2. WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE?

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Who and what is DeadLOUD?

In short, DeadLOUD is an independent clothing brand from London, England. We are a very small team of dedicated creatives with a passion for creating unique designs, brought to life premium-quality clothing.

 

Why should I buy from DeadLOUD?

Great question. One of our main aims is to be an ethical brand that does some good in the world. By this, we mean striving to be as environmentally and economically sufficient as possible. BY THIS, we mean leaving the environment alone, but still providing customers with unique, excellent quality clothes.

 

Hopefully we can answer all questions relating to our manufacturing techniques, ethical standards and certifications more specifically below:

 

Where does DeadLOUD manufacture its products?

Our products are made all over the world. We only work with suppliers that meet our strict expectations regarding quality, environmental and social responsibility. We currently use two main garment suppliers: one based in Belgium and one based in the USA. They both have factories and mills in the Far East. We try to choose raw materials over traditionally sourced materials, such as the organic cotton found in our sweatshirts and t-shirts.

 

Our artwork is designed by us in London and brought to life via specialist printers in Birmingham.

 

Why don't you use British suppliers for the garments?

Unfortunately, the UK doesn’t have many fabric mills left in existence… I know!

 

So instead we have to source many of our garments from lands far away. One of the main reasons we do this is to ensure we keep up with orders and the supply chain is not compromised when ordering large quantities.

 

Investment in technology, skills and infrastructure overseas has been greater than what remains in the UK, leading to more competitive pricing. It is difficult for small brands like ours to find British factories that we can afford to work with and that have the expertise needed to make our more technical pieces. The dream is for us to grow big enough to manufacture everything ourselves. Help us to keep the dream alive!

 

Why does DeadLOUD source garments from the Far East?

Although the Far East does not have a commendable track record in the field of human rights, simply withdrawing our production from their country won’t change the culture there. Instead, we choose to continue to work with their best factories in the hope that we can provide opportunities for change in the factories that aren’t so good. The factories we use can be regarded as of the highest standard anywhere in the world. They protect workers’ rights, are clean, safe and promote modern working practices.

 

Why don’t you manufacture everything in one country to reduce your carbon footprint?

Of the overall carbon footprint of a garment’s entire lifecycle, shipping will contribute only a tiny percentage - 80% will come from you washing and drying it. But of course we try to minimise transportation wherever we can.

 

What printing method do you use? Why?

Most of our garments are made from cotton so we are able to use a water-based ink to saturate the material and sit within the fibres. This ensures the garments remains breathable and avoids the artwork cracking with stretching.

 

Other garments such as our coach jackets utilise a transfer to the nylon material. This ensures the artwork retains its quality finish and the garment remains protective.

 

What about animal rights?

As mentioned all over this website, we are utilising PETA-approved vegan garments where we can. We’re big animal lovers. Check out our social media channels, which regularly feature our DeadLOUD mascot, Buster the Spaniel.

 

How do you package products?

To minimise our environmental impact, we try to use as little packaging as possible; we only bag stuff when we really need to. Obviously, with online orders needing to be posted we have to use some form of packaging to get your clothes to you. Our products are shipped in eco-friendly, compostable poly bags to protect them during transit, meaning:

• we are reducing potential damage in transit from broken boxes, leaking containers, etc.

• if customs decide to fumigate the container to kill wood-boring insects in the pallets, your clothes might be glad of a little plastic protection

PLUS

• it allows us to sell our stuff to wholesalers who require garments to be bagged

• it also makes our pick and pack dispatch quicker with the addition of stickers

 

Research shows that compostable poly has less environmental impact than 'degradable' plastic, as degradable plastic bags cannot be recycled or composted properly in the UK, so they end up as landfill waste anyway. Not cool.

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When mailing products, we place our compostable-bagged clothing into 2-ply recycled paper bags to keep them extra safe.

 

Why aren’t you certified Fair Trade?

Truthfully, we can’t afford it! There are so many certifications out there, all with good intentions, but all with some amount of large financial commitment required to earn that piece of paper. We’d prefer to invest our money in more important stuff like making better products and staff training/wages.

 

Given your ethos, why do you encourage motorcycle riding?

We know what you’re thinking; “why encourage riding motorcycles, which generally burn fossil fuels to operate?” Surely that doesn’t fit within the ethos of the DeadLOUD brand?” Well, it’s totally fair for you to wonder and question that. Motorcycles are in our genes and as we move on from an era of widely utilising fossil fuels, we are opening the door to a world of renewable energy.

 

Electric motors have already started appearing in new motorcycle designs, such as the Harley-Davidson Livewire used by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman on their documented adventure from Ushuaiai (Argentina) to Los Angeles (USA). They have proven extremely successful and will no doubt become the norm. We very much welcome this move as a step forward in the fight against climate change.