece items are being processed in a dying / colouring house, they reuse the water, after use it goes into a big reservoir where bacteria are added who purify the water so it can be reused again and so on.
HOW DO YOU SELECT THE FABRICS YOU USE AND WHERE DO THEY COME FROM?
We work with our usual fabric suppliers, we know what we get, the quality and delivery etc. Each season we have a few fancy fabrics in the mix which I source in Paris at the fabric fair. Fabrics are from France, Italy and Turkey.
Repose AMS
WHAT DO YOU DO WITH YOUR OVERSTOCK OF MATERIALS AND FABRIC SCRAPS?
We don’t have that much overstock of fabrics, because I think dead stock fabrics are such a waste. We never order much more fabric than needed. For example our fleece and jersey fabrics we use the same quality for seasons, so we can use it again for next seasons. And if we have fabrics scraps left we try to do something nice with it, for example our face masks are all made from dead stock fabric. And at the moment we are working with Homeschool Daily Apple on a super nice project to do something with our fabric scraps we have left from previous seasons.
CAN YOU PLEASE TELL US ABOUT YOUR PACKAGING FOR SHIPMENTS TO CUSTOMERS?
We use biodegradable polybags to pack all our items separately, and for our webshop we use packaging from recycled paper. Because of Covid-19 we changed from cardboard boxes to paper bags as the Posties were having difficulties due to the high demand of packages being ordered online and needed to be shipped.
We recycle as much as we can.
DO YOU USE INDIVIDUAL BAGS FOR INDIVIDUAL ITEMS WHEN YOU SHIP TO RETAILERS? IF YES, ARE THEY RECYCLED AND/OR COMPOSTABLE?
Yes, we use individual plastic bags, they are compostable.
DO YOU USE RECYCLED PAPER FOR YOUR HANG TAGS, POSTCARDS AND MARKETING MATERIALS?
Yes, we do! This is really important for me, plus I like the look better than new white paper.
I’D ALSO LOVE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE RELOVED PROGRAM YOU STARTED.
Our R E L O V E D platform that is very close to my heart. On there we sell second hand kids clothes which we curate carefully. This to me is the most sustainable way in the fashion industry, invest in high quality pieces which can be treasured for many many years to come.
This is also how I buy my own clothing, I almost see it that I am collecting pieces. I spend a bit more money on a piece, but I also love them for many years. I started with this when I started my working life, and I still remember the moment that I bought a very expensive coat, which I still wear and still love very much.
DO YOU WANT TO SHARE ANYTHING ELSE WITH OUR READERS ON YOUR EFFORTS IN SUSTAINABILITY AND ETHICAL PRACTICES?
Sustainability is a complex topic to me, there will always be greenwashing and much needed transparency is still missing in the business. I am trying my best to produce each collection as sustainable as possible.
A real important note for us is, awareness about sustainability. For example, we get lots of questions why we do not offer free shipping when returning items, because we are a small independent company this is just not achievable (money wise). Plus the more packages sent in and out, is an impact on the environment
In the far future, when I have some spare time left :-) I would like to take the opportunity to use the brand more as a platform regarding sustainability and also regarding diversity.
But for the near future we are working on a series of interviews about sustainability and hopefully this creates some awareness.
BACK TO BRAND PROFILE
Last updated October 2021
MORE BRANDS
