Innovation

In every facet of its business model, Nudnik goes the extra mile to ensure they embrace and embody responsible production and sustainability. Through the adoption of modern technology and solutions, Nudnik seeks to innovate the industry’s status quo business model of fast fashion, to a more responsible and sustainable, ‘circular fashion model’.

At the core of Nudnik’s operations is their proprietary data-management technology which empowers Nudnik to produce their innovative ‘upcycled’ products at scale. The system assists with the inventory management of pre-consumer textile wastes and design scaling solutions. This allows Nudnik to pioneer an innovative, more sustainable, and responsible model for children’s clothing and apparel in general. Nudnik’s innovative business model layers together: zero-waste compostable packaging, 100% organic cotton input material, partnerships with sustainable production brokers, and efforts to offset carbon emissions from shipping and transportation. Their partnerships with sustainable production brokers guarantee that Nudnik only collaborates with producers recognized with Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production (WRAP), and Fairtrade standards certifications. In every aspect of the business, the status quo model for clothing and fashion has been analyzed and improved. Their use of 100% organic cotton pre-consumer textile waste ensures that waste remains out of landfills and future waste is free from synthetic textiles which take exponentially longer to break down. This supports a direct effort to create a better life on land and gives insight into why Lindsay Lorusso believes Nudnik is equally a responsible waste management company.

According to Co-founder and CEO, Lindsay Lorusso, “6 years ago ‘upcycling’ and ‘circularity’ were obscure concepts and now they are mainstream. The time is now, and Nudnik is being embraced by large and small retail brands alike.” Lindsay further recognized that this would not be possible without Nudnik’s commitment to forming partnerships with those who hold the same values. The immense effort taken to ensure that the production and consumption of Nudnik’s brand is sustainable and provide their partners with decent work and economic growth. Nudnik promotes both climate action and a better life on land by eliminating waste from landfills and creating a desired product responsible consumers love. The act to offset their emissions through a partnership with Shopify Planet is a conscious effort they ensure will minimize any environmental impact for the betterment of our earth’s climate.

Consumers, both business and individual, actively seeking more responsible and sustainable consumer products, than those produced by fast fashion, are now able to shop for children’s clothing with peace of mind.

Inspiration

Inspiration for the creation of Nudnik is rooted in the belief in sustainability and aiding the environment. Lorusso said her initial inspiration came from working under her father at his waste management company, in addition, to stating that “those philosophies were really engrained in us working within the waste management industry”. This led to her passion for responsible waste management and inspired her decision to co-create a circular fashion clothing company alongside her sister. The importance of waste management to Lindsay is shown throughout the business model for Nudnik, in which corporate social responsibility holds immense value. The process of production within Nudnik is characterized by sustainable options that reduce the waste of water and energy. Upcycling is a beneficial way of reusing textile waste and creating new products of high quality. Another aspect of Nudnik’s inspiration comes from their clothing brand being genderless. Lindsay and her sister were passionate about the idea that “kids should be able to like any color they want without having any stereotypes applied to it.” Innovation like this goes against social norms and decreases negative stereotypes that arise. Lindsay further explained how in her childhood she would prefer less feminine clothes and found that options were limited. By creating a kid's wear line of genderless options, children will not be imposed with the ideology of gender-specific clothing. A background in waste management inspired Nudnik owners to innovate clothing using circular fashion. Lorusso’s childhood inspired her views on stereotypes and inspired the creation of genderless clothing.

Overall impact

Approximately fifteen to twenty percent of the fabrics used within fashion brands goes to waste during the manufacturing process. Both Lorusso sisters, Alexandra and Lindsay, utilize this textile waste to create a fashion brand that is not only responsible but also sustainable.

Since launching in Toronto Canada, in 2016, this innovative manufacturing style is done consistently within Nudnik, positively impacting our global waste problems. Lindsay states that “Over consumption and fast fashion are global issues and therefore we decided early that although we are proudly based and designed in Canada, our efforts are global.” In the short run, Nudnik minimizes organic cotton pre-consumer textile waste alongside adding value to soils through their organic recycling of kraft paper packaging. Thinking in the long run, Nudnik is working toward the fight against climate change, financing decreased carbon emission initiatives alongside Shopify Planet. The manufacturing of textile products aids in climate change more than both shipping and aviation combined. As such, not only does Nudnik reduce waste, but it also set a strong example for other companies lacking in responsible production.

