oftt
Basic information
Project Title
Full project title
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Project Description
Oftt is a sustainable collection of ten clothes you wear often.
We focus on mindful consumption with conscious designs made to last.
‘What we do often’ especially fashion has the biggest impacts on our mind, body and human kind itself. We work with nature rather than against it by choosing cotton grown with rainwater as 'good planets are hard to find'.
We aim to simplify your wardrobe with clothes you actually wear.
What do you wear often?
Project Region
EU Programme or fund
Description of the project
Summary
Oftt is a sustainable collection of ten clothes you wear often. We focus on mindful consumption with conscious designs made to last.
It’s the sum of everything I have done to this point in my life. Something that had been close to my heart for a decade living a minimalist wardrobe & lifestyle. After 10 years working on my namesake brand Ashley Marc Hovelle, I decided to stop and adopt a new approach to clothing and give back to people and the planet and launch oftt.
“In essence, I’ve created an anti-consumerist fashion brand, the idea of buying less and wearing more often.”
Considering each design and stripping it back to just ten key wardrobe categories 01/ T-shirt 02/ Sweatshirt 03/ Hooded Sweatshirt 04/ Turtleneck 05/ Poloshirt 06/ Shirt 07/ Shorts 08/ Trousers 09/ Jackets 10/ Coats 00/ Accessories & footwear. Using my industry experience I have been able to focus on making each product better by sourcing responsible raw materials, sustainable fabrics, ethical production, innovative manufacturing techniques, aesthetic, form, function and sustainability, to develop the best products available, so its better for you and the environment.
Its the ultimate form of sustainability as we have worked out what you really wear.
‘What we do often’ has the biggest impact on our mind, body, nature and human kind itself. We specialise in sustainable fashion as this has one of the biggest impacts on our planet. We use it, feel it, see it, function in it, work in it, buy it, sometimes consciously and unconsciously. Reducing everything we don’t need, goes against the damaging traditional fashion cycle of mass production and single use items, which has disastrous effects on our environment for now and the future, so we need to find a way to wear our garments longer to avoid over production with trend garments that are discarded or even burnt.
We encourage you to stop for a moment and reflect on what you really use often?
Key objectives for sustainability
‘Sustainable business is good business’
The fashion industry is 90% unsustainable and the second most polluting trade in the world. It is important that we collectively address this and help define a movement with clear mind-sets to help increase this planets lifetime.
Our current lifestyle has an impact on the environment with disastrous effects, for humans, animals and nature, now it’s time to take responsibility, by learning from the past, to design a better fashion industry for the future.
Today’s consumer faces problems of not knowing what to wear each day, being overwhelmed by too much on the market, and overspending on items they never end up wearing. At the same time, the environment is affected by overproduction and questionable production methods, with excess luxury clothes being burned or placed into landfill sites. It’s now up to us as a brand, to set the benchmark with conscious designs that have several lifespans ahead of them.
We are proud to use the best sustainable sources and fair trade European factories in Portugal, Italy and Germany, where everyone and everything is treated well. We support organic farming from seed to source, where our cotton is grown naturally with rainwater and without pesticides or pollutants. We make sure our raw materials are sourced properly by family run cotton farmers, negating the need for them to spend money on watering crops or buying pesticides, so they get extra money for their cotton, are able to feed themselves, educate their children.
It takes 2,700 litres of water to make one T-shirt. That's enough for one person to drink for 900 days.
We choose cotton grown with rainwater which saves 91% in water usage and reduces the water footprint.
In 15 years, 40% of the population will live in areas facing water scarcity, likely to become more valued than gold.
Our desire is to manufacture clothes that benefit people, minimising the impact on the environment.
We work with nature, rather than against it.
Key objectives for aesthetics and quality
We called the brand oftt because its the original word for often, which relates to our english heritage and German origin. Moreover, as the items are one of ten and made to be worn often.
The logo is designed with a clean font that links the letters f&t uniting them as one. Contemporary in design, with a minimalist aesthetic, containing only what is needed, staying pure in its form.
We want our items to be true to you and your needs as essential building blocks to your wardrobe.
The oftt collection consists of 10 sustainable wardrobe staples, each category group has a number from 0-10 and includes; 01/ T-shirt 02/ Sweatshirt 03/ Hooded Sweatshirt 04/ Turtleneck 05/ Poloshirt 06/ Shirt 07/ Shorts 08/ Trousers 09/ Jackets 10/ Coats 00/ Accessories & footwear.
We break the fashion cycle with trans-seasonal items you wear throughout the year.
The average person buys 60 % more clothing every year. Our mission is to combine good design and sustainability asking you to reconsider the contents of your wardrobe with trustworthy products you actually wear.
Over 50% of fast fashion produced is disposed in under a year. Our collection is made up of real clothes that are designed to last. They don’t rely on Trends, are worn often for many seasons and support you as a daily uniform.
Our garments are pre washed to retain the perfect fit for longer.
Our customer appreciates and understands quality products having developed a sense of style and understanding that less is best. They still need to have a uniform that is acceptable within their specific field so they are respected in what they do or present. Aspire towards a minimalist lifestyle concept. Want ours as it complements look and physique, is made of the best fabrics and because it stands the test of time.
A collection of real clothes that are made to last, not relying on Trends, worn often for many seasons, supporting you as a daily uniform everyday.
Key objectives for inclusion
What do you wear often?
Some people only wear 30% of their wardrobes, we aim to make you wear 100%. Our clothes are worn by both men and women from 20-90.
We strive for quality products that look beautiful and feel amazing, saving you time, with clothes you actually wear, so you’re free to focus on what matters to you.
