2023-09-15 11:05:48
-Iaios are made with a recycled material, which is made from scraps of wool left over from textile factories, such as confections, spinning mills and others. With the leftovers that the industries generate, the colors are separated, then crushed and finally turned into yarn. Dyes are not used in this process as the colors of the original materials are used. In this way we avoid the dyeing process, which is very polluting and uses a lot of water. Because we only use regenerated wool, without mixing it with other materials, our sweaters can be recycled again when they reach the end of their useful life to be spun again. And even if it seems like something new, regeneration is a very old technique that was already used by our grandparents. Hence our name. Iaios brings back the sweater of a lifetime for new generations.
-Also, design for the sweaters to have as long a useful life as possible.
-Iaios does not follow the ‘timings’ of conventional fashion, and even less those of fast fashion: For example, we do not do sales at the end of the season as our sweaters are timeless and do not lose value. We also do not participate in campaigns that involve lowering the value of our product. This strategy works very well for us as it allows us to keep the value intact season after season.
-But the sweater, as a product, is very seasonal, isn’t it?
-Indeed, it sells much more in the winter season. That’s why we’ve put out a collection of summer t-shirts to keep sales going this season. Even so, our sweater is our star product and surprisingly it continues to sell (even less) throughout the summer.
-In addition, your products highlight the stories of some grandparents…
-It’s like this. Each sweater is named after a real senior. We give these names to give value to the elderly and their experience. When someone buys an Iaios they are given a paper leaflet with the biography of the person who gives the name to the sweater. It is usually a short text written in three languages in which it talks about the life of the grandfather or grandmother, his personality, his experience and curious details. In this way we tell the stories of little-known people, but with interesting personalities and experiences from which we can learn a lot. Some are grandparents of our clients, old people we know or people who are no longer there and who went unnoticed in history. We usually talk to people before we write their bios. Sometimes we visit them and strike up a friendship with them. Whenever we do a biography of someone we give them the sweater.
-Where are your products manufactured?
-The transport of goods generates 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions, a percentage that rises to 11% if those generated in warehouses and ports are included. That’s why at Iaios we decided to reduce our ecological footprint and manufacture our sweaters entirely in Catalonia, so that only 108 kilometers are traveled throughout the entire production process. All our manufacturing, spinning, weaving, tailoring and labeling takes place between Olot, Igualada, les Garrigues and Granollers.
-What other aspects make your proposal original?
– With the aim of extending the useful life of the clothes, once a year we offer a repair and care service for sweaters that need it. This is a service that is done in the summer (when the sweater is not used) so that when the cold comes, the customer will have it like new again. The repair consists of three steps: neck change, ball removal, washing and ironing. The customer only has to place the order online and we take care of collecting the sweater, repairing it and delivering it again.
-Is this a service available only to Iaios?
-Currently, we can only repair our own sweaters, because we have the machinery for them, but in the future we would like to be able to repair all kinds of sweaters.
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