Mads Nørgaard

Mads Nørgaard values the working conditions in which their clothes are made. That’s why they have been members of the Fair Wear Foundation since 2021. This is an independent organisation that monitors and helps improve conditions at fashion companies and manufacturers. Due to Mads Nørgaard’s recent membership, no audit has yet been carried out, they are still at a ​“needs improvement” level, but it does show that the company wants to make improvements in this area.

Ever since 2017, Mads Nørgaard has been increasingly committed to using sustainable materials in its collection. The brand uses natural materials such as linen, organic cotton, BCI cotton (Better Cotton Initiative), recycled and conventional cotton, silk, leather, and recycled and conventional wool, among others. Other materials, such as recycled and conventional polyester, elastane, viscose, and polyamide, are also used in the collection.

Unfortunately, less sustainable materials, such as polyester, are sometimes used. However, for certain clothes, such as swimwear, there are still very few sustainable alternative materials to polyester. Mads Nørgaard is committed to increasingly replacing this with recycled polyester. Click here to learn more about recycled polyester.

Garments made entirely of natural materials such as cotton or linen are biodegradable. This is good for the brand’s circularity. Using recycled materials also promotes circularity. For example, recycled wool reduces waste. It also saves a significant amount of water, reduces grazing land needs and reduces the use of chemicals for dyeing. This saves as much as 500 litres of water and 11 kg of CO2 per kilo of recycled wool produced compared to virgin wool.

Mads Nørgaard also has a reusable packaging service that you can choose during checkout for an added cost, which they incentivize by rewarding the customers with a voucher of 5€ once the package is returned. This contributes to the brand’s circular business model significantly. 

Unfortunately, Mads Nørgaard does not have a short chain. According to information from the Fair Wear Foundation, the brand works with suppliers and manufacturers from 12 different countries. Headquartered in Denmark, their manufacturers are located in China, Denmark, Portugal, Turkey and Greece, among others.

Several garments are made of wool. Different types of wool are used for this purpose: merino, alpaca, sheep’s wool and recycled wool. Unfortunately, there is no information on the origin of these materials and thus on the welfare of involved animals, but animals are not killed to make wool. 

Their shoes and some of their clothes are made of leather. Again, there is no information on the origin of the leather. It could possibly be a by-product of the dairy and meat industry.

Quality is very important for Mads Nørgaard. They want to make beautiful and well-made clothes that can be worn for a long time. For this, they look at both the quality of the materials and the timelessness of their designs. 

In addition to collections that evolve with the seasons, they also create classic designs which are simpler in style and easy to combine across different outfits. 

Mads Nørgaard is on its way to becoming more transparent. By joining the Fair Wear Foundation, they are sharing more information about their suppliers and manufacturers. For example, you can find a full list of all the companies they work with on their sustainability report. However, there could be more transparency and clarity regarding materiality, as some product descriptions mention ​“other materials” but don’t specify the exact materials. They also could provide certifications or proofs of some of their sustainable materials, such as for the BCI cotton. They also need more transparency regarding their transportation methods, and supply chain packaging.