Unique designs, sustainable clothing
Want seriously comfortable clothes, but hate fast fashion wastage?
There are many reasons why I love using Teemill as my clothing provider. I wanted to use my illustrations on things that I could wear and use - and also that my children could wear, too. I have a son and a daughter and I dislike several things about clothing that’s produced for children - neither are into sports, so my son in particular doesn’t want anything football-related, or skateboarding, etc. I can’t bear slogans on kids’ clothing, so you won’t find me putting slogans on my designs - occasionally a word or two but you’ll never see ‘Princess’ anything, or ‘Naughty but nice’ or things like that. My son is in the difficult age of early teens, where there’s a big clothing gap - kids’ clothing stops (for most brands) and Men’s starts, so boys’ designs are too childish and men’s designs are too old or dull or not relevant yet. I don’t want slogans on MY clothing either!
I also wanted to use some of my illustrations which would work perfectly on other items, not just art prints - because people can’t always buy artwork all the time, and perhaps would prefer a hoodie or a mug or something else instead. My Emperor dragonfly is just that, an illustration that I really like and wanted to incorporate into clothing designs.
This hoodie is one of my favourites for several reasons. It’s incredibly comfortable and one of those tops that you just don’t notice you’re wearing, because there’s nothing annoying about it! I find the drawstrings on hoodies annoying, there’s none of those. The thick elastic waistband at the hem tends to ping up and leave you with a gap, which is uncomfortable (I mean I’m not 18 anymore, gaps aren’t flattering!) - that’s why I chose the relaxed fit hoodie which has small slits at the side and a non-elasticated hem - seriously comfortable. It’s a good, soft, warm layer but not heavy - some hoodies are mega heavy and bulky - this one is really easy to wear.
I featured the dragonfly front and centre in this design with complementary botanical freshwater plants in the background on a white circle. The design is simple, neatly encapsulated, and works beautifully on the hoodie. The colours are light and fresh which work perfectly in spring. I’ve chosen this hoodie to be available in Athletic Grey, Stone Blue and Black, which are all excellent colours to work with everything in your wardrobe.
I find the hoody washes brilliantly (low temps are best; don’t tumble dry it - that will ruin the print, and it doesn’t need ironing) and is one I reach for again and again and again!
Teemill is the ideal solution for people like me (individuals running very small, independent businesses) to produce clothing -
I can’t afford to buy loads of stock, nor do I have the space to store it
I don’t know which designs will be popular, so I don’t want to invest in loads of T-shirts I can’t sell!
I felt pretty ‘ick’ about the nasty cheap mass produced clothing that I thought I would have to buy to be able to have my own designs on clothing. The world definitely does not need more clothing produced - not in the way that it is currently made!
I only make a small profit from each item sold (a few quid) but I know that the customer is getting a quality item, I know that my design is liked and wanted, and I know that I’m not sending rubbish out into the world. Check out helenleslieillustrator.teemill.com to see all my designs.
Reasons why Teemill is great:
They print on demand, so when a customer buys a T-shirt, it is then printed in the size that’s been ordered, and sent out. No excess stock, no wastage.
I can chop and change my designs whenever I want to - no wastage, no costs, the only investment is my time
The Teemill factory is run using renewable energy and clothing is made from sustainable materials like organic cotton and recycled fabric
Crucially - every product is made to be remade. That means that when a T-shirt or hoody is worn out and no longer fit for purpose - it can be returned to Teemill and they will recycle it into new fabrics to make new clothing.
That’s circular fashion, working to end waste. No excess stock going to landfill. Recycling worn out clothes into new.
Teemill say:
“Out there in fossil-fuel powered business-as-usual land, 60% of clothing is made from plastic and 99% is never recycled. Organic materials, renewable energy and the tech to make only what people need, when they need it, is possible when combined with a revolutionary approach to design. By designing every product from the start to come back and be remade, instead of going to landfill, instead of making waste, we make new products from it.”
“Unlike 99% of clothing that eventually goes to landfill, every product we make is designed to come back to us at the start to be remade. Instead of creating waste, we create new products from it. The technology we developed to make this modern, circular economy work is a solution we want to scale up quickly. When it comes to sustainability, climate change, the plastic crisis - we do not have much time.”
You can follow @teemillstore on instagram and keep up to date with their progress
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