Blue Ben

What’s the problem?

On average, Germans buy 60 new garments a year, which are sorted out again before they are really worn out. In addition to the enormous garbage mountains caused by this, especially the cultivation of cotton harms human and nature. In addition to catastrophic working conditions and the use of toxic chemicals, it is the extremely high water consumption that needs to be changed. A cotton sweater consumes between 3,500 and 8,000 liters of water from cultivation to manufacturing. Enough to cover the daily drinking water needs of a person for at least 5 years. Especially in cotton-growing countries, there is a great shortage. In India alone, the second largest exporter of cotton, more than 100 million people today have no access to clean drinking water.

What's Blue Ben's solution?

The global demand for clothing will increase by 63% until 2030. Therefore fashion will increase in importance rather than decrease. That's why we want to create fashion that we like to wear and which makes labels such as "fair" and "sustainable" the standard. We abstain from cotton, plastics, toxic chemicals and cheap labor. Raw material cultivation, fabric development and manufacturing remain in Europe. In addition to 90% of water, we save many tons of CO2. However, we take responsibility for the damage already caused in cotton-growing countries by paying 10% of sales in the form of reparations to our local partners there.

Our vision: A complete wardrobe of compostable, water-saving essentials whose design and fabric are as long-lasting as possible.

The first step: Our #Bangladesh sweater – The first sweater that saves and gives water back at the same time – Made FOR, not IN Bangladesh!

What makes the sweater so special?

SEE OUR SIZES

For our first product we opted for a unisex sweater - crew-neck, relaxed-fit, with a very special branding. The basis for the #Bangladesh sweater is our especially developed fabric made of modal and hemp. Both fibers grow in Europe and without artificial irrigation. In addition, the yield per kg is up to 4x for modal and twice as high for hemp compared to cotton.

• mix of modal and hemp fibers from Austria and France
• 90% water savings compared to cotton sweaters
• made in Europe
• made FOR Bangladesh - 10% of sales are reparations
• soft (modal), dimensionally stable (hemp) fabric
• antibacterial effect
• less odor
• compostable
• no microplastic
• water based prints
• our colors are free of phthalate, formaldehyde and solvent as well as biodegradable
• no pesticides and herbicides

In summary, we make cool sweaters, that stand for something, in which we feel good and all of that at a damn fair price.

In order to realize our vision of the water-saving wardrobe, we need a variety of fabrics, all of which without cotton but different textures and strengths depending on their use. We have already developed the first fabric variations with our partner Tintex Textiles in Portugal. More will follow this year so that we can offer the next garment as soon as possible.

Blue Ben addresses all people who like to drink water and believe that this resource belongs to us all equally. People who are not indifferent to the fate behind textile production. People who no longer want to follow every fast fashion trend. People who are willing to buy less, but high-quality clothing and pay the true price of these clothes. And people who are inspired by new ideas and are adventurous enough to give something new a try.

We want to rethink and redefine the current standards. That's why we start with a crowdfunding campaign instead of a commercial investor. We do not want to produce anything that puts the profit above the consequences for man and nature.* That's why we want to create a real alternative for all of us with Blue Ben.

You should support us because:

• You care about a sustainable handling of the resource water
• You do not want to produce any more textile waste
• You want to balance your current fashion water footprint
• You do not want to worry about the production conditions when buying new clothes
• You want to support regional instead of global production chains

*movie tip on the topic: The True Cost

To date, we have invested approximately € 10,000 privately in the development of our first alternative fabrics. In order to be able to produce the first 1,000 #Bangladesh sweaters (this is our minimum order quantity) from the development of the fabric to dyeing and manufacturing, we need your support!

With € 15,000 we can cover the production costs of one edition of our sweater and implement a small water project in Bangladesh.

With € 25,000 we can produce all three editions and implement a medium-sized water project in Bangladesh.