STAIY | The new sustainable clothing platform everyone's talking about

Brand portrait, models
Brand portrait, models Copyright STAIY
By Maeve Campbell
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Shopping online can be purposeful and fulfilling - as long as you're buying from 100% ethical brands.

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Sustainability is the trend that will never go out of fashion. In fact, it’s only in the past few years that mainstream clothing brands have started to adopt greener ethics, as we gradually wake up to the environmental crisis. Gucci committed to go carbon neutral by the end of this year, and fashion houses Kering and LVMH recently signed sustainability pacts pledging to reform the way they manufacture clothes and produce less waste.

The problem is, there is a huge gap in the market for sustainable fashion that is actually affordable. A survey by Nosto earlier this year found that, among 7000 people, consumers were only prepared to pay up to 5% more for ethical fashion. The reality is, we have to pay a higher markup for new clothes if we want to ensure they are made responsibly. Think of it like this – your money goes towards fabrics being sustainably farmed rather than produced by synthetic chemicals, and you’re paying for garment workers to earn a fair wage.

Wouldn’t it be great to have all the brands who embody sustainability and ethics in one place? One new, online platform is providing just that – and it might just change the face of fashion as we know it.

An online fashion site for only 100% sustainable brands

Four young Italian entrepreneurs are about to break the Internet. Based in the heart of Berlin, the founders (Adrian Leue, Alessandro Nora, Ludovico Durante and Chiara Latini) are on a mission to minimise the environmental footprint of fashion production with their fresh, new concept.

On 25 November, they will launch STAIY, the first online platform to only offer eco-friendly brands, making it easy to shop with a guilt-free conscience.

STAIY
Four founders (Adrian Leue, Alessandro Nora, Ludovico Durante and Chiara Latini)STAIY

Having already partnered with over 50 brands like Komodo, Malimo and Francis Stories, STAIY has curated diverse collections that appeal to virtually every kind of consumer. Whether you’re after a €400 woollen coat or a €12 organic cotton t-shirt, the site will cater to you.

Founder Ludovico Durante tells Euronews Living, “we want to create a huge community that is educated about sustainability. From there, we can forge a clear roadmap on the way to circularity in fashion.”

By far the best thing about STAIY is its thorough approach to advocating sustainability. Ludovico explains the rigorous stages brands must go through, in order to be featured on the site. Every clothing brand is required to answer 61 questions based around the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the UN. These relate to STAIY’s five founding pillars, ‘Water, Air, Materials, Work Conditions and Giving Back to the Community.’

Certificates such as GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) and FWF (Fair Wear Foundation), which are analysed in-depth and trace back to the individual supply chain, help identify a brand’s commitment to sustainability. All these steps are controlled and monitored by the team’s sustainability officer, Carine Lima.

Artificial Intelligence tells you what will suit you

The STAIY team are not only passionate about a greener garment industry, they’re tech whizzes too. They have designed a unique algorithm of personalisation, so that each shopping experience will be tailored to the customer.

The ‘recommendation tool’ uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to determine your taste as you browse the site, pointing out a dress you might like based on a series of questions you answer when you sign up.

Online shopping with friends

Again, this personalised AI concept is totally new, making STAIY one of the first shopping sites to offer a realistic solution to the fast fashion crisis. Many are calling for us to boycott the fashion industry completely, to cancel fashion week and stop buying new items altogether. But STAIY has found a middle ground, offering sustainable alternatives to the clothing we know and love, by changing the way we shop altogether.

As a result, shopping online becomes purposeful and fulfilling, as customers know their purchases won’t be harming the planet. What’s more, STAIY even has an incentive system, giving consumers donation points for every brand they buy from, which can then be used to donate to non-profit organisation One Tree Planted.

STAIY’s debut is any day now, look out for the launch at www.staiy.com on 25th November.

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