Emmy Design

Production locations

• Kaunas, Lithuania
• Shunde, Southern China

Working Conditions & Living Wages

At Emmy Design, the heart of the brand is its founder, Emmy, who, along with her design team, meticulously hand-drafts every pattern, ensuring each piece resonates with the brand’s vintage-inspired ethos. Located in Växjö, Sweden, Emmy operates a small but passionate all-female team dedicated to crafting feminine, well-fitted garments. The design process is deeply rooted in traditional techniques, with each sketch drawn by hand — a testament to their commitment to quality and detail.

Materials are carefully selected from top suppliers across the world, with personal visits to the Scandinavian fabric suppliers ensuring the highest quality. Production is split between two trusted international factories; sewn garments are lovingly created in Kaunas, Lithuania, while the knitted items are produced in Shunde, Southern China. 

However, the brand does not provide details about ethical nature of their production and sourcing facilities, nor any information about living wages. Considering that production is conducted in some countries with higher risk of mistreatment of production workers, such information is important to have. 

Materials

• Mulesing-free merino wool
• conventional and organic cotton
• linen
• Silk
• Viscose
• Spandex
• Elastane
• polyester 
• Polyamide

The brand utilises many natural textiles, reflecting their commitment to ethical sourcing and animal welfare. However, they also use synthetic and semi-synthetic materials, which have less favourable environmental impacts.

They produce garments in exclusive, small-scale collections to reduce fabric waste. Emmy Design’s efforts include local printing and the use of locally produced paper for their art prints, which suggests a commitment to reducing transport emissions.

Packaging

Emmy Design ships their orders to the customers in paper bags, which is more expensive but a deliberate choice as it is more sustainable than plastic. They have also made their own stamp, that is used to stamp every bag with their logo. Every order also gets a handwritten postcard.

Water usage & chemicals

The brand unfortunately doesn’t have any information regarding the water and chemical use within their production process. 

Circular product design

Emmy Design focuses on monomaterial garments, facilitating easier recycling processes. While the brand offers a significant number of garments that can be recycled due to their single-material composition, it also produces some items from material blends, which can complicate the recycling process. 

Circular business models

To support circular fashion, Emmy offers a unique service in Sweden where customers can circulate their used clothes, including non-Emmy brands, in exchange for vouchers. These circulated clothes are then sold on online auctions and second-hand sites within the EU. This program not only extends the life of garments but also promotes sustainable consumer behaviour by incentivizing the reuse of clothing. 

Distance & complexity of the supply chain

Production locations-

• HQ and warehouse – Växjö, Sweden
• Manufacturing in Lithuania, and China
• Sourcing is from across the world- mainly Italy, Portugal, Australia, China, and Spain
• The brand sells its products worldwide

Transportation

Shipping from the Chinese factory is by boat to keep the carbon footprint down in comparison to airplane transport. From Lithuania it goes by boat and truck. The brand uses shared containers and trucks to minimize pollution from separate shipping. The brand uses standard UPS and DHL shipping for delivery to consumers. 

• Merino wool
• Silk

Emmy Design uses animal materials such as merino wool that is mulesing-free. However, it is unsure that all the wool used is merino wool, and all sourced in this animal-friendly manner. 

Product design

Emmy Designs champions the slow fashion movement with a strong emphasis on timeless style and high-quality craftsmanship. The brand is heavily inspired by vintage fashion, ranging from the Edwardian era to the 1950s, and includes pieces that are replicas of true vintage items. This historical influence ensures that the designs remain timeless, appealing to consumers who wish to invest in long-lasting wardrobe staples rather than transient trends. Emmy Designs is also committed to inclusivity, offering detailed sizing instructions and a broad size range from XS to 3XL to cater to diverse body types. 

Slow fashion processes

The production process is meticulous, often involving hand-crafted techniques that underscore the brand’s dedication to quality and sustainability. Each piece is made to be worn and loved for many years, aligning with the principles of slow fashion by aiming to reduce waste and encourage thoughtful consumption. The brand incorporates consumer feedback before releasing new collections, as well has encourages consumer questions about each garment, which ensures that all pieces will be bought and loved, with nothing ending up in landfills.

Transparency on product

Emmy Designs offers a fair level of transparency, detailing materials, sourcing, and production specifics at the product level. Products can be traced back to the manufacturing country, and the origin country of the materials. 

Transparency on processes

The brand has also provided COSH! with some more information, however, there is a lot of room for improvement. Especially in providing more information about the ethical conditions at their production and sourcing facilities and further details on water and chemical usage. While the brand emphasizes the durability of its garments, aimed at supporting a slower fashion industry, they could enhance transparency on their website and improve their level of trust with conscientious consumers.