ImagesMagUK_December_2020

www.images-magazine.com DECEMBER 2020 images 51 IS ECOWEAR The retail-readyWomen’s Stripy T All Mantis styles, including those in the Baby Rocks collection, are made from organic cotton or recycled fabrics likely to question the origins of the garments they use and opt for more sustainability and transparency as they tell the stories of their own brands. “Companies are also aware of the risk of being found to use products made in poor conditions and are going to great lengths so that they are not caught out with negative publicity. I believe that to get to truly transformative change, there are a number of factors that accelerate over time until a tipping point is reached and it seems we are at that point. This definitely feels like the time we are finally ready for a more gentle and respectful way of doing business.” Mantis has always prided itself on producing high quality, wearable and retail-ready garments that appeal to decorators across the board. In the last two years, however, there has been a massive spike of interest in sustainability, which Mantis is well equipped to service. “We have been doing this for a long time and so are ready to meet the market demand,” Prama says. “In the early days, sustainability and organic was seen as a niche and many people did not really ‘get’ organic, thinking it would be too expensive, or mistakenly assume inferior quality. Recent research has shown that the younger generations are far more engaged in sustainability and want to understand exactly where and how their clothing is produced. Today, with climate change firmly on the global agenda and in our minds, individuals, corporations and other stakeholders are more motivated than ever before to take action and modify purchasing habits.” The drive to reform the industry doesn’t start and stop with sustainability. “When I launched Mantis it was the only brand in the industry owned by women,” comments Prama. “Twenty years later it remains the only brand in Europe that is owned by women. To bring change we need to embrace both environmental and social change, with diversity at CEO and board level. I would love to see more female entrepreneurs in this space, and I’m a big believer in paying it forward – women helping women succeed.” Leading the change Prama notes that styles and end-user preferences have changed over the 20 years in which Mantis has been operating. “When we started out it was the tighter fit women’s tees made from interlock [that people wanted], but over time that has changed. We are now seeing a bigger demand for loose-fit, longer styles or boxy crop styles for women. We have also had a great reaction to our premium Superstar range with soft peach- finish heavyweight fleece as a winner. We continue the interlock fabrics in our market-leading Babybugz range where the soft, stretchy and cosy properties are perfect for babies.” The biggest change for the brand is that all of its fabrics are now made with organic or recycled content, from the organic cotton denim in its Baby Rocks range to the single jersey that Prama says is ideal for DTG print. As expected from Mantis, its plans for the future, besides continuing to develop well designed, retail-ready styles, involve looking at ways in which to improve what it is doing. “We will continue to advocate sustainable and ethical production, be transparent and measure our impacts, educate the industry and lead by example,” says Prama. “In the next few years our focus will be on measuring and reducing our carbon footprint – we were one of the founding members of the UNFCCC (UN Fashion Charter for Climate Change) and we are looking to collaborate with our peers to drive change. To be truly transformative we have to all work together.” As for what action garment decorators can take to become more sustainable, Prama believes the main step is for them to “educate themselves and their customers that it’s better to pay a bit more for a sustainable and long-lasting garment than churning through supposedly ‘cheap’, disposable garments”, as these have a hidden cost. “Using something like the impact calculator we have developed is a powerful way to show the savings of buying more sustainably with actual metrics. It’s a great tool for companies to incorporate into their CSR [corporate social responsibility] reporting. Decorators can also look at their own operations to see what they could change – for example, can they switch to renewable energy, stop using plastisols containing phthalates, and reduce, reuse and recycle as much as possible?” A survey on the fashion industry conducted earlier this year by the RSA, the royal society for arts, manufactures and commerce, found that 50% of those polled think that, post Covid-19, the industry should do whatever it takes to become more environmentally sustainable. And, according to The State of Fashion 2020 by The Business of Fashion and McKinsey & Company, the younger generations increasingly state that they will pay more for products that have the least negative impact on the environment. Companies are taking note – sustainability is now mainstream, with big brands such as Zara, H&M and Adidas all pledging to phase out unsustainable fabrics over the next decade. The Mantis way can no longer be dismissed as ‘idealist’ or ‘not commercial’. “By doing things differently rather than following the herd, and setting out with our hearts in the right place, we have been able to create material change – not just in our company, but in the industry as a whole,” concludes Prama. www.mantisworld.com