Brand
Ethical Fashion Artistry
Free Prisoner is a fashion brand like no other, born from designer Amber’s desire to liberate self-expression through clothing. Amber blends zero-waste principles with rebellious elegance, crafting garments that challenge societal norms.
Located in the Netherlands, Free Prisoner stands out with its avant garde designs with influence of Asian culture and nature. This brand fuses sustainability with style, offering a wardrobe that frees your spirit and the planet.
This COSH! Brand Index was calculated thanks to a paid contribution of one of the shops below.
Production locations
Working Conditions & living wages
Every Free Prisoner piece is handcrafted in the studio at Vechtclub XL in Utrecht, Netherlands, where Amber creates each unique order with care, sometimes with help from interns. Producing within the EU allows Free Prisoner to adhere to strict ethical regulations and maintain close ties with suppliers, ensuring fair and safe working conditions.
Materials
Free Prisoner primarily uses sustainable natural materials like hemp, linen, organic cotton, and recycled cotton. Hemp is the favourite due to its minimal environmental impact. All sewing yarns are also organic cotton, these materials are GOTS certified and verified by COSH!. This certification ensures ethical production and sourcing of the cotton, without harm to the biodiversity and the production worker.
Packaging
The packaging and business cards are made with recycled materials.
Water usage & chemicals
The brand uses dyes that meet GOTS requirements, ensuring non-toxicity.
Circular product design
Free Prisoner promotes a circular economy by focusing on compostable clothing made primarily from hemp and organic cotton, with no polyester or microplastics. Most pieces are monomaterial, ensuring they are fully recyclable and biodegradable. Recycled cotton is also used, reinforcing the brand’s commitment to more sustainable, circular fashion.
Circular business models
Amber teaches sustainable fashion lessons and conducts workshops as well, sharing her passion with others. Free Prisoner offers care tips to extend the life of each garment. As part of the warranty service, the customers could also get their garments repaired during the first year if necessary.
Free Prisoner employs zero-waste cutting techniques, achieving over 99% resource efficiency by minimizing textile scraps. The brand’s project Back to Zero PII, researches how to make an artistic statement about the wasteful pattern making in the fashion industry and the positive alternative of zero-waste pattern cutting. They believe that we have to eliminate the production of waste, all other approaches, including recycling, are secondary to this.
Distance & complexity of the supply chain
The organic cotton is sourced from Turkey’s Aegean Sea districts, and the hemp is grown and woven in Romania, sourced from a French platform.
Transportation
We’re still gathering information on transportation methods to better understand the brand’s emissions. However, the streamlined supply chain limited to the EU has the potential to reduce transport emissions significantly.
The brand does not use any animal derived products, essentially making it a Vegan brand.
Product design
Amber’s personal approach to fashion draws from autobiographical elements and childhood memories, creating timeless designs that contrast oversized, comfortable silhouettes with skin-baring details.
Slow fashion processes
Free Prisoner embodies slow fashion by offering made-to-order garments crafted within five days and made-to-measure pieces that take longer to ensure a perfect fit. Each design features an impeccable fit, achieved through complex nesting of pattern curves.
The brand invites customers to visit for a personal fitting. Each piece is customised to fit your body and preferences, ensuring high-quality, lasting clothing that aligns with your unique style.
Transparency on product
Free Prisoner is committed to transparency, particularly regarding its materials and production processes. They have diligently traced the origins of their primary materials, including hemp and organic cotton, though linen remains less detailed. The brand is very open about its zero-waste efforts, even sharing their pattern designs compared to conventional ones to demonstrate their commitment to sustainability.
Transparency on processes
Free Prisoner prides themselves on a transparent production line and encourages questions about their practices. They offer detailed information about their materials and processes on their website, making it easy for customers to understand how their clothes are made. They have provided COSH! with extra details as well, including certification proofs.
Free Prisoner shines as a brand committed to crafting ethically produced, zero-waste garments. Their focus on eco-friendlier materials, transparency, and impeccable design makes them a standout choice for conscious consumers. With unique, made-to-order pieces, Free Prisoner offers a stylish and more environmental responsible wardrobe option. We at COSH! recommend Free Prisoner for those looking to make a positive impact with their fashion choices. You can find Free Prisoner’s collection at the points of sale listed below.
