Our Production

We are committed to make sure that our products are made with as little negative impact as possible on the environment and the people making the garments. This includes paying living wages, avoiding over production and trying to keep our carbon emissions as low as we can. We also believe in being transparent towards our customers and stakeholders so that everyone can see how our products were made. Below you can find information about our production processes, if you still have questions, let us know, we have nothing to hide and are happy to share more information.

Never burn unsold garments

Overproduction is a big environmental issue that we work actively to avoid. To let clothes go to landfill or be burnt, just because they were not sold within a season is something we have never tolerated in our company, but unfortunately this still occurs regularly in our industry. At Mini Rodini, any item that isn’t sold, is saved in our warehouse and can be sold years later through our Treasure concept. You can read more about our Treasure concept here and find it in our Mini Rodini stores in Stockholm and London.

“Unnecessary waste is one of the most provoking things for me, it's just stupid in all ways. So many companies are burning or throwing away fabrics and clothes, Mini Rodini have never done that and will never do it. If you make high quality garments and fabrics they will always have a home.”

/Cassandra Rhodin, Founder & Creative Director

Making garments can create a lot of textile waste and is a huge environmental issue. Through Mini Rodini’s Upcycling collections, which we started in 2013, we utilize the leftover fabric from the production, to make new clothes. This is both reducing fabric waste and lowering our climate impact. Instead of throwing away or burning leftover fabrics we create Mini Rodini Upcycling collections using leftover fabric to make new garments. That's a win-win for us and our customers who love to see their favorite prints return in new collections. Since 2013 we have saved more than 18 tonnes of waste fabric in total.

The textile industry is one of the most polluting industries in the world and stands for 10% of all CO2 emissions according to a recent report from the European parliament. As a clothing company we are responsible to strive to minimize our environmental footprint. We at Mini Rodini are committed to keep our carbon emissions as low as possible. We hold this commitment by taking action such as selecting materials with a lower carbon footprint like recycled polyester compared to virgin, our no flight policy on incoming goods, and by making clothes that can stay in circulation for as long as possible.

Since 2021 we have mapped out our annual carbon emissions, using the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol method, to identify our high impact areas, which will help us identify which areas to prioritize.

During 2024 we will work to update our sustainability strategy including setting new ambitions for the work on reducing our climate impact. Read more about our climate footprint in our latest sustainability report.

In our garment supply chain Mini Rodini works with several manufacturing suppliers that assemble the garments from fabric. These suppliers buy fabric and trims from their suppliers, who in turn buy yarn from spinning mills, and so on, down to the very source of the raw fiber production in the fields and farms. These different levels of suppliers and sub-suppliers, are referred to as tiers.

Usually a garment company is only in contact with the suppliers that are assembling the garments, what is often referred to as tier 1 suppliers. This practice however, means that you don't have insight into the working conditions or practices in the factories where the fabrics and fibers are produced. For us at Mini Rodini it's essential to have a proper insight into how our clothes have been produced, from fiber to ready garment. Only then can we take responsibility that our standards regarding human rights and environmental impact are secured each step of the way. Mini Rodini’s goal is to trace 100% of our products, from raw material to finished garment, and we have come a good way to meet this goal.

Never fly incoming goods

Working with sustainability does not end with the production of the product, but includes packaging and transport as well.

We at Mini Rodini have a strict no air freight policy on all incoming goods, which means that no products should be flown, from our production locations, to our warehouse in Sweden. Instead our goods are transported by sea, which has a significantly lower climate impact. This policy requires more planning and lead-times for us, but it’s something we are happy to do to lower our climate impact.

As we are a global company that sells all over the world, we still need to send some products from our warehouse to customers by air. This is something we are reviewing continuously, and hope that in the future, we will be able to eliminate air freight altogether.

Never virgin plastic, always certified materials

Having strict material policies does not only apply to our products, but our packaging and bags as well. At Mini Rodini we have a strict No Virgin Plastic-policy which means that we don't have plastic bags in our store, and all our gift boxes are made from certified paper. When we ship and store our products they need to be properly protected, for which we use recycled plastic poly bags. We have done a proper evaluation of the climate impact of different packaging options, and found that recycled plastic was the option with the lowest climate impact, compared to paper bags, for example. All cartons and paper used in our bags and packaging are made from certified materials.

Long-term supplier relationships and why it’s important to us

Mini Rodin only wants to work with suppliers who share our vision of creating high quality garments under fair working conditions, with as little impact on the environment as possible. Working in a close partnership with our suppliers allows for suppliers to plan better, which in turn makes it possible for them to ensure good working conditions for their employees and reduce the risk of overtime.

We aim to have long-term relationships with our suppliers, providing stable orders where we include the supplier in both planning and forecasting. In 2023 we kept all deadlines in terms of order placement and commenting on samples. Having long-term relationships with our suppliers also allows them to invest in both social and environmental initiatives and programs, without the fear that these additional costs would impact their business. During 2023 20% of our order value was placed with factories we have worked with for 5-9 years, and 35% was placed with suppliers we have worked with for 10 years or more.

Find out more about our work on sustainability in our sustainability report.