Sustainability & FAQs

Thank you for your curiosity…

How are Pop London collections sustainable?

99% of Pop London collections are produced entirely from surplus or deadstock fabric including trims such as buttons between London and Delhi. This fabric is the result of over-ordering or rejected prints by other fashion organisations. Circularity and circular fashion is built into all of our design and production processes.

Where we have commissioned our own prints, the base fabric to be printed upon is surplus fabric and we weigh up whether to print digitally, thus conserving water, or commission small NGOs to block print for us, thus preserving employment and skills in ancient techniques. Our work with the Harris Tweed mills includes sourcing end of roll fabric and supporting heritage and hand weaving techniques.

Our collections are limited edition by nature as surplus fabric is usually only available in smaller quantities. The photos on this page demonstrate the type and bundles of fabric we might find on our treasure hunts.

Every style that you click on in our online shop details the sustainability of that style. Often the only non-upcycled component in a style is a zip as it is quite difficult to maintain the integrity of the working parts or tape.

Why are some Pop styles manufactured in India?

India is an international hub for fashion manufacturing. Every couture, luxury and High Street brand in the world will have manufacturing or sourcing of some sort taking place throughout India and South Asia. South Asia has a rich heritage and patronage of art and craft since the opulent and extravagant Mughal era. Most couture brands utilise hand embroidery skills from India and most fast fashion brands source from there. As a result India is also a dumping ground for surplus fabrics and trims and components such as buttons, lace and labels.

At Pop London, we see ourselves as little clean up ants sifting through the piles of surplus and base our manufacturing there to try to re-use this surplus material at source.

Who made my clothes?

Pop London collections are exclusive in-house designs. Each style begins with a drawing by Shazia Saleem. Our design process is dynamic due to the way we source fabrics. We might have colours and prints in mind but we have to be flexible depending upon the materials we find in order to upcycle.

We have been awarded a blue butterfly from Positive Luxury and we have been filmed twice on location in India by the Centre for Sustainable Fashion (part of London College of Fashion) and the National Maritime Museum, this film is currently being played at the centre of a major gallery at the museum.

We have worked with the same producers for several years in both London and Delhi, India. We only work with smaller, certified factories with full time staff. The factories have all international compliance audits and health and safety measures as outlined in International Labour Organisation guidelines.

At Pop London we are very hands-on with our design, sourcing and manufacturing and personally know all of the people in our supply and value chain. We are often in India for weeks at a time and have a base in Delhi so that we can check regularly and stay in touch with all the people who make up our stakeholders. The factory owners and businesses we work with are all kind, generous and care for the people who work for and with them, most of whom are long-term employees.

You might have noticed that we do not have any hand embroidery in our collections, this is to reduce the possibility of any out-sourcing.

The non-negotiable founding principles of Pop London include paying fair wages and treating everyone in our supply chain with kindness, dignity and respect.

At all times, however, we strive to bring joy, femininity, glamour and fun into our designs. With Pop London, you really can be sustainable without compromising your style!

How can your collections be so affordable and such good quality?

Because we produce mostly in India at the source of the surplus materials, we are able to benefit from the exchange rate and slightly lower costs of production.

The founder of Pop London has a background in luxury designer fashion and she incorporates this knowledge and experience into the collections. We have a base in India and are very hands-on with quality and improvements.

We also believe that affordability and good quality are crucial aspects of sustainability in fashion to let more customers participate in positive change. Quality also increases clothing longevity. Our collections are all low maintenance machine wash also to keep the cost-per-wear lower for the customer and the environment.

We believe that the dignified, positive work environment we create trickles down to the quality and joy of our styles. Our collections are beautifully constructed inside and out. From our boutique store sales and from our stockists we have never received complaints or bad feedback, only delighted customers and glowing reviews.

Is Pop London vegan fashion?

We believe there is an intersectionality between eco, sustainable and vegan fashion. Most of our collection can be described as vegan.

At Pop London we believe in using natural fabrics that are biodegradable and also softer and kinder on our skin. This means we use cotton, linen, viscose (vegan) and also silk, wool and leather (non-vegan).

Where we use silk, we try to use vegan silk also known as wild silk or ahimsa/peace silk. Our knitwear is 100% cotton from surplus yarn, organic where possible. We have some cashmere or merino wool scarves and work directly with artisan entrepreneurs from Kashmir. We also design with Harris Tweed which is 100% wool and handwoven in the Outer Hebrides (Scotland) and also supports artisan communities. Our bag collections are produced using only upcycled or wastage leather.

Natural materials age well and finally biodegrade with less harmful side effects compared to artificial materials. Vegan materials are mostly artificial or synthetic. Those which are largely affordable and most widely produced are non-biodegradable and are oil-based or plastic in origin such as PU leather, polyester and acrylic. There are mushroom, pineapple and cactus-based leather materials and e.g. spider origin silks being developed but they are not affordable to most people…is there an ewww factor with the spider silk?! Our understanding is that currently pineapple and cactus leathers require a plastic base, leading to the problems of plastic pollution.

It’s an imperfect situation sadly but we hope that in future biodegradable vegan materials become more widely available and affordable for us to also use them in collections.

If you visit our boutique, we are happy to guide you through the collection. We don’t shy away from conversations so please come and chat with us if you’re unsure about sustainable and vegan fabrics.

When do styles go on sale?

We generally do not discount our designs as our pricing is not inflated. The quality of Pop clothing and accessories far exceeds the price. We want more people to be able to afford sustainable fashion and participate in the positive change.

Pop designs are season relevant but not trend dependent. We hope you will enjoy way more than 30 wears per style!

Is your packaging eco friendly?

We post online orders in very eco friendly packaging. Smaller orders are sent in padded paper envelopes where the padding is folded paper not plastic bubble wrap. Larger orders are posted in recycled cardboard boxes or plastic courier bags produced from entirely biodegradable plastic that can also be used as food waste liners. The plastic bags also have a second seal for customers to reuse it in future as needed.

Do you throw returned clothing from online orders?

Not at all!

We steam returned clothing to sterilise them and make them available to other customers.

If you have a question that you feel has not been answered here, please contact us at info@poplondon.co.uk thank you.