Thanks to our guest author, Hazel Garcia of Investment Zen, who has provided us with this infographic showing the cost breakdown of pricing of a shirt. Branding and marketing costs also need to be considered, and in the world of luxury, the markup for added value – the brand magic – will be substantial. To find out how … Read more

Clothes – from many retailers – have become almost disposable: we buy them cheaply, wear them for a few months and then chuck them out. Many people are aware that super-cheap clothes may be manufactured in inhumane conditions, but do we stop to think about the environmental impact of simply binning stretched t-shirts and odd … Read more

Do you have a birth certificate? I had taken mine for granted until my recent visit to the TRAID offices. We’ve been supporting TRAID this year through our membership in 1% for the Planet. We chose them because of their appealing goals. TRAID is a charity working to stop clothes from being thrown away. We turn … Read more

Autumn is on its way and we’ve been harvesting a few of our recent news updates to share with you. We have the launch of a new group of colleges, a new fashion brand, a brochure for an international school and lots more to share from Grain HQ.  In case you already have next year’s … Read more

Safia Minney, founder of uber-ethical fashion brand People Tree, recently held a small party for Kickstarter backers of her new book, Slave to Fashion. The evening was at Zandra Rhodes’ penthouse about the Fashion and Textile Museum. There was a wonderful atmosphere and I got to chat with quite a few fashion influencers and ethical fashion … Read more

Why we support One Percent for the Planet Most people now understand that the climate and ecosystem of our beautiful big blue planet is threatened by the activities of humankind. Greenhouse gases, together with other forms of pollution and the over-exploitation of precious resources, combine to create a perfect storm of threats to the lives … Read more

Have you ever wondered why clothes are now a lot more affordable than before? Why more collections are constantly introduced to the market, breaking the previous two season per year pace? We all want nicer clothes for less, but how cheap can it get and who really pays the price for our clothing? Andrew Morgan’s new documentary The … Read more

The green movement is not new. In fact, in the last 30 years, it has become an integral part of many campaigns and indeed even companies’ strategies in the creative industry. Why is being green so vital to the success of a business? There are different reasons, but most importantly is that consumer behaviors have … Read more

Following up on our Nature Brand Book initiative, these articles from Oliver Burkeman in The Guardian have caught our eye: ‘You really, really, really ought to spend more time in nature’ from last week, and another one called ‘This column will change your life: nature and nurture’ from March 2013. Both stories talk about the … Read more

It is apt that our first Thought of the year is about the Nature Brand Book since it is a ‘fresh new year’ type of project…encouraging everyone to just get outside! Project Wild Thing, which inspired the Nature Brand Book and video, has published a guest post from us and MediaPoondi has also written a … Read more

With Christmas and 2014 fast approaching, here at Grain we’ve been trying to pin down our new year’s resolutions…along with working on amazing branding and design projects, wrapping up our secret Santa pressies and eating mince pies! The usual ‘work harder’, ‘do more exercise’ and ‘give up the mid-morning snacks’ (that we’ve come to enjoy … Read more

Founded in 2002 by Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia, and Craig Mathews, owner of Blue Ribbon Flies, 1% for the Planet unites member companies, which all donate 1% of their turnover to environmental charities of their choice. When we first heard about this Vermont-based organisation in 2008, we thought it was a great idea and … Read more

After working on a project for the Peter Jones Enterprise Academy, the idea of being an entrepreneur has been swilling around my brain for the last few months. The idea of having a small unique business is an exciting and seemingly very satisfying one. With a bigger push from the government for people to start … Read more

Yes: Gucci, leather and saving the environment do fit together – no odd one out here. Lucy Siegle’s article ‘Luxury Leather and the Amazon’ mentions that 95% of Gucci products are made in Tuscany. The leather is sourced from a ‘deforestation-free zone’. An interesting article for everyone interested in sustainable luxury.

Yes you can! 1% for the Planet, through which we donate 1% of our turnover to the Woodland Trust and the Centre for Alternative Technology, has put together an album of 41 tracks. All proceeds go to environmental charities. Contact us to get your code to download the album for free (we’ve paid for it … Read more