Every year, Earth Day offers the opportunity to give back to a planet that has given so much to us. What we wear everyday can make us that much more connected to our planet, too. Marcella does not take this privilege for granted - our fashion embraces four innovative approaches to helping to care for the one planet Earth that we have…
SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2024
In Celebration of Earth Day
Our Why
The fashion industry has long had a (justified) reputation for using environmentally unfriendly fabrics and trims, generating massive landfill waste and embracing unsustainable working conditions and exploitative compensation practices. When we set out on the journey that is Marcella, we committed to doing things differently - using fashion as a force for positive change. Sustainability has always been an integral part of that very thread that makes Marcella; indeed, it's one of the four foundational "Pillars" that guide our brand. From aesthetic, to manufacturing approach, to materials, as well as to compensation practices, sustainability has a prominent seat at the Marcella table, ensuring that every one of your purchases is as environmentally low impact as possible. Let us explain more here about the "how" and what further innovations we've embraced in the past 12 months.
Aesthetic
The very design of Marcella's fashion is animated by sustainability. We've conceived of a timeless aesthetic that can allow you to wear our pieces season after season, year after year. In consciously choosing not to be trend-driven, Marcella seeks to create a wardrobe that alleviates the need for our customers to churn through their closets, saving them money while minimizing our company's generation of deadstock and waste.
"Marcella sells over 98% of what we make at/near fully price - a uniquely sustainable number in the fashion industry (which averages only 70% sell-through and leans heavily on landfills and burning) (P.S. We also sell or donate the other 2%)."
OUR ATELIER
Fabrics & Trims
We source only the finest fabrics and trims for our garments and accessories - luxe, long-lasting and easy on the environment, wherever possible. Even as we seek to be a designer brand that's accessible in price point, we're continually researching how to upgrade our fabrics and trims to be ever more sustainable. This past year, we were proud to launch Marcella's first-ever vegan leather accessories collection, including launching a fully vegan version of our beloved Karma Boots in apple leather. Small impact on the planet, big impact on your personal style.
"Just-in-Time" Small Batch Production
Your average fashion company takes 4 - 6 months to make a garment and deliver it to a warehouse to be eventually sent to you; Marcella, by contrast, averages 6 - 8 weeks. One of our company's most innovative sustainability approaches is our "just-in-time" small batch production model. That model allows us to be continually restocking inventory as our designs are purchased (and to make the right inventory in the first place - we don't make what we can't sell), meaning less designs sitting in our warehouse and ultimately minimal generation by Marcella of any textile waste. Inside the world's second largest polluting industry (fashion), Marcella sells over 98% of what we make at/near fully price - a uniquely sustainable number in the fashion industry (which averages only 70% sell-through and leans heavily on landfills and burning) (P.S. We also sell or donate the other 2%).
Ethical Production
Our team is ultimately what makes Marcella who we are. We're lucky to work with such a brilliant group of people, composed primarily of women, whose creativity and leadership inspire much of what our brand stands for today. Marcella proudly compensates any worker who ever touches a Marcella garment with a truly living wage, free healthcare, a 40-hour work week, 20 days of paid vacation annually, paid maternity leave, paid sick days, and much more. The success and well-being of our team is of utmost importance to us; we couldn't imagine claiming to be sustainable as a brand if we didn't ensure that the individuals crafting our garments and accessories weren't also living sustainably!
OUR TEAM
For Our Future
We thank you for supporting our mission of revolutionizing the ethics of the fashion industry, inclusive of keeping our Earth beautiful and plentiful for generations to come. For us, sustainability is the only way forward. Sometimes, it's just that simple! Here’s to continuously moving forward, on Earth Day and beyond, while we work to stay ever more true to the vision of Marcella that you know and love.Â
