Wild Muse

Wild Muse​’s atelier is located in Kruisem, Belgium. The knitwear collections are produced in Portugal, the woven designs in Poland. The brand also works with producers in France, Italy and Belgium.

The choice of European producers is driven by the brand’s commitment to ensuring safe working conditions and fair wages, who must adhere to the stringent labour regulations and laws of the European Union. Wild Muse also maintains personal contact with its producers, allowing for greater control over the production process and ensuring adherence to their personal ethical standards.

Notably, the Portuguese producer is a member of Amfori BSCI, an organization dedicated to monitoring social conditions in the production process.

Thanks to Wild Muse’s pre-order system, the brand is able to collaborate with small-scale manufacturers. This approach enables manufacturers to produce in small batches, avoiding excess production.

Wild Muse’s collection primarily features knitwear, with jumpers and cardigans crafted from a blend of wool and silk. The finer knits are made with viscose or cotton. Woven garments, are constructed with conventional cotton, certified organic cotton, and linen.

While cotton is a natural material, its cultivation raises sustainability concerns due to the extensive use of chemicals like pesticides, insecticides, and fertilizers, as well as high water consumption for irrigation. To address these issues, Wild Muse opts for organic cotton, which prohibits the use of chemicals.

Wild Muse shares its GOTS certificate (Global Organic Textile Standard). Which allows COSH! to certify that no chemicals are used in the production process and that social conditions in the factories are assessed.

In addition, Wild Muse provides OEKO-Tex certificates for clothes made from both organic and non-organic cotton. These certificates verify compliance with the OEKO-Tex Standard 100 label, guaranteeing that the garments are free from harmful chemicals and safe to wear.

Synthetic materials like polyester, polyamide, and elastane are used in select garments. These synthetic materials have environmentally taxing production processes and can release microplastics when washed.

Wild Muse places a strong emphasis on minimizing waste in the production process. They achieve this by employing various strategies, including the use of a ​“fully fashioned” knitting technique. This technique ensures that garments are knitted to shape, eliminating the need for cuts and reducing waste. Additionally, their pre-order ordering method helps prevent wasted overstock.

To further enhance the circularity of their clothing, Wild Muse could consider incorporating more mono-materials into their collection. Mono-materials, such as 100% cotton, simplify the recycling process for garments. Fortunately, material blends in knits are easier to recycle than in woven fabrics.

Although Wild Muse only works with European suppliers, the brand could commit to a shorter supply chain, as the origin of the materials is further afield.

The wool, for example, comes from Australia and South Africa.

In screening the supply chain, we also look at transport means, and shipping methods. The brand gives little information on this, making it difficult to give an accurate representation.

Wild Muse is committed to upholding animal welfare standards in its production processes.

The brand uses different types of wool, favouring mulesing-free and RWS-certified wool (Responsible Wool Standard). Mulesing is a controversial practice where part of the sheep’s skin is cut away (without anaesthetic) to prevent parasite infection. 

The wool comes from Australia and South Africa, and is processed into yarn by an Italian producer, after which the clothes are produced in Portugal.

Silk is unfortunately not an animal-friendly material, as to obtain silk yarn, the cocoons are usually killed in the process. Animal-friendly options such as peace silk are then a better choice.

Wild Muse focuses on making high-quality, long-lasting clothes without regular sales. They don’t follow seasonal trends. Instead, Laurence and Barbara regularly add new items to a steady collection. Their designs are simple and elegant, with bright colours. These clothes go with everything, and their unique details keep them stylish and classy.

Wild Muse has openly shared information about its supply chain producers, the origins of materials, and even providing certificates it has obtained to COSH!

Their dedication to transparency is also set to expand further, as the brand has plans to update their website to provide more details about its processes and materials to the public.