Aiayu

Aiayu works clo­se­ly with 11 dif­fe­rent manu­fac­tu­ring part­ners. The brand impo­ses strict con­di­ti­ons on all their pro­duc­tion part­ners to ensu­re they pro­du­ce sus­tain­ab­ly and ethically. 

It star­ted for Aiayu with a small knit­wear fac­to­ry in Boli­via. With the help of non-pro­fit orga­ni­sa­ti­ons, the brand set up its own pro­duc­tion work­shop the­re. Sin­ce then, Aiayu has work­ed with this pro­du­cer for more than 17 years. Moreo­ver, the ate­lier is cer­ti­fied by World­wi­de Respon­si­ble Accre­di­ted Pro­duc­tion (WRAP). This means that working con­di­ti­ons are moni­to­red by an inde­pen­dent organisation.

Aiayu expan­ded and also works with seven Indi­an pro­du­cers. Almost all of the­se fac­to­ries have SA8000 cer­ti­fi­ca­ti­on or BSCI labels. The­se labels gua­ran­tee that pro­duc­tion is ethi­cal, takes place in safe working con­di­ti­ons and that workers are paid a fair mini­mum wage. On top of that, Aiayu also checks the fac­to­ries and workers’ wages itself.

Final­ly, Aiayu also col­la­bo­ra­tes with three Nepa­le­se work­shops. The­se are two small fami­ly-run fac­to­ries whe­re knit­ting is done in an artis­a­nal man­ner. The third, lar­ger, pro­du­cer is Aiayu’s first manu­fac­tu­ring part­ner to be award­ed the SEDEX label. SEDEX helps all their mem­bers work out a bet­ter, ethi­cal and more trans­pa­rent sup­p­ly chain.

Aiyayu invests in capa­ci­ty buil­ding of their manu­fac­tu­ring part­ners. This means they actively sup­port the deve­lo­p­ment of the manage­ment team through trai­ning and edu­ca­ti­on. This pro­ven tech­ni­que equips the manage­ment of the pro­duc­tion work­shops with the neces­sa­ry tools to be inno­va­ti­ve. It helps the com­pa­ny remain com­pe­ti­ti­ve, sus­tainable and achie­ve decre­asing pro­duc­tion cos­ts in an ethi­cal man­ner.

Aiayu pri­des its­elf on the qua­li­ty of its pro­ducts and mate­ri­als, which is why the brand careful­ly sel­ects the mate­ri­als used in its coll­ec­tion. The brand most­ly uses natu­ral mate­ri­als. In 2021, only 1% of the coll­ec­tion con­sis­ted of syn­the­tic mate­ri­als, such as poly­ami­de. Aiayu set a goal to replace all syn­the­tic mate­ri­als with recy­cled ones by 2024.

Lama wool is an important part of the mate­ri­als Aiayu uses. Lama wool comes from Boli­via, whe­re the ani­mals live free­ly in their natu­ral habi­tat in the Andes. Lama wool comes in many dif­fe­rent shades of colour, which is why Aiayu choo­ses to use the­se natu­ral colours. Becau­se the brand does not dye this mate­ri­al, fewer che­mi­cals are nee­ded in the pro­duc­tion process.

Cash­me­re is very important to the cultu­ral heri­ta­ge of Nepal and the sur­roun­ding regi­ons. Aiayu uses cash­me­re sourced from small-sca­le goat her­ders in Nepal. The brand thus works with local com­mu­ni­ties to pre­ser­ve this ori­gi­nal life­style. The cash­me­re pro­ducts are also hand­ma­de in Nepal.
To redu­ce the amount of cash­me­re, Aiayu com­bi­nes this mate­ri­al with linen. This is a dura­ble, natu­ral, strong and airy mate­ri­al. This com­bi­na­ti­on allows Aiayu to design soft and dura­ble knit­wear while limi­ting the amount of ani­mal mate­ri­als.

The yak and sar­tuul wool comes from Mon­go­lia. Aiayu works with a coope­ra­ti­ve of noma­dic Mon­go­li­an her­ders. This coope­ra­ti­ve was set up tog­e­ther with a Swiss deve­lo­p­ment orga­ni­sa­ti­on to give she­p­herds a more sta­ble and fair inco­me. Aiayu sel­ects the finest (and sof­test) fibres from the yak’s under­coat for their clothing.

Aiayu uses only GOTS-cer­ti­fied, orga­nic cot­ton (Glo­bal Orga­nic Tex­ti­le Stan­dard). This means that the cot­ton is pro­du­ced wit­hout the use of che­mi­cals. In addi­ti­on, GOTS also moni­tors the pro­du­cer’s water con­sump­ti­on and working conditions. 

Most of Aiayu’s cot­ton comes from the non-pro­fit orga­ni­sa­ti­on Chet­na Orga­nic. This orga­ni­sa­ti­on helps Indi­an cot­ton far­mers get a bet­ter inco­me with sus­tainable far­ming practices.

