Arber Studio

Arber Studio conducts its production in Vietnam, Portugal, and Amsterdam. They provide specific details for each facility, naming some by name as well, making it easy for consumers to verify the ethics of these facilities themselves. The brand-owner’s husband owns the factory in Hanoi, visiting it multiple times a year to ensure ethical practices. They assure us that the workers are treated well and paid way above the minimum wage. The Portugal factory is supposed to be a member of the Amfori BSCI, which is a third party certification group that ensures fair and ethical workplace practices. They have provided COSH! with their mulesing free certification, but are yet to provide BSCI proofs for both factories. 

The brand uses a majority of natural materials for all of its garments, with only a small percentage of synthetic and semi-synthetic fibres. They mainly use Merino wool and linen, which are naturally occurring and sustainable fibres. They also use conventional and organic cotton (uncertified). They use some elastane to give elasticity to the garments, and Lenzing Ecovero viscose which is a lot more sustainably sourced and produced than its conventional alternative.

The brand uses only FSC certified and recycled packaging within their supply chain, as well as for ecommerce packaging. They make sure to combine shipments to reduce air transportation, and try to stick to boat or land transport as much as possible. 

The brand works with very small numbers, so they keep a small stock and have very low waste. However, they do not mention their finishing products such as chemicals, nor do they mention water use. 

This brand mostly works with monomaterial products, and if not monomaterial the garments are blended with very little synthetic materials which makes it easy to recycle them at the end of use.

Arber Studio is located in the Netherlands, with production conducted in the Netherlands, Portugal, and Vietnam; with raw materials sourced from Italy, Australia, and South Africa. This increases the length of the chain quite a bit, but they conduct production abroad in their own facility, in order to control the ethical practices of the production as much as possible. They also discourage return shipments by charging customers for product returns.

Arber Studio works mainly with Merino wool that is mulesing free certified, which ensures cruelty-free shearing of sheep wool. The buttons used in the clothing is also vegan.

This brand created a limited number of garments with the highest quality material and timeless designs that last beyond trends and seasons. They do not work with collections, rather only add items occasionally to their permanent collection. They believe in resisting mass consumption and working on new ways to reduce their footprint. They use proven knitting techniques such as Fully Fashion and Hand Linking which means each garment is made from a single piece of fabric with no cuts or seams, making them unique, high quality, and more durable. 

The brand also provides care tips for the garments in the product description. Arber Studio is committed to being a conscious brand, and is working on improving the brand at all times. 

Arber Studio provides a lot of transparency regarding their production facilities, including specifics that assure the consumer of their ethical production practices. Their low stock also makes their materiality easy to keep track of. They have also provided COSH! with most of their certifications, and information regarding packaging and transportation. They are yet to provide details regarding their chemical and water use, and are still working on improving their transparency on the website for consumers to access themselves.