When I Googled “Skunkfunk”, one of the first things I saw was that the clothing brand is all about “keeping it real.” What they mean is that they never “follow the herd” with any trends in fashion, as they have their own unique fresh and funky style that’s iconic in Spain and is represented in 42 countries around the world. However, when I visited them I was curious to see if they kept it real when it came to their brand’s image of an ecologically sustainable company. What I learned when I visited the company in Gernika, Spain, is that, in fact, Skunkfunk does keep it real. They may not be pioneers of sustainability in the industry (the founder refused to acknowledge themselves as such, despite their great efforts), but they are definitely, in my eyes, a leader in progressive-thinking clothing brands.
I spent a whole semester of college writing about clothing sustainability for my thesis, but my experience with Skunkfunk gave me a more insightful view of what being “sustainable” means to a company who’s really pushing to make an impact no matter how small.
I also caught a good view of the beautiful Basque country as well. Skunkfunk’s headquarters is in Gernika, the famed city bombed by the Nazi’s for which Picasso dedicated a painting too, and also the hometown of Mikel Feijoo Elzo, the founder of Skunkfunk.
As with most entrepreneurs, Mikel is a character.
He got his start by selling T-shirts in music festivals throughout Europe- awesome idea, I may have to borrow that when I get my start. Since 1996, Skunkfunk has been evolving as a company and a brand. As Mikel says, Skunkfunk isn’t an eco-brand and doesn’t really try to market itself as such though it gains that reputation. With good reason too, because amidst the industry “greenwashing” of companies trying to say they’re all about being green as a marketing ploy, it’s been in Mikel’s nature to care about the environment. He grew up in the mountains lush Basque region, where looking out from the roof of the HQ I could see windmills whirling in the distance.
His environmental conscious spreads to all parts of his company. From the recycling bin in the office, the aluminum bottles he gives to employees to avoid the use of plastic water bottles, encouraging employees to bike to work, and of course the challenge of keeping his clothing sustainable.
Organic cotton isn’t cheap. China is still the main supplier of cotton to keep the business sustainable, because sustainable still means keeping the company in business. The problem is China isn’t very transparent, and you may have a supplier that claims to be sustainable, but you never know whether or not they’re being honest. This is one of the biggest challenges for Skunkfunk right now.
Nevertheless, Skunkfunk is serious about overcoming these challenges. I had the pleasure of meeting Ana, who is in charge of the sustainable business development department. Ana studied advertising and fashion, and she had a difficulty accepting the fact that the clothing industry is one of the biggest polluters in the world, from the pesticides used in cotton to the disposal of clothing in landfills. Now she leads the company in outlining the goals of all facets of the company to be more sustainable, from making sure production consists of environmentally friendly fibers to sustainable packaging and keeping the design quality as high as the company is known for.
I was lucky enough to be there for the company’s sustainability seminar. Mikel organized a seminar led by the non-profit Textile Exchange to learn more about environmentally sustainable textiles. It was interesting to learn the difference in qualifications of what really is environmentally friendly. The non-profit Made-By has a classification system of the best and worst fibers. The top of the list included recycled cotton, recycled polyester, and organic hemp. For all those who are curious, hemp is not the same plant as marijuana. That advantages are the low-maintenance of production- less water, less chemicals, and less labor. Lyocell is another interesting fiber which comes from wood pulp. Typically the fiber needs a lot of chemicals in development and can be quite unsustainable, but the company Lenzing has found a way to keep it very sustainable using a closed-loop system that reuses the chemicals so there is no contamination in the process.
The ladies of Textile Exchange, Sandra and Charline, really knew their stuff. I knew how bad the clothing industry was, but I was surprised to hear that the industry is responsible for 10% of the total carbon impact of the world, and that 20% of water pollution comes from dyeing and treatment of clothes.
Mikel himself is very aware of this, and his ambitions reach further than just making his company sustainable. He’s a globally conscious person, and he’s concerned with the impact of the rising Chinese and Brazilian classes who are starting to follow the Western consumption standard. He hopes that by expanding to these countries, he can make people more environmentally conscious, and with over a billion people, that could be real impact there.
In the end, I aspire to be able to promote the same message that Skunkfunk, Textile Exchange, and Made-By are doing. To some the clothing industry is just a place for those who want to be fashionable and trendy, but when the term “shopping” directly implies purchasing clothes, you begin to realize that the textile industry has a bigger impact than you think. This experience has been the first real learning point of my journey, and already I feel like I’m on the right track despite not being into the whole “fashion” world of things. I want to make a difference, and it’s good that there are not only people but organizations on the same page as me.
It’s a long way to go still, but I’d like to conclude by simply thanking all the people I met in Gernika. From the insightful people of Textile Exchange, Sandra and Charline, to the employees of Skunkfunk including Ana who made sure I had a glass of water while waiting to talk to Mikel (there was a film crew from the European Commission that was interested in the youth working in Skunkfunk), to Greg who gave me advice on starting a clothing industry, all the other awesome Skunkfunk peeps, and last but not least Mikel for hosting me in his beautiful house in the mountains of the Basque country, jamming on the guitar together, tapas and beers, lending me a sweater in the rainy northern Spain, and finally for willing to help out an aspiring entrepreneur.
I dig the funk.
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Pictures of Bilbao
Pictures of Skunkfunk and Gernika
