THE 30 YEAR T-SHIRT
Fast fashion – worn today, thrown away tomorrow. Clothes are seldom made to last, instead they are designed for a short life span – with 13 million tonnes of clothing ending up in landfill annually. For this, and many other reasons the fashion industry is one of the worst when it comes to sustainability.
But some brands are fighting back – including Tom Cridland who has created The 30 Year T-Shirt – so called because it is guaranteed for three decades.
We chat to Tom to find out more:
What inspired you to create The 30 Year T-Shirt?
The 30 Year T-Shirt was launched by my brand, Tom Cridland, which I started in 2014 with a £6,000 government start-up loan. We specialised initially solely in trousers, making them in a wide variety of colours and fabrics in a signature elegant cut. We still make these today. Things really got off the ground when we had the chance to make trousers for the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Stiller, Rod Stewart and Daniel Craig.
The 30 Year T-Shirt was the second item with a 30 year guarantee that I designed. It was an attempt to make sustainable fashion more broadly appealing and to get consumers thinking about fashion as less disposable. We also aimed to lead an industry trend to protecting natural resources by making truly durable clothing.
What are the issues that you are hoping to address with the T-Shirt range?
Fast fashion is damaging the environment, putting responsible brands out of business and ripping off consumers. We are fighting the corporations that are treating both clothing and those who make it as disposable by offering consumers something better: should anything happen to your garment in the next 30 Years, we will repair or replace it free of charge.
Where is the T-Shirt made and what is it made from?
The T-shirts are made of cotton that we source from Biella in Northern Italy, and are now crafted in Serra da Estrela, Portugal. Technological advances allowed us to develop a special treatment to protect the garments against shrinking. We’re selling clothing of a quality you might usually find on 5th Avenue or Bond Street direct to consumer without third party retail markups. This allows us to make our clothing truly durable, which protects natural resources, and offer it to consumers at a reasonable price. The 30 Year concept is the game changer.
Why does it last so much longer than other T-Shirts?
The 30 Year Guarantee is no gimmick and invokes a bygone era when clothing was made with care. We came up with the 30 Year figure with our seamstresses in Portugal who have been making beautiful clothing since 1964 and showed us garments made in the 70s that were still in perfect condition. It isn’t, therefore, the only t-shirt design that’s ever lasted thirty years but it is the first that’s been guaranteed for that length of time and that is what’s especially important. This is a pledge from us to our customers that we’re making truly durable clothing to the highest standard we possibly can but it encourages them to treasure it. It’s the antidote to throwaway fashion.
What next for you/your range?
We’re going to be releasing the Half Century Jeans this year (2018), followed by a range of womenswear.
Where can we buy/find out more in UK?
We sell online only, direct to consumer from tomcridland.com, where you can find out more about our story.
