SUSTAINABLE SKILL

China Daily. Aug.28th. 2014

SUSTAINABLE SKILL

In an age of mass production and consumption, two fashion insiders create eco-friendly products that focus on craftsmanship. Xu Junqian finds out more.

The fashion industry is notorious in many ways, and it has a reputation for being one of the world’s most polluting indus- tries. It is the second-largest consumer of water, and the rise of fast fashion brands has fueled increasing, unsustainable consumerism.

Some key players in the industry have come to recognize this and are taking action.Shanghai’s best-known haute couture designer, Lu Kun, and Spanish creative project manag- er Joaquín Gay-Liébana Jover are the latest examples.

Their organization, Send Wish, is neither a fashion brand nor a charity.Lu and Jover have been close friends for years. Jover defines it as “a project that designs and creates socially conscious products, which are not necessary for people’s lives but make them better”.Iconic products include scent- ed and non-scented candles, small teddy bears and reusable canvas bags, all of which are made, when- ever possible, from renewable resources.

Since it was founded two years ago, the project has worked with a long list of art exhibitions, muse- ums, luxury brands and hotels by customizing products. Topping the list are names like Andaz Hotel, their first client, the Yayoi Kusama Candles from Send Wish send hopes.The exhibition at the Museum of Con- temporary Art, and the Trussardi flagship store in Shanghai.For the four-month-long Monet exhibition at K11 Art Mall, Send Wish produced 5,000 candles, which were sold at the gift shop next to the exhibit hall.

“Everything came straight from the barns,” says Jover, referring to the cramped studio he shares with Lu on the weekends.

“The wax is vegetable wax and the wicks are made from either bamboo or coconut. Even the peo- ple making the candles are recy- cled,” he jokes, explaining that the project is mostly staffed by employ- ees from his art project team and Lu’s haute couture designing team.

Most of the products from Send Wish are handmade at the studio by the two teams, of about a doz- en people, “after outsourcing to factories became a nightmare and we had to go back to the drawing board”. The 46-year-old moved to Shang- hai in 2006 to work as the co-coordinator for the Year of Spain in China for the Spanish government. He also met and became friends with Lu during that time.

But being socially conscious doesn’t come cheap. Candles and teddy bears are priced at a few hun- dred yuan or more.

“We try to reduce the cost, but there is a limit we can’t go below, because of what motivates us to start the project,” says Jover.For the candles, the partners ensure that the products don’t release any toxins. Jover says that 70 percent of the candles in the global marketplace are toxic as they are made from petroleum products.

His concern is backed up by research.

A study conducted by South Carolina University in 2009 found that paraffin-based candles, the most common in the market, release chemicals like toluene and benzene, while vegetable-based ones do not.

“We choose to make candles as one of our iconic products for a reason,” says Lu, the 32-year-old Shanghai native. “Insignificant as they might be in modern times, they are still capable of bringing light to the darkness when there is a blackout.”

“It sends wishes to those in need,” he says, explaining the name of the project.Fashionably slim teddy bears designed for charity, recycled pillows made from 75% dry buckwheat.