Sustainability

Without a design there is nothing ­– therefore every R/H piece is designed by our talented founders Hanna Riiheläinen and Emilia Hernesniemi. At R/H we want our products to be unique, well put together, and to have value. Instead of following changing trends, we aim to have seasonless pieces that stand the test of time and will be loved forever. This philosophy has led to R/H changing the way we produce collections. We don’t want to produce a new collection every season just for the heck of it, but to have a few limited and well thought drops throughout the year. In 2020, we produced three special surplus fabric drops for Spring, Summer and Winter.

 

OUR PRODUCTION PHILOSOPHY

Being mindful about people and the planet is important for us. Our aim is to minimize the amount of pre-consumer waste and pollution in everything we do and to ensure good working conditions for our employees and partners. We strive for environmental sustainability in different ways:

1. Calculated stock and no fabric waste. We want to be smart with what we produce and limit the size of inventory to create a more sustainable R/H fashion cycle. In order to maintain a stock that doesn’t exceed our needs, we carefully calculate how many pieces per collection we should produce. This way none of our products are left without an owner. As there are always production minimums for materials, most fashion brands end up with surplus fabric. In R/H no fabric goes to waste, as we utilize everything by making scrunchies, baggies and even entire collections!
2. Local production practice. All our garments are manufactured in factories within the EU. Fabrics are produced in Italy and Portugal, the clothes are made in Estonia and the jewelry is made in Finland. We’ve worked with these factories for years, since we want to know where and how the raw materials, fabrics and products are made. Local production practice enables us to use truck transportation instead of air freight to keep our carbon emissions down.
3. Mindful design. We aim to be inclusive by making silhouettes and sizes that fit various body shapes. Simple silhouettes and versatile sizes also reduce the amount of leftover fabrics and make purchasing the product easier for customers. A perfect reflection of this is our Square Dress silhouette, which is always made in one or two sizes only.

 

WE KNOW THE PEOPLE WHO WORK WITH US

We have worked with the same people since R/H was founded. Of course, on the way we’ve gained also some new additions to the family. We want to know the people who work with us - this is our small family. Some of us are really close relatives and others a bit more distant, but we always help each other out when needed. We regularly visit our factories and partners, to communicate and discuss how we grow together in a sustainable way.

It’s important for us that people who work with us get a fair pay and have good and healthy working conditions. This makes the product costs higher, but we could not do what we do if this was not the case. And we believe that our customers value this as well!

 

CHOOSING FABRICS

Sustainability regarding fabrics is complicated. There are many aspects to consider when choosing a fabric or a blend, as they all have different sustainability benefits and disadvantages. For example, our classics are mostly made of GOTS certified organic cotton but in some fabrics we use elastane to prolong the lifespan of the garment. Elastane makes a garment easier to care for and more comfortable to wear. However, we are continuously working towards making our choice of fabrics more sustainable, one step at a time.

 

USE, REUSE AND REPAIR

We want our products to stay in use for as long as possible. Therefore, we encourage our customers to take care of our items by following the care instructions and repair broken items instead of replacing them with new ones. Every product has material information with care instructions online and attached to the clothing. By offering specific care instructions for each product, we hope to reduce their environmental impact.

We also offer to repair broken items if the item has been used and maintained in accordance with the care instructions. All our products have a 12-month warranty covering manufacturing defects. In other cases, we offer to repair the product for reasonable compensation. The costs vary depending on how large the repair work is and will be determined case-by-case. For example, repairing a press stud of a Bobi Coat costs 5€ per press stud. Please notify us in advance of any possible need for repairs before sending the product, either by e-mail to info@rh-studio.fi or by phone +358 40 6523 323. At the same time, you will receive more detailed shipping instructions and an estimate of the schedule.

R/H also offers a 1-year guarantee for its our products when they have been used and maintained in accordance with the care instructions. For example, Bobi coats or sweaters made from GOTS Certified Organic Cotton normally last several years in typical use. Clothing that is in use every day of course wears more and probably does not last as long as it otherwise would. So, remember to give your clothing a day off too. Instead of washing, you could air dry them.

We are also aware that R/H products are in high demand among many flea markets, which makes it easy for our customers to recycle the wearable clothes they don’t use anymore. In the future, our customers will have a possibility to sell their second-hand garments through us. We instruct our customers to recycle any unusable garments appropriately and to not discard them in the mixed waste.

 

R/H SHOP & SHOWROOM

The new R/H Shop & Showroom in Helsinki Design District Punavuori includes our entire operations: shop, showroom, online store, and logistics. In recent years, fashion, especially the retail world, has changed a lot. Having a separate flagship store in addition to company’s other operations has lost its purpose and appeal. Locating all of our operations under the same roof has been our plan for some time. Now we have reached this goal. In our new space, we can also materialize our future goals. These include opening our second-hand operations and a clothing rental. This strategy is in line with our environmentally friendly values, including developing new ways of operating in the clothing industry. Because sustainability is one of our core values, our new R/H Shop & Showroom uses wind energy certified by the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation.

 

CONSTANT MOVEMENT TOWARDS BETTER

We know there are still some further changes required to make all areas of the business, including production, even more sustainable. It’s a lengthy process but we are constantly moving in this direction. Read more about our future plan in the Sustainability Report 2021 and the Sustainability Report 2020.