#1 Sustainable golf clothing - possible?
A desire to bring sustainability to the world of golf apparel is what got us started. Golf is based on a fine balance between nature and arrangement, performance and contemplation as well as technique and tradition. Although these values are very often present and even central on a course, the world of golf clothing is different. We have therefore created polo shirts in natural fabric, produced in Europe and made to last. Links Social Wear is the result of a collaboration with artisans and factories in Switzerland and across Europe.
Fabric
The fabric is the most important element of our polo shirt. Its quality and the characteristics it naturally offers make it not only elegant, but also performing.
We decided to allocate a significant portion of our production budget to fabric. Most companies prefer to use either synthetic and technical materials or cheaper natural fibers, such as cotton. We estimate that we spent four times more on fabric than our competitors operating at the same price level.
The regional - European - aspect is at the heart of our project. The fabric was knitted in Biella, northern Italy, from the following fibers:
48% Lyocell, produced in a closed loop in Austria using wood from sustainable forests specifically grown for its production
48% wool - non merino. It is almost as fine (19.3 microns) as that of merino sheep and has the advantage of coming from Bulgaria. Most of the merino wool comes from New Zealand and Australia, we have decided to limit the movement of material as much as we could
4% elastane, which adds strength.
Thanks to its natural characteristics, our polo shirt is perfectly suited for sport activities: it is soft, heat-regulating, odor-resistant, breathable and protects against UV rays.
Fabrication
As you may have understood, proximity, sustainability and social responsibility are an integral part of Links. We could have produced on the other side of the planet for (much) cheaper, but that is not the goal of our project.
The prototype of our polo shirt was developed in St-Gall, Switzerland, by Ly-Ling Vilaysane of Aéthérée. It combines the elements we were talking about above: technicality and performance on one hand, and nature and tradition on the other, with a classic design made to last.
Regarding production, we work with a factory in Portugal, in the Porto region. It is not only GOTS certified but is also powered exclusively by renewable energy and supported by the European Regional Development Fund.
Durability
The whole project has been designed around ecology and reasonable consumption. We have made a lot of effort to have a quality polo shirt produced in Europe, which will accompany you for a long time. Our packaging and labels are reduced to a minimum, and those which accompany our products are recycled.
We also collaborate with Almighty Tree, to whom we donate 2% of our turnover to plant trees in Switzerland.
Price
Producing a polo shirt the way we decided to is relatively expensive. Local materials and labor lead to higher expenses. It is also essential for us that each player is compensated correctly for the work carried out. We have therefore focused on the quality of production, limiting intermediaries to collaborate as much as possible directly with our various suppliers. We have decided to limit our marketing and other non-production related expenses. The result is a garment for a price that essentially reflects what make it: the quality of its production.