CLASS

Due to the amount of attention being brought to the issues of climate change and living sustainably; individuals are becoming much more aware of their impact on the environment as well as questioning the sustainability of existing products, which include clothing, furniture, food and many other items that are found in the household.

In regards to products relating to fashion, lifestyle and home ware, consumers tend focus on style, quality and price to ensure they are profiting from the best deal and gaining a worthwhile item. If sustainable products fail to meet these similar criteria, then it may fail enormously to sell and lose the attempt to change the perception on eco-friendly items, which includes a lack of style and lack of appeal. However, CLASS, is an organization which promotes ecological alternatives without sacrificing quality and cost.

CLASS is an international forum for textiles, fashion, lifestyle, home and design, with three showrooms based in Milan, London and New York; aiming to facilitate sustainable processes in the textile, fashion and design industries without compromising on the final products quality, allure and style.

CLASS was launched in 2007, by Giusy Bettoni and Sandy Maclennan. Giusy and Sandy, who both worked with the Textiles industry for over 25 years, have now created an organization which connects materials producers with designers and retailers in order to assist them in finding which eco-friendly materials are available in the market place. CLASS offers a flexible service which includes the showrooms presence, tailored communication services, website presence and promotion as well as brand management consultancy and much more!

There are currently thousands of sustainable materials available in the market place to choose from, but to make this simpler; CLASS has separated the various types of materials into four categories. The first is ‘Naturals and Organics’; this category includes textiles made from wool, silk, cashmere, cotton, linen, bamboo and hemp. The second, ‘Repurposed and Recycled’ refers to fabrics containing recycled polyester, recycled cashmere and recycled denim; textiles that are reused to reduce your carbon footprint. ‘Innovative Renewables’ include new biopolymers, paper, milk protein, seaweed and regenerated cellulosics. These textiles are designed to reduce a dependency on oil and promote more sustainable renewable resources. Finally, ‘Processes’ consists of natural dying, metal free chemical dying, minimising effluents and good water management systems. Designed to reduce impact on environment and resources. This method of arranging the vast amount of materials into categories will help to make the sourcing process easier and less complicated.

One of the most vital points about this organization is its drive to ensure that the final end-products are not only sustainable, but remain desirable for their looks, performance and price. These final products that are created with the help of CLASS may be able to continue to show consumers that sustainability does not mean a loss of style and quality, but will help to encourage further growth of sustainable made products.

For more information visit www.c-l-a-s-s.org