Sustainability Path

The Seréne brand aesthetic yields timeless, premium, all natural products with thoughtful, slow fashion in mind. Seréne product design involves how best to preserve earth’s natural resources, and actively contribute to positive change. Sustainability is ensuring we fulfil the needs of current generations without compromising the needs of future generations, ensuring a balance between economic growth, environmental care and social well-being. Fast-fashion, and its ‘throwaway culture’ places unfathomable pressure on the earth, encouraging unsustainable social and environmental practices. Synthetic fabrics made from petrochemicals such as Polyester, Nylon and Acrylic contribute alarmingly to the toxic effects on landfill which leach into the soil, and the microplastics released when washing these garments that pollute the oceans and waterways, harming marine life and food chains. Embracing slow fashion that is transeasonal, not driven by trends, simply styled in classic modern pieces, and produced in small batches helps mitigate unnecessary waste and challenges the status quo. Seréne is on a journey, to continually learn, evolve and encourage conscious sustainable practices.

Fabrics

An integral part of Seréne’s ethos is the exclusive use of natural fabrications in creating our lounge and sleepwear collection. Nature simply is the best option when deciding what to clothe ourselves in, making an earth conscious decision by using fabrics from regenerative sources. Seréne designs are made using a selection of Linens, Merino, Silk, Cotton/Silk and Organic Cotton, all with the ability to biodegrade back into the earth at the end of their life cycle. Opting to be free of synthetic and synthetic blended fabrics in our collections will always remain our commitment. For more about these natural fabrics and their incredible benefits you can click here. In addition, the trims used in our garments are also naturally sourced, Shell buttons and 100% Cotton tapes for waist ties, care and brand labelling, with paper card swing tickets attached by waxed cotton ties.

Production

People are at the heart of every Seréne garment made, passing through many hands in the journey from inception to finished piece, everyone of these people are valued and considered part of a collective community who contribute their knowledge and expertise, forming valued relationships. Seréne’s Merino collection is manufactured in New Zealand, proudly supporting local small businesses. Having worked in garment manufacture both locally and offshore throughout my career, the dynamic of producing garments in New Zealand is a very different process involving collaboration with many sectors of the clothing industry through the creation cycle. Beginning with fabric and trim suppliers, working with graphic artists, fabric printers, pattern graders, fabric cutters and makers, it’s really enjoyable watching the garments come together through all the stages of local manufacture. Our Silk and Cotton/Silk pieces are made by a family owned and operated garment factory based in Kolkata, India. Having worked together for many years in previous roles with other companies, it feels good to be working together again on the Seréne brand, meeting twice yearly in person and frequent correspondence in between times. They are SA8000 accredited, a social compliance certification standard for factories and organisations. Each of the Linen capsules are produced by the same clothing factory based in Dongguan, China. From past working relationships with this company, it was an easy decision to partner again with them as they specialise in Linen garments and appreciate Seréne’s commitment to sustainable and ethical practices. Choosing digital fabric printing methods for offshore production allows for small production runs without fabric wastage, more precise control over the amount of ink used and requires less water than traditional printing methods. Garments are packed in r3pack compostable bags for transit from factories to keep protected during transit and storage, where possible multiple items are packed into a single bag, rather than individually bagged.

Packaging

Not only are the Seréne pieces we create all natural in fabrication, equally important is what we wrap and package our garments in when sending them to you. These packaging components are 100% recycled Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Certified materials sourced from Noissue, you can find out more about Noissue products here. FSC guarantees that the materials are coming from trees grown in responsibly managed forests. Our kraft mailers and boxes are reusable which is fully encouraged, plus compostable and curb-side recyclable. Seréne branded tissue paper, stickers and tape are recyclable and compostable. Less is more when it comes to packaging, with over the top packaging just unwarranted.

Giving Back

Seréne has partnered with i=Change who focus on the empowerment of women and girls and helping them unleash their potential, and also mitigate the impacts of climate change. $1 from every sale goes to one of our three chosen NGO charities detailed below. We are committed to supporting some of the most vulnerable women and children around the world, and being part of a positive change toward environmental issues. You can find out more information by clicking here.

CLEAN THE SEA

$1 = removes 1.2kgs of plastic and debris from the sea.
Over 160 million tons of plastic is produced each year to create single-use disposable items and packaging.
With no established system to close the loop, this has led to over 70 years of accumulation of plastics in landfill (40%) and the environment (32%), with only 10% being recycled.
Plastics end up in waterways and oceans, breaking down into ever smaller pieces called micro-plastics, well known for entering the
food chain through the water, air and food that we consume.

EDUCATE A GIRL

$1.50 = pays for a day of high quality education for a girl in a Calcutta slum.
In the male dominated slums of Calcutta, girls come second in every way. They are rarely sent to school, and often end up forced
into child marriages, child labour or sex trafficing. Even for families who do want schooling for their girls, a decent education is
unaffordable. By providing education and academic tutoring, Her Future Coalition ensures that girls have the chance of breaking the
cycle of poverty and exploitation by getting a quality education.

DIGNITY DURING DISASTER

$15 = provides a dignity kit filled with necessities.
When a crisis occurs, people’s lives change in an instant. Women and girls are affected differently by disasters. Death, injury,
displacement, and the destruction left behind impacts entire communities. Disasters often kill more women than men and hit
women’s livelihoods hardest. The needs of women and girls are often overlooked and ignored in the immediate response to conflict
and disaster. Simple items such as sanitary napkins, a clean pair of underwear and soap can help restore dignity for women and
girls following disaster and conflict.

Looking Ahead

We evolve by learning, and by keeping ourselves open to change, this evolution is a positive attribute of human curiosity. When we
know better, we do better. Seréne is on a journey, looking to continually make improvements along the sustainability path, naturally
progressing with time.