About us

SLOW, SUSTAINABLE AND ETHICAL FASHION

Reet Aus, PhD, is a sustainable fashion designer and ardent visionary who devised industrial upcycling principles that reduce the fashion industry’s impact on environment by circulating fabrics leftover from mass production back into production using the design.

We do it by industrial upcycling. This means producing clothing from pre-production leftover fabrics.

In mass production an average of 18% of new fabrics after cutting are considered pre-consumer waste and meet their end in landfills. The fact that no extra fabric is produced for us makes our clothes carbon neutral. Moreover, as the fabric we use is virgin, we make sure that the leftover fabric does not contain harmful chemicals and that production is socially responsible, meets workplace safety requirements, and does not use child labor of course.

This radically not-wasteful new way of production model is based on a scientific core methodology called UPMADE®. It has been developed by our designer and founder PhD Reet Aus in cooperation with Stockholm Environment Institute Tallinn Center. This methodology is applied when producing clothing for the trademark of Reet Aus and other brands in factories we certify.

Reet AusTM garments tell the story about: 

  • quality and sustainability - the garments are built to last both physically and style-wise;
  • clean environment - each garment saves on average 75% water, 88% energy and emits 80% less CO2;
  • transparency in production – the production facilities that locate in Bangladesh and Poland meet safety and fair pay standards according to Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) and International Labour Organisation (ILO);
  • UPMADE® certification.

OUT OF FASHION

The beginning of our story has been recorded by Jaak Kilmi and Lennart Laberenz who produced the documentary "Out Of Fashion" about Reet and her plan to change the world, by changing the fashion industry.

We live in an era where the rate of consumption is constantly increasing. It’s no secret that the fashion industry is feeding, and inspiring, some of the most damaging forms of consumerism. Thousands of factories in the third world produce not only clothing for big corporations, but also tonnes and tonnes of toxic waste. This, an Estonian designer with a passion for change, felt, could not be allowed to continue.

Fashion designer Reet Aus has an ambitious plan. She has realised that the only way to fight against the wastage caused by the fashion industry is from the inside, working with the largest brands, their thoughts in the here and now, to make a difference for future generations.

The documentary “Out of Fashion” follows Reet Aus’ journey from Tallinn, through the fashion stages of Europe and the cotton plantations of South America, and right into the epicentre of mass production in Bangladesh, in an attempt to effect real change to benefit everyone.

The documentary was filmed from 2009-2014. The film premiered as part of Estonian Design Night 2015.

Jaak and Reet are currently shooting their second documentary “Completely out of Fashion”.