I used to run a clothing label. I shut it down. Not because it failed, because the longer I ran it, the more clearly I saw what I was part of. The fashion industry produces around 92 million tonnes of textile waste every year. Most people picture that as old clothes in landfills. But a large part of it happens before a garment ever reaches a customer. On cutting-room floors, in spinning mills, in the gap between what gets designed and what actually gets used. I was watching it happen a few streets from my house.
The tailors near me cut fabric every day. What didn't make it into the garment went into a pile. The pile went into a bin and later on into the landfill. I started asking if I could take it instead.
That was 2022. I took the scraps home, sat with them, and started making earrings. I had no plan beyond that. CropOffs wasn't a business idea, it was just me trying not to add to a problem I could see clearly.
My studio is at home. I make every pair myself. No team, no outsourcing, no machines beyond basic tools.
Orders are made-to-order only. I made this decision early and I have never questioned it. I don't want to sit on inventory. I don't want to overproduce. I don't want finished pairs sitting in boxes waiting for a buyer who may never come.
A single pair takes me between one and three hours to make, depending on the design. That is not inefficiency. That is what handmade costs in real time. When you buy handmade, you are paying for time, skill, and intention, not just materials. I want you to know exactly what that time looks like, because I think it changes how you feel about what you are wearing.
No plastic leaves my studio. Not in packaging, not in the process. Brown paper, brown boxes, with only minimal tape used in the process. It takes a little more care to pack this way, it is not complicated. It just adds a few seconds to the packing process. I think it is worth it.
The fashion industry contributes between 2 and 8 percent of global carbon emissions and consumes an estimated 215 trillion litres of water annually. Fast fashion sits at the centre of that. It grows every year. It is not slowing down.
I am a fashion designer. Design matters to me. I wanted my designs to be unlike anything else available. Each pair is genuinely one of one. That is not marketing language. That is just true. I want every pair to be something you genuinely cannot find anywhere else — not because I have a trademark, but because the scrap I used doesn't exist in duplicate, and the way I painted it that afternoon won't happen again.
Extending the life of clothing by just nine months reduces its carbon, water and waste footprint by 20 to 30 percent. I am not extending garments — but I am taking what would have been wasted and giving it a longer, better life. In fact, 42 percent of consumers say they would pay more for products made from upcycled or recycled materials. I don't make CropOffs for that statistic. CropOffs is one person, one studio, 18 kilograms of rescued fabric so far. It is small. I know it is small. But I think small and consistent beats large and careless, every time. If you are here, I think you might feel the same way.
What gets cropped off in one story becomes the start of another. Overlooked is where I begin.
I want this to be like something you come across once and do not see again.
The wait is not a constraint. It is what makes the object worth waiting for.
