Serkles beliefs

Our Beliefs

Our Beliefs

“We believe that the aesthetics of fashion are compatible with sustainable and socially responsible business practices”

Corsino San Miguel

Founder of Serkles

We believe the lifecycle of garments is inextricably linked to what happens to the textiles after use and the communities that help produce them. Our vision is for clothes, fabric, and fibres to cyclically re-enter the economy after use and never be discarded as waste. We convert waste textiles and clothes, including those manufactured by others, into new textile products which creates a supply loop, making fashion circular.

We also believe the human element of textile production should be at the heart of this supply loop, which is why we are partnered with sewing workshops in Glasgow, grass roots producers of wool in Spain and the Cotton for life program in Egypt. SERKLES aims to nurture diverse local communities and strengthen each link in the supply loop by developing a network of cottage industries to produce and then repurpose fabric and material, keeping textiles out of landfills.

Why are SERKLES’ beliefs important?

The linear “take-make-waste” model of the garment manufacturing industry has had a devastating environmental and social impact. Prioritising profit over people and the planet is not only harmful to the natural environment but also further entrenches social inequality across the globe.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

Fashion is the second most polluting industry in the world, coming a close second to oil.

Water ▼

To make a single cotton t-shirt, 2,700 litres of freshwater are required, enough to meet one person’s drinking needs for 2.5 years. Textile production is estimated to be responsible for about 20% of global clean water pollution from dyeing and finishing products.

Green gas emissions ▼

It is estimated that the fashion industry is responsible for 10% of global carbon emissions – more than international flights and maritime shipping combined.

Textile waste in landfills ▼

Since 1996, the amount of clothes bought in Europe per person has increased by 40% following a sharp fall in prices, which has reduced the life span of clothing. Europeans use nearly 26 kilos of textiles and discard about 11 kilos of them every year. Around 330,000 tonnes of used clothes are burned or buried in landfills in the UK each year alone.

SOCIAL IMPACT

Seeking ever-cheaper sources of labour, garment production has typically shifted to developing countries where the enforcement of legislation prohibiting the use of child and forced labour is not guaranteed, nor are employees’ rights to a safe and secure working environment with a living wage.

Child Labor ▼

60 % of workers at mills in India were under 18 when they started
working there.

Living Wage ▼

Typically, 0.6% of the retail price of a t-shirt goes to workers.

Working Conditions ▼

Perilous working conditions are sporadically brought to global attention by tragic events like the Rana Plaza disaster in 2013, where 1100 workers died when a factory collapsed in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

As a result of fashion industry failures, consumer habits have moved towards brands which are both ethical and environmentally friendly. Despite some cynical attempts of mass textile producers to label themselves as ethical and green, new initiatives and business models have responded to the growing awareness of the need for sustainability and ethically produced textiles, such as clothing rentals, second-hand marketplaces and even subscription models. New clothes are now made from recycled materials, from plastic bottles to worn-out tires and even used coffee grinds. This emphasis on reduction in environmental impact is a very positive step but sustainable production is only one part of the picture. To truly bring about transformational change to the fashion industry, there must also be a social impact, which is why SERKLES supports local communities to acquire new skills and uses the raw materials from a forgotten traditional textile producing area in Spain.

ETHICAL and SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION

Creating a transparent, ethical and sustainable chain.

Sustainable Organic Cotton ▼

In partnership with Filmar SPA, we use extra-long staple organic cotton yielded in Egypt by the innovative COTTONFORLIFE program. This initiative aims to promote sustainable fashion using top quality raw material by creating a transparent, eco-friendly and socially responsible textile value chain.

Spanish Merino Wool ▼

We use Spanish merino wool in raw colours without dyes to make the manufacture of our garments both environmentally friendly and sustainable.

Ethical Manufacturing ▼

The production site, Pradoluengo, is a remote village in the “Sierra de la Demanda” that has been producing wool textiles since the sixteenth Century. However, economic activity is now in real danger of completely disappearing. The town has lost half of its population in the last 30 years, and currently has around 1,000 habitants. SERKLES benefits from the artisanal heritage of the Zaldo family, third generation textile producers, to manufacture high quality socks with a positive social impact.

PUTTING OUR COMMUNITIES
AT THE HEART OF WHAT WE DO

At Serkles we belief in giving back to our community in a way that benefits and empowers them, promoting a new social fashion industry.

Empowering our local community ▼

Profits from the sale of SERKLES socks help fund our partner, Stitch the Gap, who run sewing workshops with children and adults in the East Dunbartonshire area of Glasgow. These communal sewing sessions aim to empower individuals to make positive changes in their everyday lives by offering learning opportunities and developing skills to take into the workplace.

Giving back to our community ▼

We are building a workforce through our adult workshops in order to deliver products for sale from upcycled socks and fabrics. Proceeds from the socks pay for stitching lessons which upskill the workforce who then repair and repurpose the socks into something new. This is the circular economy in action.

Upcycling waste ▼

In partnership with FWRD and local charities, we scale up the use of reclaimed tents and used garments abandoned at music festivals. By using discarded textiles as a starting point for the design and manufacturing process, waste or deadstock is converted into new garments or backpacks of a higher environmental value.

Do you belief it is time to change?

SERKLES consumers play a vital role in completing the supply loop by providing the raw materials to repurpose, helping to bring our vision of a circular supply chain with zero waste and social justice at its core to life.

BUY CIRCULAR FASHION

Start the circle HERE

Browse our socks

Our backpacks

And dolls