ReCreate Clothing New Zealand

2018 was the year I said to myself “what do I actually need to buy?” I took a long hard look in my wardrobe and there were lots and lots of t-shirts in there (everyone has a vice right) that I didn’t have a clue a) where they were made and b) who made them. This had to change. Something had to stop.

I live in a small house (around 60sqm) so buying things came to an abrupt halt about three years ago. I just didn’t have the room for anything so if I wanted something it had to fit and something also had to go for it to be replaced. I wanted to know where my stuff came from and who made it. I’m not perfect by any stretch of the imagination but I’m trying. Also if I’m selling you something (because that’s what bloggers do- and if they tell you they don’t, they’re lying) I want you to spend your hard earned cash on things that I would buy (which I’ve always tried to do) but also so that you know where they come from.

Enter stage left: ReCreate Clothing New Zealand.

ReCreate Clothing are doing something very very special. A sewing centre set up in Dey Tmey Cambodia was Erica and Deborah’s (founders of ReCreate) first step into helping the people of the area to learn new skills, create an income for themselves and their families and to produce some beautiful ethical clothes for you.
Training and employing the people of the village was just the start of change in the garment industry, a change that is so desperately needed.

And you can be part of that change. 

We all love clothes. We all love buying things that sparks that joy in our tummies; whether it be the sparkly pink jumpsuit you saw last year (that you just can’t stop thinking about) or those new 17 inch high heels that you can run in (because you’re braver than me). But we have to start asking the hard questions of ourselves about what does it cost to a human life to get that thing we ‘need’ settled into our wardrobe?

Once you start with that you can’t ‘unsee’ something you’ve seen or understood. It changes the way you see and mostly feel about everything. Because there’s lives behind those ‘things’. 

But because I also love clothes I want to talk about them.

ReCreate‘s clothes are made of the softest of soft cotton. The brightest of bright reds and denims slotted alongside earthy hues ripe for a stroll, a night out, a late lunch.

Women, men, children all looked after.
I chose a bright red dress, because life’s too short to not have a red dress in your wardrobe and IT HAS POCKETS PEOPLE. 

A beautiful white Tee (I told you I was obsessed) with a delicious scoop cut out of the back and a delicate tie (note copper ends) to tie and make figure hugging or dangle loose and let the shape decide what it wants to do. 

Tiny delicate detailing. A hint of silver here. A bit of gold there. Fabrics are certified by the Global Organic Textile Standard (bloody legends). 

Beautiful children’s dresses and tee’s with added flourishes of interesting shapes and patterns. All softer than the softest of soft things. (I guarantee they will fall asleep in them).  I chose a little light green dress and a black cardigan for the rock n roll in my daughter. 

I also had the gorgeous company in these photos of my lovely amazing friend Jana who took the photos. So clever. 

The clothing arrived in compostable bags, recyclable paper and cardboard. I researched before I chose and ReCreate  reuse factory offcuts (minimal waste) and there is monitoring of water and electricity usage in the garment production centres. They look at what they can do to make things better, always improving, always making decisions based on humans and their impact. 

I want it all dammit. And I want it now. But I’ve also learnt that I don’t ‘need’ all that stuff. I want a carefully selected wardrobe with clothes in there that have heart, that I know where they come from, that have a story. 

And you can do it too. 

ReCreate NZ is a perfectly wonderful example of the magic that can happen when people care enough to want to give you what you need (or deliciously want) and not have to feel bad, sad, mad about doing it. You can select, read and research and it’s all there. 

I am so proud and honoured that I asked Erica and Deborah if I could collaborate on something and they said yes. 2019 is the year I want to work with more amazing brands who are doing just. good. stuff. And ReCreate are. They completely and utterly are. 

ReCreate NZ
[email protected]
+64 21 429 808

Stockists

I collaborated on this post with ReCreate and received clothes in exchange for a blog post. If I didn’t like them I wouldn’t write about them. 

I also worked alongside the most amazing photographer for this photos. Jana Macpherson is a blogger, photographer and friend. Thank you Jana.