Track&Trace
Komodo
| At the end of the eighties a new UK fashion label emerged from the Acid House scene and became well known for its glow-in-the-dark smiley t-shirts and fluorescent surf shorts. The company was Komodo. Some friends who had met in the English Acid House scene had launched the label in the Summer of Love of 1988. Its background made Komodo unique in the fashion business, as at first it was as famous for its memorable parties as it was for its clothes. From the start Fair Trade was a logical way of doing business for Komodo, and from the beginning they used natural and eco-friendly fabrics, dyes, and traditional handmade local skills. Today almost 60% of the collection is made from organic cotton. “We had our collections made in small factories in Bali and Kathmandu, we understood from an early stage that the more handmade details we wanted, the more people had to work for us. So the more clothes we ordered, the more people had a job, and we felt that was a good thing, " explains Komodo director Mark Bloom. Bloom stresses the importance for Komodo of working with MADE-BY: "The Track & Trace system is the closest thing people are going to get to discovering the origin of their garments, and we think that is very important." |
Komodo believes it is a privilege of our civilisation for everyone to dress with style, but says it is also the responsibility of its fashion design team to try and make the style sustainable. The label feels that it is only common sense and common decency to make clothes with respect for nature and for the people who do the hard job of producing the garments. However Komodo also recognises that its raison d’être is style and has always put fashion first, and then sees the organic, hempy, handmade benefits as the bonus ball. Komodo is very proud to have celebrated 20 years in business, still in one piece, still independent and still working with many of the same family run factories in Bali and Kathmandu that they started out with at the end of the 1980's and early 1990's. |
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