Why transparency matters?

As many of you know, fast fashion is prevalent force in the fashion industry.  This is why we at Odeyalo, along with many other Montreal brands, make the conscious and ethical choice against fast fashion by producing locally.

Opting for a slower and more durable process, we respect the work that goes into making each garment.  We carefully select fabrics that we can reuse as often as possible, hire Montreal-based seamstresses,  and even offer an ecological bike courier shipping option (hi LVM)!   We're also proud to promote transparency.

We support the efforts of organizations such as Fashion Revolution that encourage consumers to learn about the origin of the clothes they wear every day.  It is an activist movement that disseminates information about poor working conditions in developing countries.

We encourage the approach of Everlane, which considers itself "radically transparent" by explaining how the price of each item sold is calculated. In turn, the company exposes the consumer to all stages of garment-making and invites them to question the traditional retail model.  In addition, the origin of each item is identified and it is even possible to visit the factories virtually.

Near us, Maguire is transparent by unveiling all the manufacturing costs of its bags and leather shoes. Each step in the process explains the retail price, so the consumer is better able to evaluate the value of their purchase.

Most recently, we discovered a new Montreal company founded by Andrea Martinez-Mendoza and Andréanne Lesieur, two graduates of Montreal's École Supérieure de Mode called Lucid.  Its mission is to change consumers' perceptions of their local fashion buying habits.  Lucid. wants to create a "transparency label". It will be designed in collaboration with the selected brands and personalized specifically for their brand.  These labels will provide detailed information on labor, material costs, transportation costs and the manufacturing process. They hope this will ultimately serve to help brands stand out among others, while encouraging consumers to make more informed choices.

We invite you to vote for their project as part of the "Le levier de ton idée" academic competition, right here.

Do you know of other companies or organizations of this kind? Would you be interested in Odeyalo sharing information about our production process.