In this special series with Testex, Ragtrader profiles leaders of sustainability. Here, Cue's Justin Levis talks local production, fabrics and an inspirational wool tracing project.
Cue has been manufacturing onshore since its inception, which is a key part of its ethical and sustainable framework. What are the benefits of making locally?
One of the advantages of local production is flexibility and agility to support smaller runs.
With the pandemic, we were able to shrink orders immediately and save lighter fabrics to be recut in spring/summer for example.
We know this affects the entire supply chain and we need to support factories with cashflow so they can survive this.
Where makers used to make 10,000 garments a month, we might reduce that to 3,000 to keep everyone producing.
We have triple the product right now but the way forward is to support our partners with cashflow.
Under normal circumstances, how quick can the brand react to trends and demand?
Local production can allow us to repeat quickly. If the fabric is in stock, we can repeat in two to four weeks.
We're very experimental with our designs as a fashion forward brand. We might do limited styles - in some cases, 50 units per style - and distribute that to CBD stores only.
We can also produce smaller runs for smaller demographics and different partners: we have 54 stores, 54 concessions in Myer and two in David Jones. These stores have different product in different quantities.
It's hard to produce offshore with those numbers and turnaround.
More recently, we were able to create vital scrubs for St. Vincent's Hospital. A local supply chain can react quickly and we directed that work to our makers.
What are your views on the future of sustainability?
Regardless of the pandemic, customers are now focussing on where and how their clothes are made.
We did a survey in 2018 and the number one reason people love Cue is the fashion forward nature of design, garment quality and sustainability. We are a long life product.
How are you working on building that sustainable blueprint?
What we're doing is developing exclusive fabrics, colours and prints with innovative fabric mills.
A lot more of our garments have certification and we're working with groups like Better Cotton Initiative.
One of our fabric partners is Manteco, which has won awards for its innovative product and practices such as finding ways to recycle wools and mohair.
The other European mill is Can Tekstil, which does everything from weaving and dying to finishing under one roof.
Around two to three years ago, I went on a little project to trace cotton from a local farm right through the production process.
Now there's coding and clipping to determine source of origin, but at the time it was a labour of love, photographing and tracking the entire process.
The technology has come a long way and it's definitely an area that's becoming more important for customers and brands.