Sustainability Q+A with Soor Ploom

INTERVIEW WITH MARISSA BUICK
FOUNDER SOOR PLOOM

WHAT IS THE SOOR PLOOM ETHOS?

We are always striving to be more sustainable in our practices. We have been growing slowly over the past 9 years, and although we became a little bigger each season, we will always be a small company producing limited runs in the name of slow fashion. We will always use natural materials in our clothing, and strive for zero waste by up-cycling material scrap and recycling even the smallest pieces of fabric. Our packaging materials are all compostable and recyclable. We aim to be plastic free. We are proud that our clothes are cherished and passed down to siblings and to friends. We want to live in a world where less is more and pass this ethos to our children and future generations.

YOU’RE BASED IN BROOKLYN AND IT’S WHERE YOU STARTED PRODUCTION. ARE THE COLLECTIONS STILL PRODUCED THERE?

Our main production is in Portugal now and the quality is beautiful! We are so happy. We produce our knitwear collection in Peru. We are excited to continue to produce locally as well, so certain things we will make here.

WHAT WAS YOU PROCESS IN SELECTING YOUR FACTORIES AND HOW DO YOU ENSURE YOUR MANUFACTURERS ARE MEETING BEST ETHICAL PRACTICES? ARE YOU ABLE TO CLOSELY MONITOR PRODUCTION?

We are working with an agency now in Portugal and they are on board with transitioning the brand to be even more sustainable than ever! We are able to produce our fabrics and source organic cottons. Also, we are working to receive certifications from factories, all are aligned with most sustainable practices.

The factories we work with are all small, family run businesses. We connected with them through friends and through word of mouth. Our partners in New York helped us grow our company from the beginning and continue to provide beautiful, quality clothes, and produce in small runs. We are able to visit them often since they are located within miles of our studio/ home. Our partners in Peru have been working in the industry for many years. They manage our knitwear collections and work closely with the best quality factories in Lima. Each season they are growing with us and we are so grateful for their expertise and care taken with our products.

WHAT KIND OF FABRICS DO YOU MOST USE? ARE YOUR FABRICS GOTS ORGANIC OR OEKO-TEX CERTIFIED?

We only use natural fibers, 100% cotton and linen. The only products we sell with a lycra blend of 5% are our essential leggings and tights/socks.We wish there was a plant based stretchy fiber! We try to use GOTS certified organic cotton when it is available to us- this is an area we are trying to grow into as our production capacity grows, this means more options open up to us.

HOW DO YOU SELECT THE FABRICS YOU USE AND WHERE DO THEY COME FROM?

We source our main collection fabrics from Europe, Japan, and recently India. Our essentials collection, as well as our sweaters are made from organic pima cotton, grown in Peru. Our merino wool is sourced in Uruguay and knit in Peru.

CAN YOU PLEASE TELL US ABOUT HOW YOUR FABRICS ARE DYED?

Fabric is dyed with reactive, low impact dye. In some cases (with fabric coming from India) the dye process is GOTS certified organic.

WHAT DO YOU DO WITH YOUR OVERSTOCK OF MATERIALS AND FABRIC SCRAPS?

We up-cycle what we can and create a bespoke collection of small accessories which include hats, bags, scarves, small hair accessories, aprons, cloth napkins, and tea towels. We partner with a local company called FAB SCRAP to recycle the tiniest bits we cannot use. Other pieces are donated the our children’s school art teachers.

CAN YOU PLEASE TELL US ABOUT YOUR PACKAGING FOR SHIPMENTS TO CUSTOMERS?

We do not use any plastic in our packaging. We use tissue paper and compostable stickers. Our mailers are made from recycled eco-friendly paper.

DO YOU USE INDIVIDUAL BAGS FOR INDIVIDUAL ITEMS WHEN YOU SHIP TO RETAILERS? IF YES, ARE THEY RECYCLED AND/OR COMPOSTABLE?

Our garments arrive bulk packed in large fabric storage bags from our local factories. For garments shipped from Peru, we request all styles be bulk packed. We re-use these bags or recycle them locally. We always bulk pack shipments to our wholesalers. In some cases our wholesalers will require individually packed items, and we use a plant based, compostable bag. We are working now to source an eco-friendly paper bag alternative to the plastic and our aim is to eliminate all plastic packaging.