I wanna talk about batches & slow fashion

So FYI, all the caps are made in small limited batches. What sort of batch? A mini production line batch of products.

The cut off each week is wed at 12pm, then caps are packed and sent out on fridays.

Snapshot of patterncutting caps in batches

Why? This is for a few different reasons, to reduce fabric waste, to keep the whole brand sustainable, for a better future.. but also to keep caps affordable too! For you and me. Yes it CAN be both. At the Capalog I really really want to break the status quo that making the right choice means unobtainable prices. It doesn't, it just means different choices, and trying a new way.

Right now in the fashion world fast vs slow is being talked about and understood more and more and the Capalog is firmly & definitely in the slow fashion party.

In a nutshell in order for things to be cheap in fast fashion, things are made in vast quantities, ready made in styles for us as customers to pick from. And i mean vast 1000s and hundred of 1000s vast. This has had sooo many disastrous side effects. From prices being quibbled right down to the fraction of a penny for everything down to wages to cost of materials, to every year a really huge amount of products being unsold and then discarded. Or even worse the ones that are, are then discarded when something new and exciting is bought. The amount of waste is ridiculous and it shouldn't be like this. All we need to do is change the system a bit.

BE THE CHANGE YOU WANNA SEE

The capalog wants to provide caps on a long term basis. Yes styles will be added and changed, but most of the time the styles are a combo of limited editions and permanent old faves. There won't be a constant turnstyle of products.

The caps are made in batches, so they are only made when ordered and wanted, so fabric isn't bought and wasted. Also as a customer it's kinda got it's perks too. Making caps to order means they can be custom fit to your headsize. A really super easy part of the process. All the caps are available in 7 sizes, from X-small to X-large, that's from 53-61 in cm. (Side note, any size can be ordered, all we need is the head size. So if you have a weird head size that you can never find then we're your peeps).

The other win win for you as the customer, is if the caps are made in a production line, then each process can be fine-tuned. It's the craft that we care about most. That means each time it gets quicker and quicker. Translation the caps are priced right down to the min. But only the min. Steady now. We want a balance of changing the system but not screwing over anyone in the process & a little respect for the craft and how things are made.

The idea of slow fashion is to think about the long term side effects and also just not buy things as super often. You can be sustainable by buying things, of course you can still spend. At the end of the day a sustainable brand still supports workers and families. And well quite frankly as someone who has only worked in unstable industries i.e. theatre and freelance independent retail I'm really passionate about humans being paid a fair wage. Because I've suffered first hand multiple times as a result. I also know plenty of other people who have. It shouldn't still be happening to anyone anywhere.

Bern the bernina in action

So at the Capalog we're looking at the whole system, and that means batches. Hopefully in the long run this should create a calmer fairer system for all. We're not a massive warehouse or factory, yet but even if that was the case, each cap is made by human beings using a sewing machine & that's how they are priced. We're starting off small, but sustainable and that's how we mean to go on.

That means fabric is bought from suppliers who talk about their weavers and pay them a fair wage. And caps are made in limited batches and only to order. And you know what at the end of the day, we wanna bring a bit of love back to the craft and that means giving it due time, allowing our products to be made well and not panic making and getting them out in the post in as little hours as possible.


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