Keela launches ‘Legacy’ Project in sustainability initiative

Article From：outdoor insight

The move is a further indication of the brand’s commitment to UK manufacturing and sustainability, with Keela boasting a history of green production practises and initiatives, stretching back for over 40 years.

The first phase of the project promotes a ‘save the planet, save your wallet’ message, as well as product longevity and sustainability, with a nod to the current cost of living struggles. It offers a chance for outdoor enthusiasts to pick up a vintage collector’s piece, a designer one-of-a-kind sample, or a preloved exclusive online, with these previously only available via the brand’s Glenrothes factory shop. The collection aims to give garments a second life, without the need for a recycling process to reuse fabrics.

The Legacy collection offers three categories of garment; Archive: a new, still-in-packaging, and unused garment; Blueprint: where Keela’s designers have brought new concepts to life through a combination of new colours, new materials, and blue sky ideas – these are the one-of-a-kind designer specials; and Déjà vu: a preloved, previously used garment which has been meticulously tested and any necessary repairs taken care of by the quality team at Keela, with a full description of the item and repair included.

The second phase of the project involves creating new memories from old, seeing used Keela products transformed into something else entirely. This will be done by either providing a guide and educating Keela customers on how to repurpose your item at home, or by the creation of simple items such as washbags, tote bags, and cushions out of a beloved garment.

Speaking on the news, Keela Sales Director, Sam Fernando, commented: “Sustainability has been at the heart of Keela’s ethos for over 40 years, and the ‘Legacy’ initiative is the next step in our ongoing sustainability mission. We believe there is only one way to deal with your damaged or end-of-life garment: by recycling, reusing, and repurposing. The Legacy project brings that to life and offers a rare opportunity to acquire one-of-a-kind items that are entirely unique to anything else we have created before.”

Further sustainability initiatives from the brand come in the form of the production of the ‘Ronas Smock’, a lightweight jacket named after the highest point on Shetland and made from deadstock fabric in the UK, and Keela’s recycling service which sees end-of-life items reused and recycled, with a discount offered to encourage customers to recycle their garments rather than discard them.

Keela has been pushing the boundaries of outdoor gear and textile design for 40 years, with a history of bringing garments back from the brink of destruction in the brand’s clothing hospital, seeing garments stitched, patched, sealed, and bonded back to full health to get a second life, and were the first Scottish clothing manufacturer to sign up to the Sustainable Clothing Action Plan (SCAP).