A sustainable clothing solution that helps you connect more mindfully with yourself, communicates your silhouette to the world, whilst enhancing your life and the planet with actions and a mindset that makes you happier more often.
Our desire is to manufacture clothes in a way that benefits people, encouraging us to consider our own choices more carefully, ultimately minimising the impact on the environment, explored with the best digitalisation and content to realise this vision.
We believe in every situation there is something to turn into a positive. Since April 2020 the world slowed down, as did we, by directing attention towards our direct consumers both online and offline, to present our philosophy and collection in reaching the right people, we found we could make peoples wardrobe and coat dreams come true, which provides us all with the satisfaction of knowing we are taking the right steps forward. We are happy to announce that we are opening our first store in Berlin June 2021 so you can now experience our world physically and meet the people behind the brand.
Sharing our way of life with others helps to create a community of like minded souls and encourage interaction with people & our world. To help empower, inspire and motivate others, with the knowledge that ‘good planets are hard to find.’ Expand our sustainable philosophy, into wellbeing of body and mind, with evergreen content sharing our vision for health as wealth. Using our platforms to educate people on the changes they can make to habits in daily life, that have a positive impact on the planet.
With our experience and an honest approach we believe we can this happen.
Results in relation to category
We make sure our raw materials are sourced properly, as our cotton is grown naturally, by family run cotton farmers, negating the need for them to spend money on watering crops or buying pesticides, so they get extra money for their cotton, are able to feed themselves, educate their children, and afford healthcare. Its better for them, better for the planet and better for you.
We ensure each product is made with sustainable fabrics and manufacturing techniques, and focus on mindful consumption, moderate production, and conscious design, so that each essential item has several lifespans ahead.
1-in-6 people work in the global fashion industry. A majority of these workers are women earning less than $3 per day. Our collections are produced in Portugal at the best Fair Trade factories.
We have been able to reach new Oftt people who now have their favourite items of clothing that they wear often, which not only saves them time and space, yet it brings them joy, as they are safe in the knowledge that with each product and person involved benefits from:
'what we do often', enabling a mindset shift that they can then share with their network and the world.
150 billion garments are produced every year. That’s 20 items per person, 30% of which is never sold.
We worked out what you really wear with everyday items that speak to you.
We educate our customers with facts ; 10% of a home’s electricity goes to washing and drying clothes. Washing clothes at 30° saves 40% energy. Line Dry clothing. Our clothes are pre-washed to retain the perfect fit for longer.
As we only produce what is needed we avoid over production and provide clothes that are actually worn often for many seasons.
We deal with 10 retailers worldwide that connect with our vision and enhance our story both online and offline to reach those who resonate with what we do.
How Citizens benefit
What matters? A consciously-chosen wardrobe frees your mind to wander or be still. Safe in the knowledge that your everyday items of clothing are trans seasonal and well-designed.
'A good planet is hard to find' The fashion industry is one of the world’s biggest pollutants, with 90% of garments produced using unsustainable practices. Oftt cotton is grown without pesticides and fertilizers, and supports European production and organic farming throughout Portugal and Germany, reducing the carbon footprint as much as possible.
A sustainable living Most clothing is made by women paid less than $3 a day. In choosing to produce garments at Fair Trade factories, the makers of the oftt collection work under good conditions and are paid a full living wage to support them, their families and the community.
We like to work with nature, positive energy and good people. Since the inception of the brand, we have involved and given valuable experience to young entrepreneurs, with the knowledge that taking steps in the right direction especially within fashion can sustain us all for future generations to come.
By using this time over the last year too reset and rethink the way we do things, we have kept things simple and more local, allowing us to reflect on a new future finding balance between ourselves, the city and nature.
Winner of German Sustain concept with fashion council Germany we presented an installation at Bikini Berlin in July 2019 titled
‘what we do often’
exploring the impact our clothes have on us, and ultimately, the planet. In an apartment setting, it began in a bathroom where you were encouraged to consider your water consumption, then moved to a dressing room, where a mirrored call to action asks you to think about ‘what you wear often’. Here you viewed 10 oftt wardrobe staples before continuing to a peaceful reflection space which showed a short film invoking the journey you could take as an oftt-wearer.
Innovative character
oftt is the sum of everything I have done to this point in my life. Something that had been close to my heart for a decade living a minimalist wardrobe & lifestyle. After working 10 years on my eponymous label Ashley Marc Hovelle, I decided to stop and adopt a new approach to clothing and give back to people and the planet by introducing a range of clothes that people really wear often.
The founder of the brand, oftt, was Born London in 1982, grew up with a love for clothes, as a child visiting the west end of London, particularly Selfridges, getting lost amongst the rails of designer clothes and being amused for hours, in the vast textural landscape. One of four children. He was always fascinated with colour and patterns drawing tiling tessellations with his minds eye. He moved to Leeds in 2002 to complete a fashion design management degree at the University of Leeds in 2006. With industry experience working as a Tailor on London’s Saville Row (for Anderson and Sheppard, where Alexander McQueen had once worked), Buyer for Urban Outfitters and designing for British heritage brands Fred Perry, Gabbicci and Gloveral.
I set up my eponymous label (a.k.a. AMH) in 2009 by turning a sub conscious thought into a reality. Working for my own brand had always been a vision of mine, due to the elements that go into design and running a sustainable business.
I have lived in Berlin for over 6 years and can safely call Berlin my home. It has been a dream of mine to have a store, so I got really excited when I found one on my dream street.
Daily life in Berlin and meditative routines make their way into his work, with spiritual influences, people and architecture as ongoing sources of inspiration. I draw from my own experience in living a minimalist lifestyle to create the oftt collection which is inspired by the past and looks forward to a better future for us all.
