Komodo

Komodo originally produced their garments in mostly medium-sized, family run businesses in Kathmandu, Bali, and India. They have been working with some of these factories since the early days of the brand, and the factories have grown along with the brand, shaping each other over the years into the businesses they are today. They are proud to have strong relations with the facilities, and also supposedly have low employee drop-out rates. After the Nepal earthquake, they have also added China to their production facilities as well, in order to relieve pressure on Nepal’s facility. Some of their product descriptions also mention to be made in Italy, however there are no more details given regarding this.

The brand has a strict social criteria and code of conduct for all their suppliers in accordance with the ILO (International Labour Conventions) regarding employment ethics, exploitation, discrimination, hygiene, safety, and added benefits. The details of the code of conduct are readily found on their website. Regular inspections of these facilities are carried out by third party certifiers like UL Solutions, and a majority of the factories hold certifications like SA8000 and GOTS, which are world renowned certification bodies that ensure sustainability of the facilities. However, they have not mentioned the details of how many or which suppliers are certified, which makes it difficult to verify their social responsibility.

They do, however, have a line of products that are GOTS certified, ensuring the sustainability of the entire production process, including social responsibility.

The brand’s longstanding relationships with their partners in Kathmandu and Java helps them support the local communities and important social projects such as the Tibet Relief Fund. Komodo used a sales event to raise the money to build a school on the border of Nepal, that was destroyed in the earthquakes of 2015. They also support the Sunrise Orphanage in Kathmandu, which was massively affected by these earthquakes. They also have many past projects that can be found on their website.

Komodo proudly claims that all their products are made from sustainable fabrics. All their cotton is organic, and the garments are GOTS certified, which as mentioned before, makes sure the product was made sustainably through the entire supply chain, and does not have a harsh impact on the environment. Their Hemp material is also supposed to be GOTS certified, however this is not mentioned on product descriptions, so it is unclear whether all their hemp products are GOTS certified. However, in general, Hemp is a more sustainable material than it’s substitutes such as cotton.

They also use wool, which while not certified organic yet. But they do claim to have the Woolmark certification, which ensures highest quality products. They also claim to use recycled wool for some of their products. In addition to this, Komodo uses linen, but whether their linen is 100% organic is inconsistent on the website. The brand also uses Lenzing Modal which is a completely natural and biodegradable material made from wood pulp, and is certified by many well known external certification organizations to be sustainable.

Apart from that, they also use semi-synthetic materials such as Bamboo and Rayon, both made from tree products and hence biodegradable and have a low impact on the environment. They use Cupro, the details of which are not provided, however generally Cupro is made from recycled cotton fabrics, which makes them a sustainable fabric. For their footwear, the brand uses Vegan Leather made from cornwaste, natural rubber, and Abacá banana canvas, which is a completely biodegradable material produced from banana plants.

Komodo also uses Lenzing Viscose, which is certified to have a smaller impact on the environment than its conventional alternatives, and recycled polyester and recycled PET (from water bottles), for which certification is not mentioned. They also use Tencel, which is more sustainable due to it’s closed loop production method. In their footwear they use upcycled tyre rubber, recycled foam insoles, and a recycled PU footbed, however certifications for these are not mentioned.

Their haberdashery is also said to be sustainable, using coconut buttons and recycled PET shoelaces. The brand also produces in small batches to avoid overproduction and minimise waste, and their packaging is recycled/​recyclable and is FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) approved, meaning they were sourced without harm to forests. They claim to have eliminated the single use plastic from their supply chain.

As a member of 1% for the Planet, Komodo donates to the Sumatran Orangutan Society to restore natural rainforests and ecosystems. They also worked with their Nepali knitting factory to switch to solar power, and require all their facilities to reduce waste and recycle in accordance with Komodo’s policies. They mention the use of cargo freights for shipping within the supply chain, which reduces CO2 emissions from transport, however they don’t mention anything about their ecommerce shipping methods.

Komodo has many monomaterial products, which makes them easily recyclable at end of use. They also use a lot of recycled materials in their garments, which also contributes to the circularity of these materials. Other than this, the brand does not mention any other circularity efforts such as repair/​resale or take-back systems.

Komodo is located in London, and its production is done in Nepal, India, Bali, China, Tunisia, and Italy, making the production chain quite long. By transporting their materials using cargo ships, the brand reduces the impact of the transport emissions on the environment.

This brand claims to have mostly vegan products, however they do also use wool material supposedly sourced from mulesing free countries. They do not have an animal welfare statement on their website, however they contribute to animal welfare by helping the endangered Sumatran Orangutans find shelter in restored forests.

Komodo started in London with using old discarded jeans to make a patchwork jacket, and later grew into the brand it is now, selling clothes that embody the spirit of freedom. Their wool garments are the definition of slow-fashion, being hand-knitted and hand finished in their factory in Kathmandu, their minor variations giving them individuality. Komodo uses the highest quality materials to increase durability, and gives care tips with every product description to make sure the garments stay in use for as long as possible.

Komodo provides a lot of transparency about their facilities through storytelling, including a license number for their GOTS certification, which is more than most brands provide. Their product description pages are very detailed, containing the certification details, whether the products are vegan, and sometimes the production location as well.

However their product descriptions are not very consistent. A lot of their jewelry pages do not reflect the materiality. Their claim for some products being made in Italy is inconsistent with their Factories page stating that they only have facilities in India, Nepal, Bali, and China. They also need to specify which facilities are certified, or atleast provide a percentage. So, they still have some way to go regarding transparency with regards to their chemicals and dying methods, water usage and pollution, material traceability, and a few othet things. That being said, overall Komodo does a very good job on it’s sustainability and transparency.