The Danish brand col­la­bo­ra­tes with Orga­nic Cot­ton Colours (OCC) to design pro­ducts from undy­ed, old varie­ties of cot­ton grown in a natu­ral colour palet­te.

Final­ly, the coll­ec­tion includes designs made from silk. This silk comes from the Assam regi­on of India. In this regi­on, bree­ding Eri silkworms is a tra­di­tio­nal craft. This silk is also known as peace silk becau­se the cocoons are har­ve­s­ted only after they have hatched.

Aiayu is cir­cu­lar becau­se the coll­ec­tion almost enti­re­ly con­sists out of natu­ral mate­ri­als. Most of the coll­ec­tion is made of mono­ma­te­ri­als. This means that a gar­ment is made from one mate­ri­al, for exam­p­le 100% silk. The­se garm­ents are easier to recy­cle after use.

Moreo­ver, all garm­ents made of orga­nic mate­ri­als, such as orga­nic cot­ton, are biode­gra­da­ble. Howe­ver, this only appli­es if they do not con­tain syn­the­tic sewing thread or che­mi­cal dyes.

Syn­the­tic mate­ri­als are still pre­sent in less than 1% of the coll­ec­tion. Some knit­ted designs requi­re a small amount of poly­ami­de to ensu­re the qua­li­ty of the clot­hing. Wit­hout this poly­ami­de, the gar­ment might deform during wear.

Aiayu has direct cont­act with all their manu­fac­tu­ring part­ners, giving the brand more con­trol over the social and envi­ron­men­tal impact of their sup­p­ly chain. This allows the brand to easi­ly visit the fac­to­ries and sup­port the workers and their communities. 

To redu­ce the distance of their sup­p­ly chain, Aiayu ensu­res that pro­ducts are always made in the area whe­re the mate­ri­als come from. The cot­ton clo­thes, for exam­p­le, are made in India, whe­re the cot­ton its­elf is grown. Still, the pro­ducts tra­vel a long way from Boli­via, Nepal and India to be sold in Europe.

Aiayu’s coll­ec­tion con­sists lar­ge­ly of ani­mal mate­ri­als. The brand atta­ches gre­at importance to ani­mal wel­fa­re and is com­mit­ted to always sel­ec­ting the most ani­mal-fri­end­ly opti­ons. Becau­se the mate­ri­als come from small-sca­le, local pro­du­cers or com­mu­ni­ties, the­re is more trans­pa­ren­cy about ani­mal wel­fa­re. Moreo­ver, this ensu­res that the pro­du­cer or she­p­herd depends on the inco­me from the wool or silk, and takes good care of the animals.

The llama wool comes from small-sca­le she­p­herds in Boli­via. Here, the llamas live free­ly in their natu­ral habi­tat. Annu­al shea­ring is not harmful and even neces­sa­ry for the ani­mal. This is becau­se llamas do not lose their fur by them­sel­ves and can other­wi­se col­lap­se from heat in the summer.

Cash­me­re also comes from small she­pher­ding com­mu­ni­ties in sou­thern Euro­pe. The goats are tra­di­tio­nal­ly her­ded and cared for in Nepal. To ensu­re less cash­me­re is nee­ded, Aiayu com­bi­nes the wool with linen.

The sar­tuul and yak wool come from Mon­go­lia. Aiayu works with a Swiss orga­ni­sa­ti­on to sup­port noma­dic she­p­herds in the area. Both the sar­tuul sheep and the yak come from the Mon­go­li­an step­pe, so they live in their natu­ral habitat.

For the silk too, Aiayu choo­ses the most ani­mal-fri­end­ly opti­on: peace silk. The Eri silk used by the brand is pro­du­ced in a tra­di­tio­nal way in India. The Eri cater­pil­lars are grown the­re with gre­at care and exper­ti­se, and the silk is har­ve­s­ted only after the moths have emerged.

Aiayu’s tim­e­l­ess coll­ec­tions tran­s­cend trends and sea­sons. For Aiayu, the sto­ry of each pro­duct is as important as its aes­the­tics. The brand has a mini­ma­list style and offers seve­ral coll­ec­tions. You will find clot­hing as well as bed­ding, towels and blan­kets.

Aiayu’s designs are meant to be used for a long time. That is why the brand offers a five-year war­ran­ty on all knit­wear, and two years on all woven cot­ton pro­ducts. During this war­ran­ty peri­od, you can have your purcha­se repai­red for free when needed. 

To avo­id over­pro­duc­tion, the Danish brand releases new designs twice a year. This way, the various pro­duc­tion faci­li­ties are given time to manu­fac­tu­re each pro­duct with care.

Aiayu is very trans­pa­rent about their ope­ra­ti­on. The brand pro­vi­des infor­ma­ti­on about their pro­duc­tion loca­ti­on and the part­ners they work with. The ori­gin of the mate­ri­als is also pro­vi­ded, alt­hough this infor­ma­ti­on is not detailed.