We don’t see ourselves as a clothing brand, we’re essentially a social enterprise that just happens to make clothing. We’re partnered with Rise Futures, a registered charity that works with young people leaving the care system looking to gain meaningful experience, skills and hopefully employment once they do leave.
We’re completely purpose-led, with heart and soul who want to bring skills, jobs and opportunity back to those who need them most and the clothing we create bridges that gap. So at Re_Threads our rule of thumb is one garment sold = one hour of opportunity.
How did you come up with the idea for the company?
I’ve spent over 15 years working in the fashion industry; understanding, experiencing and realising fundamental flaws, a period of time out happened to start a young family and a different pace of life.
Then, during the depths of the pandemic, my Co-Founder reached out asking if I thought there was something in an idea he’d had. We then started talking about the sustainability and lifecycle of workwear. What could they do in this space? How could they do it better? In what way could they help and educate others? And so Re_Threads became reality.
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How has the company evolved over the last couple of years?
We’re still very much a start-up and fresh off our launch but we have seen a great response to the purpose, the product, the brand itself and the mission we are on to try and gently educate people and indeed businesses about another way.
What can we hope to see from Re_threads in the future?
We want to be fully circular – zero waste and net carbon zero with hopes of being carbon negative in the very near future. We have plans to bring various projects to life, such as community outreach hubs, and potential UK production facilities, and expand what we already offer Rise students within Re_Threads by looking to collaborate with other industries and creatives. It’s just the beginning.
