Innovation

Formerly known as MANRAGS, the company was founded in 2016 by Michael and Tina Elias and has evolved from a sock subscription service to the world's first circular inner-wear brand. Hector Simpson, the companies Partnerships manager and spokesperson said the brand began with a “slight sustainability focus in mind”, through their “sock and underwear subscription service, rather than mass production”.

The APPAREL team procures textiles from consumers, businesses, and charities, sorting through thousands of items daily in order to extend a product’s life and redirect them from landfills. The company runs on re-use, re-purpose, recycle model in order to facilitate circular fashion and re-design the fashion consumption landscape.

Through UPPAREL’s subscription program, customers are able to exchange up to 10kgs of their pre-warn garments for a credit to purchase socks and underwear from UPPAREL’s range. Additionally, businesses are able to utilize UPPAREL’s services to responsibly dispose of their dormant, faulty, or unwanted stock. Apparel has also partnered with fashion labels such as Homie and more recently, Into Carrying to provide textiles for up-cycled garments.

Simpson said “the idea around sustainability and an environmental focus should be one of the core elements of making decisions in business” and there “needs to be targets made sooner rather than later in every aspect of the business”, something that APPAREL has embedded into their core business operations.

As a way of not only tackling Responsible consumption and production but furthermore facilitating economic growth, innovation, and climate action, APPAREL chose to re-brand from MANRAGS in 2020 and have since seen astronomical growth and a promising societal shift.

Inspiration

As a way of not only tackling Responsible consumption and production but furthermore facilitating economic growth, innovation, and climate action, APPAREL chose to re-brand from MANRAGS in 2020 and have since seen astronomical growth and a promising societal shift.

When co-founder & CEO of Apparel, Michael Elias, looked into his sock drawer several years into his business venture, Simpson explained he “realized there was no solution in Australia for socks, you can’t give them to charity so they just end up in landfill”, which happened to be the moment that “sparked this idea and journey to prevent as many socks from going to landfill”.

With three young kids at the time, Co-founders Michael and Tina Elias became “scared of the statistics of potentially not having a quality planet for them to live in” which Hector said was the “real driver behind it, and now it’s just snowballed into this incredible journey”.

Of all places to have a lightbulb moment, this sock drawer inspiration has driven the company to stand firmly with their “mission [to] eradicate textile waste and textiles ending up in landfill” and inevitably prove that “there is a solution to everything” Simpson said.

This Noticeable “lack of care for textiles in Australia, and around the world” Simpson said, continues to inspire APPAREL to continue innovating and working towards a sustainable future.

Overall impact

The brand, to date, have re-directed nearly 1.4 million items from landfill and prevented 650,000 kgs of greenhouse gases from polluting the atmosphere.

Despite producing underwear and socks, Simpson explained “ [UPPAREL] are 10:1 production positive, for every 1 sock we make, we keep 10 out of landfill”.

With the demand from brands wanting a sustainable solution for their textiles, Simpson said it proves the “tide is slowly turning…people want these solutions and are acknowledging this needs to happen, [it’s] almost an under-swell of this occurring”.

“Hopefully in about In a month we should be able to enter into a fully circular solution,” Simpson said, which would further reduce waste and encourage more consumers and businesses to be mindful about where their textiles end up.

Business benefit

Since re-branding, “the company has grown by about 400 percent, and the customer base has gone up by 220 percent, the numbers are crazy”, Simpson said.

In Addition to this, Simpson explained “so many companies want this service, we have had over 220 partners come on board, and this year we are forecasting an additional 500 partners”.

As part of their business growth strategy in July 2020, APPAREL raised over $750,000 in capital funding which allowed for their innovations and resources to expand into the evolving enterprise they are today.

In recognition of their innovation, APPAREL won the 2020 National Retail Association’s sustainability Champion of the Year award, further reiterating the brand’s growth and success.

“We are seeing a conversion rate of forty-three percent of people use their credit on our site, so straight away people are wanting to spend with companies that are doing the right thing,” Simpson said.

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Social and environmental benefit

“We have grown by a huge amount and that doesn’t happen if people aren’t interested in what’s going on, and interested in the brand…. it’s proving that there is a slow societal change,” Simpson said.

With increasing demand in consumers purchasing second-hand or recycled fashion, APPAREL is both fulfilling this societal shift, while simultaneously benefiting the planet.

The brand is continually making new goals and innovations, and plan to move away from using international recycling services to further decrease its carbon footprint.

Simpson said “we are hoping to be an authority of textile recycling in Australia, and I believe that will be the main goal for the time being. It’s really about getting as much awareness as possible for us, and coming up with continual mini innovations”.

Interview

Hector Simpson, Partnerships Manager