Why We’re Rethinking Cotton at 919 Vrede

APRIL 14, 2025

At 919 Vrede, every thread we select has a story to tell — one of heritage, people, process, and planet. So when we started getting closer to investigating this material that defined our past collections, it was clear: it was time to delve deeper.

For a while, we used old-fashioned cotton, believing it to be natural and safe. And in so many ways, it was a decent beginning. But the more we grew, the more we came to understand what truly sustainable fashion is like — and most importantly, what it could be like for the planet and the wearer.

We realised that traditional cotton, as wonderful as it may be to source from plants, is part of an industrial framework that tends to do damage in ways that can be too easy to ignore:

• Unnecessary water waste in already arid regions

• Soil degradation through mono-cropping and pesticides

• Chemical runoff contaminating local ecosystems and communities

That didn't feel right to us.

As a brand rooted in cultural sustainability, our materials need to reflect more than aesthetics. And that’s why we’re making a shift.