Armedangels: Difference between revisions
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{{Infobox Dotcom company |
{{Infobox Dotcom company |
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| company_name = The Social Fashion Company GmbH |
| company_name = The Social Fashion Company GmbH |
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| company_logo = [[Image:Logo armedangels weiss print.jpg|270px]] |
| company_logo = [[:Image:Logo armedangels weiss print.jpg|270px]]<!--Non free file removed by DASHBot--> |
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| company_type = Limited liability company |
| company_type = Limited liability company |
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| foundation = January 2007 |
| foundation = January 2007 |
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Revision as of 00:09, 4 March 2010
| 270px | |
| Type of business | Limited liability company |
|---|---|
| Founded | January 2007 |
| Headquarters | Cologne , Germany |
| Key people | Anton Jurina, Martin Hoefeler |
| URL | www.armedangels.co.uk (http://www.armedangels.co.uk/en/index.html) |
armedangels is an ethical fashion label based in Cologne, Germany. Founded in 2007, the company designs a variety of apparel products made from textiles such as organic cotton [1] and sells them via their online shop and in more than 120 boutiques and major retails stores in six countries. The label creates and produces sustainable fashion that is both ethical and fashionable, while attempting to appeal to the LOHAS demographic. The company is trying to change the attitude towards eco-friendly clothing as being "hippy like" and otherwise not fashionable[2] to perceving it as hip, chic streetwear. Furthermore, the company also aims to make a social statement about fashion and works exclusively with socially responsible companies that are certified as being fairtrade.[3] The armedangels website has an online community which currently has around 10,000 registered members. Because armedangels believes in being socially-minded, they invite the community members to share their opinions on improving the production process, give feedback to new designs, and in some cases, even create and submit new t-shirt designs, thus enabling the community to help build the brand. However, this is not the only purpose of the comminty. The goal is to also raise awareness about the fashion industry and (what in their minds is) the injustices that arise as a result[4]. In the US and UK, a handful of multi-brand shops in the LOHAS market have experienced some success, but so far there appears to be no ambitious market competitors in Germany, Austria or Switzerland. The German press has referred to armedangels as "eco warriors in the process of saving the world", who contribute alongside like-minded people including celebrities such as Natalie Portman, Leonardo DiCaprio and Al Gore. [5]
History
The company was founded in January of 2007 as The Social Fashion Company GmbH by two friends, Anton Jurina and Martin Höfeler. The founders claim they were "shocked by the scandals in the fashion industry" [1], leading them to start a fashion label that combined trendy streetwear that supports a sustainable lifestyle. In 2009, the founders won the first ever Wirtschaftswoche Entrepreneur Competition (German language: Gründerwettbewerb der Wirtschaftswoche) for their business model. [6] Most recently, the company has begun to sell apparel products from other ethical fashion labels via its online shop as well as in 120 stores internationally.
Philosophy
The company 's core philosophy revolves around 3 main pillars: being good to the enviroment, supporting fairtrade, and dontating to charity. armedangels only produces and sells organic, fairtrade and ethical fashion. For this reason, they only use organic cotton in their clothing, attempt to avoid large shipping distances (to reduce Co2 emissions), pay more than minimum wage to their farmers in India, and donate a Euro of their profits from every article of clothing sold [2]. armedangels has to date shown a strong interest in giving back to the community and therefore, closely collaborates 3 charity organizations: Pratham, Trinkwasserwald, and Viva con Agua. After making a purchase online, consumers are asked which of the 3 organizations they would like to have 1 Euro is donated to. To date, armedangels has raised just over €30,000 in charity support from their sales [3].
Collaborations
armedangels currently partners with several other ethical and sustainable fashion labels such as: Kuyichi, Terra Plana, Stewart & Brown, and KnowledgeCotton Apparel. In addition, the label has seen a recent rise in celebrity interest in their t-shirts. As a result, they have begun collaborations with German actress Shiva Hagen[7] and German TV star and VIVA veejay Collien Fernandes[8].
Investors
Aside from receiving financial support as a part of their prize for winning the WirtschaftsWoche Entrepreneur Competition, armedangels have also received some investor support from business angels in the form of seed investments. Among their Business Angels are AOL-Europe founders Andreas von Blottnitz and Jan Buettner, as well as Axel Schmiegelow from dw capital, who is also co-founder and CEO of sevenload.com.
See also
References
- ^ "Öko-Schick aus der Jugendstilvilla". Retrieved March 3, 2010.
- ^ "Die Sandale ist weg". Retrieved March 3, 2010.
- ^ "German entrepreneurs successful with socially conscious firm". Retrieved March 3, 2010.
- ^ "Meet ethical fashion designer Anton Jurina of armedangels". Retrieved March 3, 2010.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|hrsg=ignored (|publisher=suggested) (help) - ^ Dietl, K (March, 2008) "Das Web rettet die Welt (How the Web is saving the world)", Tomorrow, p. 19-21
- ^ "armedangels: Der Knoten ist geplatzt". Retrieved March 3, 2010.
- ^ "Cosma Shiva Hagen designt für armedangels". Retrieved March 3, 2010.
- ^ "Collein Fernandes designs for armedangels". Retrieved March 3, 2010.
External links
