By-bar

by-bar keeps in clo­se cont­act with the manu­fac­tu­r­ers they work with. They visit them regu­lar­ly and are con­ti­nuous­ly working on main­tai­ning the­se per­so­nal rela­ti­onships. The manu­fac­tu­r­ers are spread across four dif­fe­rent count­ries: Por­tu­gal, Ita­ly, Tur­key and India.

by-bar visits its Indi­an manu­fac­tu­r­ers up to four times a year to moni­tor working con­di­ti­ons. They also urge the­se manu­fac­tu­r­ers to be Sedex- or BSCI-cer­ti­fied in order to gua­ran­tee good working conditions.

The manu­fac­tu­r­ers within Euro­pe are 100% con­trol­led, as Euro­pean Uni­on labour rules and laws app­ly. As a result, we can assu­me that the pro­ducts are made in ethi­cal working conditions.

by-bar regu­lar­ly uses orga­nic cot­ton in its coll­ec­tions. It also uses other sus­tainable mate­ri­als such as linen and Eco­vero vis­co­se. The­se mate­ri­als have the advan­ta­ge of requi­ring fewer che­mi­cals and water during pro­duc­tion. The­se natu­ral fibres are also ful­ly biodegradable.

Unfort­u­na­te­ly, syn­the­tic mate­ri­als such as poly­es­ter, poly­ami­de and acrylic also fea­ture in their coll­ec­tions, as well as less sus­tainable mate­ri­als such as plain vis­co­se or non-orga­nic cot­ton. Syn­the­tic mate­ri­als can release micro­pla­s­tics when being worn and washed. Ordi­na­ry vis­co­se needs many harmful che­mi­cals to be pro­du­ced, which are retrie­ved in Eco­vero viscose. 

by-bar’s coll­ec­tions include seve­ral mono mate­ri­al items, mea­ning they are made from only one type of fib­re. Mono mate­ri­al clo­thes are the easie­st to recy­cle. Tho­se made enti­re­ly of natu­ral fibres, such as 100% (orga­nic) cot­ton, are biode­gra­da­ble.

Unfort­u­na­te­ly, by-bar also some­ti­mes uses tex­ti­le blends which mix natu­ral and syn­the­tic mate­ri­als, such as orga­nic cot­ton and recy­cled poly­es­ter. Com­bi­ning the­se, howe­ver, pre­vents the clo­thes from being recy­clable and biode­gra­da­ble – not gre­at for the cir­cu­lar economy. 

Clo­thes that are made only out of recy­cled poly­es­ter are more cir­cu­lar, howe­ver, as it gives old PET bot­t­les a second life. The few items made from upcy­cled saris also con­tri­bu­te to a cir­cu­lar economy!

Many of the fac­to­ries that by-bar col­la­bo­ra­tes with are loca­ted in Euro­pe so the clo­thes only have to tra­vel a short distance to you. by-bar is in direct cont­act with all manu­fac­tu­r­ers, which also redu­ces the num­ber of stages in its chain.

Ani­mal mate­ri­als are also used in some of by-bar’s clo­thes. Among others, silk, wool, alpa­ca wool, mohair, lea­ther and meri­no wool fea­ture. Unfort­u­na­te­ly, no infor­ma­ti­on is pro­vi­ded regar­ding the ori­gin of the ani­mal pro­ducts they use. Due to this lack of infor­ma­ti­on, we are unable to assess ani­mal welfare.

Tim­e­l­ess designs are cen­tral to by-bar’s clo­thes. The brand does not fol­low rapidly chan­ging trends so its clo­thes can be worn for a long time. By-bar’s clo­thes are quite colourful but also fea­ture many pie­ces in more ear­thy tones, whe­re basics can be effort­less­ly com­bi­ned with fun flo­ral prints. The women and girls’ coll­ec­tions are per­fect­ly matched, so mother and daugh­ter can coor­di­na­te outfits. 

When it comes to qua­li­ty, too, by-bar is com­mit­ted to making the clo­thes last. The web­site con­ta­ins tips & tricks to help you care for each kind of mate­ri­al and enjoy your beau­tiful purcha­se for longer!

by-bar is com­mit­ted to trans­pa­ren­cy throug­hout their ope­ra­ti­ons and sup­p­ly chain. The pro­duct page of each item of clot­hing and acces­so­ry shows whe­re it was made. In this way, by-bar shares infor­ma­ti­on about the place of ori­gin of each pro­duct. The date when by-bar last visi­ted the manu­fac­tu­rer is also lis­ted here, along with the cer­ti­fi­ca­tes obtai­ned by the manu­fac­tu­rer, regar­ding working con­di­ti­ons and orga­nic cot­ton (e.g. Sedex and GOTS certification). 

When it comes to mate­ri­als, by-bar is unfort­u­na­te­ly less trans­pa­rent as it does not com­mu­ni­ca­te the ori­gin of the mate­ri­als and infor­ma­ti­on about the fabric sup­pli­ers. The­re is also very litt­le trans­pa­ren­cy about the mate­ri­als of ani­mal ori­gin (such as wool or silk).