Before we continue with this incredible story, please note that the crux of this article is innovation, sustainability and a deep concern for the world’s resources. The first ever 30 year sweatshirt may be donned in a Christmas theme, however, Tom Cridland is dedicated to creating a line of durable and sustainable clothing that takes a stand against a throwaway culture. So if your heart knows that we need to treat our world better, then read on.
This sweatshirt fights the fast fashion trend that is sweeping the globe. It is meant to last, it even has a 30 year guarantee. He states that, “It is so well made that we Guarantee it for 30 Years. A combination of technology, luxury fabric and old school craftmanship make it built to last a lifetime. In contrast to the needless cycle of consumption and waste that exists all over the world at Christmas, this is a garment truly built to last.” Tom Cridland, has had the honour of making clothing for celebrities such as, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Stiller, Rod Stewart, Hugh Grant, Stephen Fry, Jeremy Piven, Nigel Olsson, Brandon Flowers, Robbie Williams, Nile Rodgers, Michael Portillo, Stephan Merchant, Frankie Valli, Daniel Craig, Neil Young, Danny McBride, Clint Eastwood and Kendrick Lamar! The holiday season is fraught with consumerism and waste and the fashion is among the top 2 polluting industries. This 30 year Christmas sweatshirt promotes the “buy less, buy better” ideology.
“The 30 Year Christmas Sweatshirt is the culmination of two and a half years of hard work since I founded Tom Cridland with my girlfriend of 7 years, Deborah Marx, with a £6,000 (approx. $7,400) start-up loan and have grown it to a £2m turnover with customers on every continent”, said Tom.
A heartfelt thanks to Tom Cridland and Deborah Marx for leading the fashion industry towards becoming an industry that considers the environment first. Lets hope this becomes a global movement and that fashion industry leaders will follow suit. You can shop Tom Cridland clothing here!
Here are some additional questions we were able to ask Tom himself!
What other practices set your brand apart?
The 30 Year Collection was launched by my brand, Tom Cridland, which I started in 2014 with a £6,000 government start-up loan. We specialised initially solely in trousers, making them in a wide variety of colours and fabrics in a signature elegant cut. We still make these today. Things really got off the ground when we had the chance to make trousers for the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Stiller, Rod Stewart and Daniel Craig.
The 30 Year Sweatshirt was the first item with a 30 year guarantee that I designed. It was an attempt to make sustainable fashion more broadly appealing and to get consumers thinking about fashion as less disposable. We also aimed to lead an industry trend to protecting natural resources by making truly durable clothing.
The 30 year period for the guarantee was decided upon together with my suppliers who have been making sweatshirts for over 50 years. This is a conservative and not overly ambitious length of time for us to pledge that garments of our quality will last.
We’re a small, independent brand and not driven by corporate greed. We’re free to design further things to keep our customers coming back to but more. We’re not willing to compromise and move towards the destructive fast fashion ethos. Also, as a business move specifically, The 30 Year Collection has been a resounding success!
We had to look back to take our concept of the X Year Sweatshirt, a campaign against fast fashion and for sustainable fashion, forward. The 30 Year Guarantee is no gimmick and invokes a bygone era when clothing was made with care. We developed the 30 Year figure with our seamstresses in Portugal who have been making beautiful clothing since 1964. The sweatshirts, t-shirts and jackets are made out of luxury fabric that we source from Biella in Northern Italy, and are now crafted in both Parma, Italy and Serra da Estrela, Portugal. Technological advances allowed us to develop a special treatment to protect the garments against shrinking. We’re selling clothing of a quality you might usually find on 5th Avenue or Bond Street direct to consumer without third party retail markups. This allows us to make our clothing truly durable, which protects natural resources, and offer it to consumers at a reasonable price. The 30 Year concept is the game changer, however, though our process is second to none. Fast fashion is damaging the environment, putting responsible brands out of business and ripping off consumers. We are fighting the corporations that are treating both clothing and those who make it as disposable by offering consumers something better: should anything happen to your garment in the next 30 Years, we will repair or replace it free of charge.
How do the other items differ from the mainstream?
The brand is Tom Cridland, not 30 Year clothing. Tom Cridland started as a brand specialising only in pants and we came up with the idea for the 30 Year Collection after that, so that’s why the guarantee doesn’t apply to the pants, which were created before that. Having said that, we do offer free repairs on the pants too and the ethos behind the making of all our clothing, including The Entrepreneur’s Shirt, our next project, is very in-keeping with the 30 Year philosophy. We are now, first and foremost, a sustainable fashion brand.
Is there a ladies line? Or will there be?
We will be launching a women-swear line in 2017.
Rhode Island Blog Rhode Island Real Estate, Events, Restaurants, Vacations, Local Beer, Breweries, Directory and more!
