Mise Tusa
Slow, Irish fashion by a mother-daughter duo to nourish your individuality. Designed & handmade in our studio in Galway by artist & designer Meritta and our talented team.
The Versatile Collection
The circular challenge:
While Mise Tusa already design and create in a sustainable way (small local production, minimise and repurpose waste, designed to be versatile and last a long time), with this project they chose to go back to the early design stage to find an even more circular material to work with for their core collection.
The circular design strategy:
- Design for Physical Durability
- Design for Emotional Durability
- Design for Cyclability
- Design from Safe, Renewable or Recycled Materials
The NOW Solution: What circular solution was prototyped and what are the companies short-term circular goals?
Mise Tusa are in the process of sourcing a new material for their ‘movement’ collection. While they currently use bamboo, they would like to use a textile that is already recycled, more easily recyclable or has better accreditation in terms of the process and treatment of all those involved on the supply chain, while having the durability and characteristics of our current fabric.
What were the main hurdles and lessons learnt from your prototyping phase?
It’s difficult to find the necessary fabric! It needs to have a particular weight, softness and durability, and they are hesitant to adopt a mono-fibre as the drape they want usually requires some elastane.
Regarding accreditation, they have noticed a lot of misinformation and greenwashing, even at supplier level, on the true sustainability of a fabric. As a small company, Mise Tusa also can’t meet the big minimum order requirements of some suppliers.
The NEXT Solution: What are your bigger / longer-term circular goals for your brand?
In the long-term, Mise Tusa would like to produce their own material that meet their practical, sustainable and ethical requirements. While they do currently offer repairs, they would also like to explore a more formal way to implement this within their business.
Projected future impact: What is the expected positive impact - environmental, economic, social - from your longer term circular solution.
Mise Tusa hope that, through scaling, they can employ more people in this skilled, uplifting work at their studio. They will continue to create products that have emotional durability and real versatility in people’s wardrobes, whilst supporting their mission to nourish individuality.
What questions or uncertainties are you facing right now in terms of your circular development?
- How can we communicate what we’re doing well, and what we need to work on, in a way that is transparent and not greenwashing?
- What benchmark could/should we align ourselves with?
To move from prototype to pilot, Mise Tusa is looking for the following supports:
- A more circular and sustainable fabric for their collection, that meets their requirements
Website or platform of choice you'd like us to direct our audience to, to keep up to date on your brand.
Instagram: @misetusa.ie
