A while back I got turned onto imogene + willie (i + w).
I think what first caught my attention was their customer service. I asked a couple questions via their chatbot. It was monitored by a live person, who responded personally. Whoa.
My first purchase might have been a t-shirt. Since then I've bought a couple more t-shirts, a couple shirts. I've bought more than what I need, which I get isn't cool. BTW a great documentary on consuming too much is this one:
No doubt about it, our addiction to buying stuff will be our undoing. Either that or Nuclear War:
If we want a better world for the children consuming less – way less – has got to be top of mind.
As the Brandy Hellville documentary clearly lays out, the clothing industry plays a big role in killing our planet. Brands say they're recycling your clothes, but it's nothing more than greenwashing. See this piece:
Sarah Johnson
But i + w is an exception. Their recycling program – in so far as jeans goes, is legit:
You send your jeans back when they're worn out, you get a $75 credit towards a new pair. They explicitly promise that your jeans will not be sent to a landfill:
"many of the jeans we receive will enter our archive, some will be repaired and brought new life, and others will be turned into special limited edition projects. no matter the state of the jeans, we promise every pair will be saved from winding up in a landfill".
I love this. Yeah sure, just by making new clothes they're causing harm. But at least they're making an effort to keep some of what they make out of the landfill. Hopefully as time goes by they'll start programs to keep everything they make out of the landfill.
There's more. When you buy a pair of their jeans they offer a "free" hem service. Meaning, they don't charge for the hem. They charge $10 bucks for the shipping to send them back. You simply pin your jeans to where you want them, mail them in. All along the way you're chatting with someone who sends you instructions, confirms the order, then contacts you to be sure the hem measurement is right. The whole process feels like you dropped off your jeans to a friend down the street.
Here's mine that just came back from being hemmed. Their jeans feel and fit great. How does my butt look? 😀
I sent them my jeans in the paper bag I got them in. They sent the jeans back in a paper bag. No plastic used, nada. Not only that, the jeans were wrapped with care in paper, by hand. They repurposed a strip of denim as a bow. The tag was attached with string. No waste. All nice touches, proof positive that they're moving their feet.
But the kicker is this. When I sent my jeans in for hem, I pinned the cuffs. They sent our pins back! OMG. Who does this? A great little business, that's who.
Everything they make is sewn with love here in the USA in either Austin TX, or Nashville TN. They care about the planet, their people, and customers.
I've always said the mark of a great business is that if they were gone, their customers would sorely miss them. If i+w was gone, I'd sorely miss them.
Next time you're looking to buy something, please don't. Get your jeans repaired. You don't need another shirt. But if you absolutely must buy something, give i+w a look.
tty next time,
