LITTLEST SIDEKICK OUTFITTERS
2018 - 2018
LSO (Littlest Sidekick Outfitters) quickly became an obsession. What started out as a desire to learn more about sustainable materials, Merino Wool and effects it has on our environment, the people producing it on the manufactures side and how it effects us as human beings wearing it on our bodies.
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Sustainable Apparel
Through much research and a lot of cold emails and calls, I located a supplier in the US that worked with a farm in New Zealand to produce Fine Merino Wool fabric for apparel. Not only was the farm traceable but held high standards for the quality and ethical raising of the sheep themselves. After interviewing multiple apparel companies that could produce my idea, I chose a local option for time restraints and accessibility. Through them, we produced a children's Merino Wool/ Nylon blend base layer t-shirt, longsleeve base layer long sleeve shirt, a base layer pant and a neck warmer.
Wanting to make more than just apparel, I grew into the concept of the "Threadline". With sustainability as a strong mission, I learned that children quickly grow out of their clothing while there is still a lot of life left within that garment. So how do I fix these pieces from ending up at a donation center, in a landfill or just plainly disregarded. I had to change the way people looked at their kids clothing. It wasn't a piece you just buy at a big box store and throw it away when it looses it's purpose. I needed to keep it going. Add an attachment to it. This introduced the Threadtrail concept.
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The ThreadTrail (Rent the Runway meets Geo-caching concept)
I built out a concept where you could purchase a new item from our DTC store at full price. Brand new. We encouraged to go out and wear it, go on an adventure, make some memories. Each garment had a specific code sewn in on it's tag. This allowed the item to be traceable. Through our digital platform, you could go on and record your memory. Upload a photo, share a little story. All this was data-based through that specific code dedicated to that specific garment. The parent and child could put in that code on our website, and the log of all the kids that wore that garment would show up. Giving you a sense of ownership yet wanting to pass it on to have new memories added to it.
Also worked with a vendor to produce a Kickstarter video describing the LSO service. (above)
Working with The Renewal Workshop
After the child has outgrown the piece, they would go on our site, download a returnable label and mail it to The Renewal Workshop. Where they would mend, clean and send back to us so it could back up on our website at a discounted price for the next child to wear.
Making this an experience over just purchasing more clothing was the highlight of this idea. The challenges that I had to overcome or figure out really kept me fascinated with the digital experience. And the sustainable part was the most rewarding. To be able to teach our kids at young age about sustainability in a fun way is extraordinarily rewarding.