Responsibility and sustainability
It’s no secret that the clothing industry and increased consumption are contributing to the detrimental climate change we are seeing today on a global scale. As a company, we are responsible for taking sensible action to prevent negative environmental impact and to contribute to the positive change we need and want to see. For this reason, we at Maya Delorez have chosen to prioritize sustainability as a fundamental part of our business, right since the outset.
Sustainability at Maya Delorez
We know that we are only at the beginning of our journey to greater sustainability and that there is lots of room for improvement. But we are also aware that, as a startup company, we have both the opportunity as well as the potential to actually do better! We have high ambitions and take a long-term view of our goal of contributing to a more sustainable fashion industry. To achieve this goal, we have developed sustainability principles that illustrate how we work with the production, packaging, and delivery of our products. We see it as crucial to keep track of and be familiar with the entire supply chain, from the very first sample to the finished product, and to ensure that our products are always produced in ethical and environmentally friendly ways. This is an ongoing learning process and we are always striving to further develop our sustainability work.
Production
We don’t have our own factories but choose to cooperate with suppliers located in Asia who work to the highest standards. Our values as a company are fundamental to us, so it is of utmost importance that the suppliers we choose to work with share these values and work in accordance with them. In order to maintain a high standard regarding working conditions and to ensure the quality of production, we maintain a close and ongoing dialogue with our suppliers. We work continuously to ensure that our supply chain has high integrity and we monitor our entire business at all times to make sure it complies with our Code of Conduct.
Transport
Our packaging standards come into play right from when our products leave the factory. To avoid unnecessary excess packaging and empty spaces during transport, we always optimize the space by packing parcels to their maximum capacity. We are also working on developing options for climate compensation, and we closely monitor the development of our carriers on an ongoing basis.
E-commerce has a much higher return rate than for products purchased from physical stores. So we chose not to offer free return shipping, to encourage customers to spend more time on finding the right product/size from the outset. For the same reason, we have developed carefully designed size guides and offer our customers a live chat service on weekdays. All of this is intended to assist our customers to find the right size, thus reducing the number of unnecessary exchanges and returns.
Products
We want our products to last over time. That’s why we constantly strive to maintain a high-quality mindset when designing and manufacturing our products. We also avoid following short-lived trends and try to restrict our clothes and collections to a timeless neutral color scale that will never go out of fashion. Our goal is to create sustainable clothes that last over time and are of high quality. Our clothes are used in a tough environment, and we want our products to withstand these stresses – and to do so season after season. That’s why we work with durable, functional, and high-quality materials. Simply put, our ambition, which we always work towards, is creating products for a sustainable wardrobe.
The leather we use is vegetable tanned leather. This is a conscious choice as it is a much more gentle alternative for humans, your animals, and the environment, unlike other harmful tanning processes which require large amounts of noxious chromium and can entail enormous health risks.
Packaging
We are currently working on developing recyclable product packaging and e-commerce bags. At present, the clothes come in ziplock packaging that makes it easy to return the goods in the same bag without producing more unnecessary waste. They also work great as storage bags for dirty riding breeches or sweaty training clothes – there really is no end to possible alternative uses for our bags! The e-commerce bags have double adhesive strips so you can easily return your product in the same packaging.
What you as a customer can do
The environmental impact of our clothes stems not only from its production but is in part influenced by their everyday use in your home, such as when you wash, tumble dry, or iron them . These activities require energy, and they aren’t always necessary. A good tip to reduce your own environmental impact is to wash less often – airing your clothes after a single use may well be good enough.
Sometimes it can happen that you get tired of your clothes or they no longer fit. In this case, don’t just throw them away, but pass them on and make somebody else happy. Why not swap with a friend or resell? Nowadays, there are lots of different ways to exchange and sell used clothes, both off and online.
Maya Delorez Pre-Loved
During the spring of 2023, Maya Delorez Pre-Loved was launched – a part of our sustainability work we are more than proud of!
Every year, enormous amounts of practically fully functioning clothing are thrown away – all in vain. We are talking about clothes with minor flaws or production defects, that may have been worn by models during promotional photoshoots, that are part of a discontinued line or something of the like. Naturally, we want to prevent such waste at Maya Delorez.
Under the tab Pre-Loved on our website, you will find MD products that maintain high quality, and have been produced under the same conditions as the rest of our assortment – but with small deficiencies that will not allow us to sell them at full price. The prices for Pre-Loved items are therefore reduced, which is something that encourages our customers to make conscious decisions, that in turn contributes to more wholesome patterns of consumption. Positive news for your wallet as well as the planet, that is!
Our goal is for Pre-Loved to work as a second hand platform where customers can re-sell their MD products. This is something we are currently working towards!
Read more about Pre-Loved here.
Contact us
Sustainability is a crucial part of our daily work. To us, taking responsibility and prioritizing sustainability issues is a matter of course in order to protect our planet and keep it habitable for future generations. If you have questions or objections regarding how we work with sustainability issues, you are welcome to contact us at info@mayadelorez.com. We are always grateful for suggestions and input about how we can further develop and improve our work.