Kuyichi: "I think green is the direction of the future, and it is here to stay"

Style-conscious, conscious style

Kuyichi is an eco-conscious fashion label from the Netherlands. The brainchild of Dutch NGO Solidaridad, Kuyichi is based on two basic principles: organic jeans and fashion put together in a chain of fair trade. We talked to Tony Tonnaer (1968), brand director of Kuyichi, responsible for the design, production and marketing of this unique and honest clothes brand.

Interview

How did Kuyichi get started?

‘Kuyichi is an initiative of Solidaridad, a Dutch development aid organisation that has a proven track record as a pioneer, developer and innovator in the field of fair trade. During the time that work was taking place to develop fair-trade coffee and fruit, Solidaridad began to produce organic cotton in Peru. The cotton was introduced to a number of major apparel companies, but no one in the clothing industry was interested; the big brands considered it too expensive and felt that the concept was not relevant. Solidaridad decided to launch its own brand at that point, to serve as a case study for the rest of the industry. The result was Kuyichi. In 2001 the company opened its office in Haarlem; we now employ 35 people and our clothing is sold in many countries, including the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany and England.’

How unique is it for a development aid organisation to start its own clothing brand?

‘Extremely unique; we are the first example of such a thing happening. In that respect, Solidaridad director Nico Roozen is a true visionary. Three years ago, people laughed us off as hippies, and now we’re referred to as visionaries; that says a lot about the changing perceptions in the fashion industry. The concept is starting to be adopted by others in the sector, although it’s still limited. Most fashion brands add something sustainable because the market expects it, not because they actually are; they mainly use it as a marketing tool. I always say: we are sustainable, they just act that way!’

What does Kuyichi mean?

‘Kuyichi is an ancient figure from the mythology of Peru; it is the name of the Peruvian god of the rainbow. According to a Peruvian legend, Kuyichi took away all the colours of the rainbow because the world was ruled by injustice. When people became fairer, he brought the colours back. We want our clothing brand to bring back a little bit of justice. We do so by paying a fair price to seamstresses in Tunisia, Turkey, Peru, China and India. And by using organic cotton and other sustainable materials to make our products.’

How sustainable is Kuyichi?

‘We use 100% sustainable materials, but we keep developing increasingly sustainable concepts. We still use chemicals to dye the jeans and put them through the various washings, but we make sure that they’re filtered out of the water, and that the water is recycled. But sustainability is not just a matter of using ecological production practices to minimise environmental impact. The social and economic consequences of production also need to be taken into account. Kuyichi stands for fair trade. 75% of the goods are produced in BSCI- or SA8000-certified factories. This means safe and healthy working conditions, fair working hours, sufficient compensation to meet basic needs and freedom of association. Besides these standards, the producers are unified in a corporation that owns 16% of Kuyichi shares. Kuyichi makes it possible for me to control the whole production process: from cotton to consumer. And not just me, either; our customers can also follow the trail of their clothes. The Made-by Track&Trace system enables our customers to follow the trail of their clothes. Every garment has a code that you can use to find out where it was made and by whom. Not everything from Kuyichi is completely clean and honest yet. But we are not making a secret of it; transparency is part of our concept.’

Who do you think buys Kuyichi?

‘Kuyichi offers a beautiful product to young urban consumers with organic and fair trade as added values. I estimate that ninety percent of our customers buy Kuyichi because they think it’s a cool product, not because of the story. It does give them a good feeling, though, because Kuyichi’s philosophy is in tune with the times. Young consumers are highly critical. They place high demands on the level of creativity and want to know the origins of their purchases.’

What is the greatest merit for Kuyichi?

‘I think that we changed the perceptions of the industry, retailers and consumers about sustainability, transformed it from something boring to something cool and beautiful. We conveyed our “style-conscious” vision and convinced others to adopt it. Green is not a trend, because trends are temporary. I think green is the direction of the future, and it is here to stay.’

Kuyichi is a for-profit company; where do those profits go?

‘Yes, we have a normal profit-based structure. NGO Solidaridad is one of the Kuyichi shareholders, and 16% of the shares are owned by the Kuyichi producers so they can benefit from our success. For the time being, the rest is reinvested in the company.’

How Dutch is Kuyichi?

‘Kuyichi is as Dutch as it gets. Our main office is in Haarlem and 95% of our personnel are Dutch. The logo uses orange as its main colour, to underline the fact that we are Dutch design.’

What does the future hold?

‘Business-wise, things are going well. In 2010 we will be opening our first shops; the intention is to have 100 Kuyichi stores or shop-in-shop locations in Northern Europe by the end of 2012. We keep searching for innovative solutions, for instance in the field of recycling. We make coats out of recycled PET bottles, and jeans, T-shirts and jumpers from recycled cotton. We are also experimenting with hemp and with a eucalyptus-based fibre called Tencel. I think that sustainability is the way forward, and that everyone will go along with it as soon as the techniques become a little more accessible. That is a beautiful thing, and we’re proud to be one of the front-runners.’

www.kuyichi.com