Design for resilience

PRODUCTION LOCATIONS

• Design for Resilience atelier: Belgium
• End production: Belgium
• Yarn production: United Kingdom, Italy, Lithuania, Tunisia 
• Material sourcing: Europe, Belgium, United Kingdom 

Vanessa Colignon herself designs all the products. For production, Design for Resilience is working with Ceetex. Ceetex is a small Belgian family business specialising in knitwear. 
The company offers 3D knitting and sewing. Vanessa then sews the cotton labels. She could use rPET labels to go faster but refuses to finance the oil industry, even if they are recycled. She doesn’t want synthetic fibres to end up in the water. 

The flax and hemp used are grown in Europe and processed into yarn by the Italian producer Linificio e Canapificio. This supplier’s production sites are in Lithuania and Tunisia, but always follow European Union labour rules and working conditions.

Working Conditions & living wages

Design for resilience places great importance on ethical and local production. This is why the brand is strongly committed to European production. The brand is exploring the possibilities of bringing the production of rare hemp, linen and wool back to Europe. It wants to revitalise the know-how surrounding wool, both in terms of sorting and weaving. Thus, the brand is helping to revive local crafts that are part of the local heritage.
Design for Resilience uses French sewing threads, and its labels are produced in Germany.

Materials

• Hemp
• Linen
• Wool

Design for Resilience wants to offer a solution to the growing waste problem, especially the issue of microplastics. They do this by only using natural materials in their products. Even the sewing threads and labels are made of natural materials. This way, the brand ensures that its products are 100% zero-waste.

Design for resilience aims to produce locally as much as possible. In the past, regions in Western Europe were known for flax and linen production, especially the Netherlands, Belgium and northern France. Design for Resilience wants to bring back this knowledge and techniques to promote European production. 

The brand is working on new products made from Belgian wool. Vanessa uses wool from endangered breeds of Walloon sheep. She works closely with small farms and has a project to promote hardy breeds of sheep. The wool used is weather-resistant, and when the sheep are sick, they are treated using natural methods so the tablecloths remain protected. 

Finally, Design for Resilience uses cotton sewing threads and labels produced in Europe. The brand is exploring the possibility of replacing this with organic cotton in the future.

Packaging

This brand has even thought about their packaging materials. Packages are sent in recycled, cardboard, packaging as much as possible. Only for BPost shipments is this not possible. Deliveries to shops are also packed in recycled boxes.

Water usage & chemicals

All materials in the Design for Resilience collection have the OEKO-Tex Standard 100 certificate. This means that no harmful chemicals are present in the products. So all products are safe to use for your skin and the environment! These certificates can even be found on the brand’s website, so you can easily check out all the info yourself!

The most frequent materials used are hemp and linen. These are both natural and sustainable materials. Both plants require no chemicals when growing. Their water consumption is also much lower than that of cotton. Read more about the pros and cons of hemp here.

Circular product design

Design for resilience’s products are 100% natural and contain no chemicals. Therefore, according to the brand, they are also completely biodegradable. You could even compost them in your own garden! On the Design for Resilience website, you can find tips & tricks to compost your used-up sponge or dishcloth yourself.

Circular business models

Although its products are very circular, the brand has not yet integrated circular business models into their operations. Circular business models might include a rental service, take-back service for worn items or a repair service.

Distance & complexity of the supply chain

Design for resilience is committed to keeping its production chain as short as possible. Thanks to the suppliers’ Masters of Linen certificates, we can be sure that all flax was grown in Europe. The suppliers themselves are also mostly located in Europe. Only the hemp yarns are produced in the Tunisian facility.

Transportation

Moreover, Design for Resilience also ensures that transport emissions are minimised by using bicycle transport for shipping to consumers.

Most of the materials used are of plant origin, but Design for Resilience is also working on developing wool products.

The wool comes from small farms (around ten sheep) that respect the environment and animal welfare. The two farmers she works with are naturalists. They look after their sheep right to the end, are careful about inbreeding and focus on the sheep’s well-being. For example, the sheep wool chosen comes from sheep that can fall and get up on their own, as some breeds of sheep cannot get up and end up dying. The farms are committed to preserving endangered sheep breeds and supplying quality wool.

Product design

Design for Resilience uses high-quality materials. Both linen and hemp are strong materials that retain their strength when wet. So this is ideal for a dishcloth, sponge, or towel! The range includes cleaning sponges, dishcloths, towels and cleaning cloths for your skin and face. In short, all textile essentials for a zero-waste bathroom and kitchen.

Slow fashion processes

Design for Resilience has a fixed range of products. Occasionally, a new design is added, after a long period of research, development and performance testing. There is no information on the size of production runs, or how often new production is started.

Transparency on product

Design for Resilience achieves very good results in terms of transparency. For each product, you can see on the site where it is made and with what materials. A QR code with all the product information is included in each mailing. 

On the brand’s website, you’ll find detailed information about the certificates it has obtained.

Transparency on processes

In an interview, Vanessa gave us the names of her suppliers, her production partners and their locations. On the brand’s website, you can also find detailed information about the certificates obtained, as well as the materials and producers.