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A sweatshirt by Tom Cridland that goes for another 3 decades

Last updated: Aug 19, 2022

Summary

Tom Cridland started his clothing brand in 2014 with a £6,000 government start-up loan upon his graduation from University. Initially specialising solely in creating the perfect pair of trousers, in 2015, Tom launched the 30 Years sweatshirt, a sustainable fashion project in the form of a luxury cotton crewneck backed with a 30-year warranty (essentially meaning free repairs).

Made with 100% organic cotton coated with a silicone treatment to prevent shrinkage, and reinforced seams to allow maximum durability, this timeless and gender neutral design offers a great alternative to today’s fast fashion dominant model.

Problem

Fast fashion is damaging the environment, putting responsible brands out of business and ripping off consumers. Clothing companies following this model purposefully design their clothes to fall apart after only a short time, leading consumers to buy more at a rapid pace.

Solution

Extended product life: Durability

By making more durable apparel with a three decade warranty, like The 30 Year Sweatshirt, they are hoping to encourage quality over quantity, rejecting planned obsolescence and making it easier to keep clothes for longer.

Making your clothing last longer has been shown to reduce carbon, water and waste footprints, which is why Tom Cridland encourages his customers to treasure their garments, backing each one with a lifetime guarantee that promises to repair any rips or tears (except for stains).

When creating these pieces, they focus on blending their beautiful fabrics sourced from Northern Italy and traditional craftsmanship with things like double reinforced seams and technology to stop shrinking, piling and fading.

When it comes to garment composition, they favour organic and recycled materials that are better for the environment and comfortable to the skin. The 30 Year sweatshirt is made from 100% Organic Cotton (GMO free), which is natural, renewable and biodegradable material—which can usually take 1-5 months to completely biodegrade.

Outcome

Nowadays, Tom’s designs include the 30 Year Sweatshirt, 30 Year T-Shirt and Half Century Jeans. They underline his sustainable ethos intended to encourage customers to buy better quality garments and hold onto them.

Private innovation, like promoting the idea that clothing should be treasured and not seen as disposable, could encourage a change of mindset towards fashion consumption and foster a new trend towards truly durable clothing.