Sustainable fashion brand, IBEAM has cracked the code on how to launch a fashion business with minimal impact on the planet. Benedetta investigates for VAGUE THREADS...

Sustainable and ethically made.

With an out-of-breath and heavy-lidded world pointing its finger at the fashion industry –  responsible for most of the plastic microfibres polluting our oceans, between 2% and 8% of global carbon emissions, and last but not least, labour exploitation – many brands have hurriedly been dropping those slinkily seductive words into their marketing campaigns and newsletters. 

An episode of early ‘00s sitcom Black Books comes to mind, when conniving Fran let her friend Manny into a secret: “you don’t have to clean everything” she said, “because you can always cover stuff with an Indian throw!” 

This metaphorical fake-plastic-grass throw, however, is being lifted by the UK watchdog, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), revealing the mucky carbon footprints that some fashion brands have been trying to hide underneath. And because of all these disingenuous, greenwashing strategies, it is particularly refreshing and hope-instilling to be able to talk to two passionate, young fashion entrepreneurs, who came out of lockdown with a purpose and a more radiant future in mind. 

I first met Ibeam and Leanne at one of Wolf & Badger’s New Designer parties at their flagship London store in May. Standing by the DJ set, momentarily entranced by the beats and booming bass, I then found myself chatting with two bright-eyed, long-time friends, who only a couple of years ago decided to put their talents and minds together to create their own fashion brand. 

As designer Ibeam cheerily recalls, when the two of them had to sit down and choose a name, her business partner had no doubt –  “I want your name,” Leanne said, “and I want the logo to be the sun”. And so IBEAM Fashion was born. Currently housed at Wolf & Badger, the home of smaller, independent brands, they recently launched their first collection, lyrically titled Healing Hearts — a rather timely name. After all, especially given the past two years, many of us probably still have some healing to do or crumbly hearts that could use crafty stitching.

“There was a gap in the market for what we would like in terms of how we would style things. What kind of clothes we're looking for,” explains Leanne, when I ask how they got started. “There are many different ways of expressing what sustainability is, and some brands are focused on, for example, carbon emissions. While we were interested in that, we also found that the places that we were most interested in were where people are impacted, where animals are impacted, where health could potentially be impacted, for the user and for the end experience.” 

This is also clearly stated and reinforced in their earth-toned website: “We care so much about our impact on humanity and centre our brand around the 3 Ps,” it says. And so I ask them to unthread the filaments of this ambitious mission, conveniently encapsulated into the ‘Three Ps’…

Planet

“We want to make sure that we are having not just less of a negative impact on the planet, but a good impact. So that means, for example, being conscious and being careful with the choices that we make with things like packaging. We chose to go down the route of using only recyclable or recycled materials for all of our packaging, which includes the tissue paper, the boxes, all of the dyes – everything that we've used is environmentally friendly. We've also researched and hopefully in the future we'll be able to invest into materials that are also commercially biodegradable.” — Leanne

People

“Any people who are kind of touched by our supply chain we consider very carefully, including who we use as a manufacturer. We were lucky enough that Ibeam was in Thailand at the time, so when we found who we wanted to use we had the advantage of her [fluency in] Thai. We found someone [with] a small team of people in a really nice, new factory. She treats her staff really well. We regularly speak to the staff and have direct contact with them, which means that obviously we're able to see the environment that they work in and we're able to see the equipment that they use.” — Leanne

“It took us time because Thailand is full of manufacturers and factories, and I could have gone down the easy route and just choose Bangkok. Firstly, the area itself is polluted, people are not getting treated well, they’re just overworked. So we chose Chiang Mai. It's beautiful, wholesome; there's an energy that you can't get anywhere in Thailand. The factory itself is new, we spoke to the owner and she feels like our Auntie already, so we have a really good relationship with her as well. And that was the main factor for us to decide on who to choose, the relationship that we can build and who they are as a person, instead of just business.” — Ibeam

Purpose

“We really wanted to make sure that we were able to re-insert our work into places that needed help in ways that you don't usually see. I did a Masters degree in Humanitarian Aid and Confict in 2020-21, and we felt like we really wanted to use whatever platform that we were able to build to empower the oppressed and the impoverished. So we founded a social enterprise alongside our brand, which we're working on at the moment. It's not necessarily yet public, but it is going to be our way in which we plan to use a percentage of the profits that we make from our brand to fund projects in countries such as Thailand, where Ibeam has projects that she would like to pursue, and in Uganda, which is where I am originally from, and also in the UK. The plan is that through the funds that we are able to donate from the brand into the social enterprise we can structurally, from a developmental and from a humanitarian standpoint, create change in places where we haven't been able to touch with our supply chain.” — Leanne

With the ‘Three Ps’ as safe pillars, guiding them through an impervious and exciting journey, I certainly hope that Ibeam and Leanne will keep on striving to keep this virtuous marriage between innovation and compassion alive. 

Looking at their first collection —  and as the human embodiment of a magpie — a shiny, vibrant green dress then catches my eye. When I point it out, Ibeam explains how the garment is made of not just any silk, but organic, so-called ‘peace silk,’ provided by the Sustainable Textile Supply Chain (STSC). Their goal is to establish partnerships with local communities and artisans in India and other parts of the world, encouraging designers to “embrace the exponential shift towards sustainable eco-products.”

“I love silk, and it does remind me of Thailand. But, having watched how they produce it, I just couldn't use it. So we did our research and found this non-harmful silk, ‘peace silk’, they call it. It’s organic and ethically produced – they allow the silkmoths to completely grow within the cocoons and then they break from the cocoons themselves, naturally. We knew if we wanted to create anything, especially within fashion, it needed to come from a place of love. We want to contribute to peace and growth instead of destruction.” — Ibeam

As we’re saying our goodbyes and thank-yous, I realise that I have been feeding off their energy and palpable synergy. Two young women who have turned a childhood dream into reality. Ibeam calls it “magical,” and I would agree with her.

“I'm looking back at my childhood, and it's here, right in front of me,” she says, her mind gliding through past, present, and future. “Now it's just about sustaining it and growing it, which is, slowly, and that’s good. But it's very, very magical.” 

credits

words — benedetta mancusi

design — sâde popoola