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Context: Quality and sustainability have become buzzwords in the fashion industry. As the customers become more aware of quality and ethical concerns related to the clothing industry, companies are forced to become transparent. More and more companies reveal how their products are made (material, cost, production place) and explain their business models in relation to waste management, sourcing raw materials, or recycling. As customers we hear about how large fashion brands finally monitor the conditions in which their fash fashion is produced. Though the change is slow, it seems inevitable. For new clothing brands, the need to be transparent, socially involved and sustainable is evident. Many small fashion brands represent outstanding examples of quality-oriented businesses.
Description: Bombshe – a Polish fashion brand
Bombshe is a small, Polish clothing brand dedicated to women, established in 2016. Their headquarters and the heart of the brand, i.e. their own, intimate sewing room, are located in Wrocław, with all the people working in the company are all closely related. The very creation of Bombshe is the fulfillment of childhood dreams and fashion passion of two people: Marcin and Kasia.
Highlights of the company:
- Instead of outsourcing manufacturing, they have set up their own sewing studio.
For us, ethics means not only the right materials or quality control, but most of all the right attitude towards people. We care a lot about our seamstresses. We have built a sewing room next to the house and our family helps us a lot at work. Marcin’s mother packs parcels, and his sister takes care of customer service. We treat employees as part of the family. The dressmakers we hired soon found out that they would be fine at Bombshe. In other sewing studios, you work on a piecework basis, we don’t do that. We decided that if our seamstresses are to focus on quality, not quantity, they must have the right working conditions. The effect was such that over time our seamstresses brought their friends to work with us.
(Interview with Marcin and Kasia, sukces.rp.pl, 05.10.2021).
- They create clothes from scratch – they construc, design, and cut item straight from material beams and finish them on the spot in the studio.
- They work with local suppliers – “we play to one goal”. They most willingly buy materials and accessories from partners from the nearest regions. All threads, zippers and buttons come from Polish producers. They want to support smaller entrepreneurs and strengthen the Polish market.
- They use and promote eco-friendly yarns and fabrics (only OEKO-TEX® Standard 100 certified). You can read about it on their blog.
- Their collections are small. Each item is designed and made to last for years and match items from previous collections.
Lesson Learnt:
Bombshe is a good example of a company focused on quality not because they have received quality awards or international recognition but because they have developed their own understanding of quality in harmony with the natural and social environment. The foundation of their business is ethical approach to people they work with (seamstresses), environment (high quality, eco fabrics, low transportation costs) and local businesses (using services and products of local companies). Their example shows that quality does not need to be expensive, does not require large investments, and can be the driving force of a small, non-Western, company made from scratch.
Bombshe: