ETHICAL ACTIVEWEAR: Q&A WITH ASUNO UK

ASUNO, is a Manchester-based fitness and yoga clothing brand passionate about making an impact on the world. Here’s a Q&A with founder Ben Moreland …

Please tell us what you do:

In a nutshell, our team design beautiful, premium quality, functional fitness clothing that saves lives.

What makes us unique in the fitness world though is our integration of charitable actions with every purchase, through collaborations with our three UK charity partners, Plump’d, Water For Africa and Toybox. 

What inspired you to create Asuno? 

Being an avid fitness enthusiast for 10+ years, it’s an area that I love but also an area I understand. Couple that with my aspirations to help the world and leave it in a better way than I found it, Asuno as a brand was the obvious idea. A place where we could bring the two together and hit a gap in the market that I was in shock wasn’t already being supported.

Fitness and charity have roots that go deep and decades back in history. Marathons, triathlons and other sporting events have raised millions for charity, yet these are sporadic events. We decided to fill the gap and create a brand of clothing so that everybody out there could support those in need on a daily basis.

What are the issues that your range is helping to address?

Food, water and identity. Millions around the world lack these three basic human rights, and even more terrible is a huge proportion of these are children.

There are so many great causes out there, so it was tough to choose three to launch the brand with, but these three causes ring true for everyone no matter what walk of life, and that is why we chose them.

We support these causes through our three amazing UK based charity partners, all of which have designated actions linked to our clothing.

• Plump’d, provide seven life-saving food supplements for every purchase
• Water For Africa, drill water wells for regions in the Gambia, our sales support this
• Toybox, provide a birth certificate for an unregistered child in Guatemala with every 13 purchases.

How does Asuno manage to balance people and profit and is this something that more companies could do – if so, how?

From the outset our charities were integrated into our brand brief and business plan. We worked out what is the most we can give to charity so that we can continue to build as a brand and impact more lives.

In the clothing industry especially for smaller boutique brands, profit margins are relatively healthy, so there is definitely scope for more brands to be doing the same.

I’d recommend; look at your projections and figures and see if there is room to donate a % of your profits to charity, you’ll be surprised with what you find. Then find a charity that you believe in or aligns with your brands’ product or ethos and reach out to them.

How does Asuno stack up against its not-so-socially conscious competitors?

Asuno designs are made with our carefully chosen, unique material blends to provide the most comfortable, yet technically outstanding performance customers have come to expect.

Our leggings are designed and produced using our soft-stretch fabric for an unrestricted fit and liberated range of movement, including an elasticated waist and a high-rise fit. They really are amazingly comfy and our breathable composite material will keep you cool in even the toughest and sweatiest practices.

We are also launching with a men’s t-shirt which fits between classic and compression, providing a targeted fit for versatility and performance. It’s quick-drying, breathable and allows full range of motion, keeping you cool, supported and focused. We’ve had a team really putting it through its paces, and we’ve received great feedback.

Not to mention, all our clothing includes the logo of the charity it supports to remind you and everyone else of the change your purchase has made.

What next for you/your range? 

New designs and ranges – expect more colours, more unique designs and more impact on the world.

Following on from our crowdfunding campaign we will be launching a wider range of clothing on our website, all supporting our three charities.

We are keen to expand and bring more charities on board, whether these will be fixed partners such as the three we represent at the moment or guest charities that support limited edition lines. We are already in talks at the moment so plenty to get excited about and watch this space!

 

Where can we buy/find out more in UK?

Our crowdfunding page on IndieGoGo can tell you everything you need to know about Asuno and our charity partners. It’s also the only place where you can buy our clothing. So, head on over and check it out.

Or if you’ve just brought your gym wear but want to be kept updated with our next moves, you can sign up for the newsletter at www.asuno-uk.com