Meet The Designer Trying to Make Circular Fashion for Everyone
8 Questions with Kristy Caylor, founder of For Days.
This is "8 Questions," a monthly series highlighting the designers and founders creating great clothes that put people and the planet first.
Lately, "circularity" has become somewhat of a buzzword in sustainable fashion. But, like many ecofriendly terms, it has been co-opted by big corporations, who use it to greenwash and confuse customers looking to shop better.
For 'For Days' founder Kristy Caylor, circularity is both a business practice and a goal to better the future of fashion. The brand sells mostly basics (which is a huge part of the larger fashion market) that are reasonably priced under $100. What makes the brand "closed loop," or "circular," is that each piece can be recycled through their program, no matter the condition. Customers are then given money toward their next purchase when they recycle.
Below, read all about Kristy Caylor and For Days below.
Via For Days
How did For Days come to be?
After a long career in the fashion industry and 10 years in the sustainability space, I became passionately convinced that the industry needed a circular business model that could shift customers' relationship to stuff, eliminate clothing waste and drive better business results. Who here has too much stuff? We all do! That is because today's existing linear model only works when brands sell us more, more, and more. Those same brands don't take responsibility for the clothing waste generated as a result, and it's time to change the system.
At For Days, we design into circularity at the start. When you buy a circular For Days product, you are rewarded with 10% back instantly in Closet Cash to spend on future purchases. We invite you to wear the piece recklessly – dress it up, dress it down, wear, tear, or stain – you can do whatever you love in your clothing knowing it will be taken back in any condition and recycled. When you are ready to part ways with the piece, we’ll collect it and responsibly recycle it into new For Days clothing and reward you with $5 in Closet Cash for each item.
We also offer a Take Back Bag, through which you can clean out your closet and send us any old clothing or textiles from any brand, in any condition, and we work with our recycling and downcycling partners to repurpose each item and keep it out of landfills, rewarding you with Closet Cash for doing your part to keep clothing out of the trash!
Via For Days
If you had to describe For Days using a song what would it be?
John Lennon's ‘Imagine’ - it's optimistic, future thinking, and a beautiful. We are a brand built on connectedness, optimism and freedom. We are also dreamers - we’re all about looking at systems differently, redesigning from first principles, enjoying the earth, and we want others to be able to imagine this future with us.
What is your brand ethos and how do you bring your customers into it?
Our values are Freedom, Connectedness, and Optimism. We talk to our customers directly with authenticity and transparency through social media and all of our channels. We do a lot of educating, and always maintain a fierce optimism about the future. We know the change we want to see will happen when we all work together and then together, we can be free of clutter, of guilt, and of clothing waste.
What is your first outfit memory?
A blue plaid dress and red cowboy boots that I would not take off. I was 4.
Via For Days
Do you have a favorite piece from your brand? What is it?
The 90's Crop SS - I wear this shirt probably 4 times/week. It's perfection.
Is there a style philosophy that you follow?
I am not a fussy dresser and wear a lot of black, but do love to play with vintage, with pattern, with color. I follow my instincts on what I feel complements my mood, my body, and my creative spirit at any given moment.
If you had to pick a character from a movie that would wear For Days who would it be and why?
Margot Tenenbaum from The Royal Tenenbaums. She has her own distinctive style and wasn’t swayed by the trends of the time. She is never overstyled, and has a retro flair - we could totally see her living in some of our vintage-inspired essentials, like the Ribbed Mini Dress.
Via YouTube
What’s your hope for the future of fashion?
The future is Circular! I envision a future where clothing flows easily in and out of our lives – where we no longer feel the burden of consumption, and instead steward pieces through the circular economy.
Read More 8 Questions!
Meet The Designer Making Functional Fashion Into Wearable Art
Meet The Upcycling Designer Making Forgotten Vintage Fabrics Chic Again
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Thank you for reading!!
This Stuff is a newsletter by me! fashion journalist, Alyssa Hardy. Three times a week, I unpack the ways our clothes impact the world through news, essays, interviews and more. Subscribe for free here and follow me on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
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