Business benefit

Nudnik has created numerous benefits that have positively impacted their business, industries, and markets worldwide. Nudnik’s innovation for upcycling kids' clothing at a large scale and implementing advanced technology has not only provided drastic sustainability efforts, but also benefits the business by opening new markets, creating new products, and discovering new investment opportunities.

With the large-scale upcycling and their use of proprietary technology, Nudnik has opened and structured a revolutionary market to discover. Their dedication to sustainability and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals has opened a new path to discover, as a company and how other clothing manufacturers will act in the future.

The use of their proprietary technology has allowed Nudnik to have a technological system that collectively performs as an inventory management system and a design tool. This has benefited the business by enabling them to design and manufacture new products rapidly. This technological advancement has enabled them to monitor and track an accurate inventory of viable 100% organic cotton to upcycle and design new kid's clothing.

Throughout their implementation of technological advancements and upcycling practices, Nudnik has had numerous partnerships, including Volvo and Shopify Planet, because of their determination for sustainability and utilizing traditional fabric waste. During the interview, Lorusso mentioned that “20% of all fabric created for fashion becomes pre-consumer waste… That’s enough fabric to create new t-shirts to clothe the world’s population 2 times over.” The amount of pre-consumer fabric waste that is created and disposed of regularly is extremely large. The success that Nudnik has received from their technology, upcycling, and partnerships, is evident that the company will continue to grow. This will create new investment opportunities to expand into a multinational company.

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Social and environmental benefit

Even though Nudnik is established in Canada, its initiatives are internationally impactful because fast fashion and overconsumption are worldwide issues. As such, contributing to the 12th SDG, responsible consumption and production. To counteract the issues of dangerous ink chemicals from garment dyeing leaching out into the soil and groundwater, which poses a hazard to communities and animals, Nudnik employs eco-friendly ink. Nudnik acted accordingly and switched to eco-friendly ink, ‘eco-inks’, from the commonly used chemical-based dyes, to contribute to the SDG of life on land.

According to Nudnik, maintaining a sustainable fashion industry requires safeguarding individuals. They are equally enthusiastic about collaborating with philanthropic partners that understand both ethical fashion and ecological design. The bulk of Nudnik's apparel is created in India by GNN Trends, a sustainable broker in India. It is there that the business can access the continuous supply of textile waste, work with its key partners, and upcycle it into quality kids' clothing at scale. As such, Nudnik needs its reliable partners in place, so they can constantly check on the suppliers and oversee the business operations. The Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), Fairtrade, and Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production (WRAP) are just a few of the certifications that all its suppliers must possess to do business with Nudnik, which contributes to their ongoing support of SDGs 8 and 17: decent work and economic growth, and partnerships for the goals. These certifications guarantee that the clothing is 100% organic cotton and produced with fair trade labor. Nudnik uses only 100% organic cotton textile waste in their production, to remove the use of synthetic fabrics which consist of microplastics. Lorusso acknowledged the significant difference in time that is required to break down the two materials, so choosing to use 100% organic cotton was exponentially better for the environment, which offers solutions to the SDGs of climate action and life on land.

The company is conscious that it’s an e-commerce company and faces related drawbacks, most importantly, shipping and transportation of its products. Nudnik utilizes carbon emission reduction strategies that actively offset their emissions through collaborations with Shopify Planet. This partnership with Shopify Planet enables companies to offset their carbon emissions while shipping packages to customers. In addition, Nudnik works with UPS to offset overseas shipments. These collaborations are implemented to aid solutions with the SDGs that are established to counteract climate action, life on land, and partnerships for the goals.

In every facet of its operations, Nudnik takes immense efforts in upgrading the fashion industry's status quo business model for a greater benefit to society. The incorporation of Nudnik’s innovative business model is a much more environmentally sustainable model than the current ‘fast fashion’ model.

Interview

Lindsay Lorusso, Co-Founder and CEO