Edwin

Unfortunately, Edwin does not disclose much information about most of the production locations. Their denim is produced in Japan. The fabrics for shirts, shirts and sweaters are made in Portugal, France and Turkey. The clothing itself is produced in Japan and Tunisia. Because Edwin does not give much information, it is very difficult to estimate the conditions under which production takes place. Manufacturers located in Europe must comply with the strict labor laws and regulations of the European Union. So with these manufacturers, we can assume that production takes place in ethical conditions.

The Nicola Blue Denim is made by Orta Anadolu in Turkey. This manufacturer is certified by several organizations for compliance with social and environmental conditions. For example, this fabric has the GOTS label (Global Organic Textile Label), fair trade certificate and BCI (Better Cotton Initiative). Nicola Blue Denim also has an OEKO-Tex certificate, which guarantees that no harmful chemicals were used in the production process.

Edwin uses cotton in almost the entire collection. Conventional (non-organic) cotton is not a sustainable material because huge amounts of water are required to grow the crops. This also requires chemicals such as insecticides, pesticides and fertilizers all the time. Here you can read more about the impact cotton has on the environment.

Edwin does take steps to improve this. For example, the spring/​summer 2022 collection was dyed with natural dyes instead of synthetic pigments. Also, the Nicola Blue Denim collection is made from certified organic cotton. Small amounts of recycled cotton are already used in some fabrics. Edwin also uses other recycled materials, one fabric even consists of 40% recycled PET bottles.

At COSH! we certainly encourage these improvements. After all, organic or recycled cotton requires much less water. Chemicals are also avoided so the soil is less affected. 

Because Edwin uses mostly mono-materials, the garments are easy to recycle after use. Garments made entirely from a natural material such as cotton are even biodegradable!

In the Kurabo Selvage Denim, 40% recycled polyester is used. In this fabric, old PET bottles are given a new life. Unfortunately, because these materials are synthetic, the clothing is not biodegradable after use.

However, blends are used in a small part of the collection. This is mainly to obtain specific properties, such as waterproofing or stretchability. In these cases, it is often necessary to combine cotton with polyester or elastane. Unfortunately, these blended materials are more difficult to recycle after use.

Not all of Edwin’s garments have a short supply chain. This depends on the product itself. For example, most of the garments in the Selvage collection are made in Japan, with the denim fabric also made in Japan.

Other garments are made in Tunisia with materials coming from Portugal, France or Turkey. In this way, the distances a garment travels are still quite limited.

Edwin’s jeans are vegan. The patches are made from recycled paper instead of leather, the fabric is cotton and the buttons are metal.

Still, not all of Edwin’s collection is vegan. In particular, the knitwear incorporates sheep’s wool and alpaca. Unfortunately, there is no information about the origin of these materials, so we cannot estimate the animal welfare.

Edwin puts quality first. All materials are made with the best innovative techniques. Japanese craftsmanship is immediately evident in these timeless designs. Thus, Edwin always aims to guarantee the longevity of their products.

Edwin does release information about their production, but unfortunately it is very limited. For example, they disclose all the countries where the collections are produced, but we are not given exact information about the manufacturers and the conditions of production.