As a small company, Ifeelnut is dedicated to care for the people who make the brand run. They are committed to 100% Spanish production, which allows them traceability of each garment down to the maker. They have a workshop in Bilbao where they polish each prototype to make them ready for the final collection. They also source all of their fabric from within Europe, and their wool collection especially is entirely made in Spain, from the fabric manufacturing to the final button. Local production makes it easier for them to check regularly the working conditions and ensure decent treatment of the workers, and sustainable production.
All that being said, none of the suppliers are stated and neither have they mentioned their system of ensuring safe working conditions amongst all their suppliers, so this cannot be verified. They also haven’t stated their production processes, making the use of harmful chemicals and safe working conditions unverifiable.
Ifeelnut has a materiality page where they state the importance of finding a balance between comfort and sustainability, and that they select their fabrics with meticulous attention. They adapt their designs based on the materials, guaranteeing functionality without losing sight of the environmental impact.
From the product description pages, their materiality can be assumed to use some natural materials such as Cotton, Linen, Modal, and Wool. These are biodegradable materials, ensuring the circularity of the garments that contain a majority of these materials. However, they are not stated to be organic or carrying any certification, so we cannot say whether the production of these fabrics was sustainable and had a lesser impact on the resources, as cotton production uses a lot of resources such as water.
They also use synthetic and semi-synthetic materials such as Polyester, Elastane, Nylon/Polyamide, Tencel, Viscose, and Rayon. Tencel Lyocell is considered more sustainable as compared to its fellow synthetic or semi-synthetic fibres due to it’s comparatively sustainable production, such as being produced in a closed loop. Some of the viscose used by this brand is by Ecovero, ensuring more sustainable production as compared to its conventional alternatives. The other materials however, are purely synthetic and conventionally much worse for the environment in terms of production and disposal. Additionally, considering the loose-fitting nature of Ifeelnut’s garments, the use of synthetic materials has potential to be reduced in volume.
The brand also does not mention the use of water or chemicals, so we are unable to make assumptions on the toxicity of the garments and its effect on the surrounding environment. However, they do state their efforts in making the most of each fabric, adjusting the patterns as much as possible to minimize the waste of the material.
In terms of packaging, Ifeelnut has completely eliminated the use of plastic in their ecommerce packaging, using only paper and cardboard, which are also adjustable according to the volume of the order. They are aiming to adopt the same method for their supply chain shipments, however haven’t quite achieved that yet. Instead, they aim to not let the plastic packaging become single-use, reusing them in their workshop.
Due to their local production and sourcing, transport emissions are assumed to be reduced, however they have not stated their method of transport on the website.
This brand has many monomaterial garments, making them recyclable at the end of use. Additionally, many of the monomaterial products are made of natural materials, which, not considering finishing dyes and other haberdashery, can be considered easily biodegradable as well. This also contributes to the circularity of the garments even more. However, their material blend garments contain high percentages of synthetic material, making it hard to recycle them later.
Other than this, the brand does not state circularity anywhere on the website.
Ifeelnut is located in Bilbao, Spain, and it’s production is contained within Spain. All materials are stated to be sourced from within Europe as well, keeping everything local and within short distances. The method of transportation is not stated, however the local nature of the brand implies reduced transportation emissions.
Ifeelnut uses animal materials such as Wool, however does not state the method of production and ethical treatment of the animals. They do not state the use of mulesing free wool, nor do they have an animal welfare statement on the website.
Ifeelnut’s efforts in making the most of each fabric reducing fabric waste, and their design for each silhouette to be used on multiple occasions, contributes to the timelessness of the products and materials and keeps them in use for a long time. Their garments are minimalistic with muted, pastel tones, making the designs seasonless and desirable to many.
That being said, unlike a lot of other brands, Ifeelnut does not provide care or repair tips for their garments, which would enable the consumers to keep the garments in use for as long as possible. Additionally, the blended materiality and high percentages of synthetic fibres could potentially affect the quality of the garments negatively.
Ifeelnut sees sustainability as a journey, that they pay attention to every detail along the way and strive to show their consumers the process transparently. However, they still have a very long way to go in terms of transparency.
Their materiality is very hard to keep track of, the page dedicated to it does not hold much information, and the material descriptions on the product pages are quite lacking. Their use of abbreviations for materials are inconsistent and complex, making it difficult for consumers to understand the abbreviations without putting extra effort into it. A lot of the product description pages do not even show the materiality and composition.
Along those lines, most product description pages are lacking information. For instance only containing materials or describing the production location as “local production”. This however implies that not all garments are produced locally, which is inconsistent with their statement of 100% local production within Spain. The website as well, as a whole, is slightly difficult to navigate and seemingly incomplete.
There also needs to be more transparency regarding their use of water, carbon emissions, microplastic release, transportation methods, and circularity efforts. More transparency is essential for the consumers to know what they are buying, and its sustainably (or lack there-of).
Zaključak
In conclusion, Ifeelnut can be commended for it’s local production, check it out for it’s beautiful, durable, comfortable and elegant garments. However, it has a long way to go regarding transparency and sustainability.
