Reuse, recycle: a brand shows how it’s done

The Times UK (Raconteur.net), by Jim McClelland

Pioneering companies are using innovative methods to reuse and recycle textiles and other products that would otherwise go to landfill.

Sustainable fashion needs success stories, says Susan Stevens, chief executive and founder of Made with Respect, a curated collection of handcrafted sustainable luxury brands.

“Providing full transparency and sustainability, while still making a profit is the main challenge ethical businesses face right now,” she says. “More and more brands, though, manage to find a balance and Elvis & Kresse is the perfect example.”

Elvis & Kresse: waste leather and fire hoses

For Elvis & Kresse, the story began back in 2005, at a chance meeting with an unlikely source of raw material for a luxury accessories brand, the London Fire Brigade.

Having learnt how decommissioned damaged fire hoses headed to landfill, founders Kresse Wesling and James “Elvis” Henrit set out to rescue the resource.

For more than a decade now, no London fire hose has gone to landfill, with over 175 tons of material reclaimed.

In 2017, the Burberry Foundation teamed up with Elvis & Kresse to tackle leather waste. Their five-year partnership will see 120 tonnes of off-cuts recrafted.

A social enterprise and certified B Corp, Elvis & Kresse donates half the profits from its fire-hose range to the Fire Fighters Charity.