Smallholder Female Livestock Farmer

Slow fashion reshapes the practice of fast fashion, whereby business models, creative practices and materials sourced are driven by conscious decisions for the environment and consumers.

Kelp Forest is an e-merchant on Looqal’s e-commerce platform for eco-friendly businesses. Kelp Forest has embraced its slow fashion mission of creating a space for sustainable, high-quality products at affordable prices.

KELP FOREST

Durability is one of the key highlights of Kelp Forest’s mission. According to Founder Vanesa Calvo Baltanas, 

“for sustainable fashion to have an impact, it needs to become available to a large proportion of society.

Vanesa is a biologist and full-time researcher from Spain who currently resides in Singapore. She also finds the time to be an avid professional diver and actively collaborates with ocean conservation programs.

Kelp Forest produces in very low quantities and does not seek to incentivize shopping simply for the sake of shopping. Vanesa strongly believes that her brand has a responsibility to go the extra mile for our precious planet. Hence, Kelp Forest has committed to donating a whopping 15% of their profits to carefully chosen ocean conservation programs such as the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

T-Shirts and Sweaters from sustainable cotton

Kelp Forest’s flagship product is their basic t-shirts for men and women. Beautifully made from sustainable cotton, they have a buttery-feel that is almost liquid. There are three different bright, solid colors and they have released a limited edition t-shirt made from deadstock fabrics called bioluminescence – named after the navy blue colour with fluorescent bits.

Always innovating and carefully sourcing their raw materials, the company only works with trusted partners from India for their sustainable cotton and are expanding their mission for sustainability into products that are upcycled and deadstock fabrics.

“We saw a niche in the Singapore ecosystem where the concept of simple, basic and ‘daily’ attire, that is also high quality, versatile and affordable is missing.” Vanesa adds, “we also carefully design our products so that they resemble or make our clients feel connected to the sea.”