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INTRODUCING: PANGAIA X SELFRIDGES

Words: Chekii Harling

We’ve teamed up with the planet-positive PANGAIA collective to bring you exclusive wardrobe essentials that put style and sustainability hand in hand. Here we explore the buzz around this pioneering brand and the exclusive PANGAIA X Selfridges capsule collection, created to support dwindling bee populations.

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Environmentally friendly dyes video directed by Asha Ray & Will Lintern / PANGAIA

PANGAIA: responsibly made pieces made to last

Science and material innovation underpin PANGAIA’s pieces, whose name features ‘Gaia’ — the ancestral mother of all life on earth. PANGAIA products are made from a combination of recycled and GOTS-certified organic cotton coloured using low-impact dyes, making its garments chemical-free and therefore easy on the skin. Working with bio-based fibres such as fabrics spun from Icelandic seaweed, agricultural waste and recycled plastic, the team are constantly finding new innovations in materiality. “We aim to demystify science, showcase developments and provide accessible sustainable alternatives to ‘traditional’ materials,” says the PANGAIA collective whose success in building a fashion brand with a low environmental impact is focused on an approach it has coined ‘high-tech naturalism’, where natural materials are augmented by scientific, technological processes. This way of working was born from a collective desire to provide an ethical alternative to fashion that has a negative impact on the planet. “PANGAIA came about from a realisation that fashion was one of the top three most polluting industries in the world,” the collective notes. With 100 billion items of clothing being produced every year and half ending up in landfill, taking decades to decompose, PANGAIA is leading the solution revolution by producing ethical pieces designed with love. 

Shop the PANGAIA X Selfridges collection

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PANGAIA - Branded organic cotton-blend T-shirt
PANGAIA - Branded organic cotton-blend T-shirt

It’s a black and yellow love story: help save the bees 

In 1984, a unique yellow rose variety was grown to celebrate Selfridges’ 75th anniversary — and just like that, our trademark yellow was born. In the PANGAIA X Selfridges collection the same yellow mingles with a black and cream colour palette: it’s an ode to our furry friends, the bees. “Human survival depends on the bees – they are the most important living beings on this planet, yet bee colonies are on the decline and we’re losing them at an incredibly fast rate,” the collective remarks. PANGAIA and the charitable platform Milkywire have created the Bee the Change partnership fund to directly benefit grassroots NGOs working on bee conservation all around the world. “We are currently supporting six different organisations in places such as Sweden, Kenya, and the UK, that are actively engaged in projects aiming to protect and preserve the vulnerable bee species,” says PANGAIA.


We are united by one vision and a dream to design a better future.

Seaweed fibre video directed by Ernest Yakovlev / PANGAIA

Everyday essentials, worth the hype

PANGAIA’s collections are renowned for selling out within hours (so get in there quick) – but how did the brand build up the hype? “We started with everyday essentials that everyone can relate to and connect with. We believe that essential garments are the perfect platform to launch new materials and highlight true innovation,” says the PANGAIA collective who first focused on developing a light T-shirt made from seaweed fibre but have since expanded to responsibly produced, innovative essentials, with super-cosy hoodies and joggers that are ideal investments for any wardrobe. “Our customers are environmentally aware, tech-savvy individuals driven by a strong desire to make change happen on a global scale through the everyday products they use and the clothes that they wear,” it says.



We aim to demystify science, showcase developments and provide accessible sustainable alternatives to ‘traditional’ materials.

Courtesy of PANGAIA
Courtesy of PANGAIA

It’s not just a label, it’s a community

The PANGAIA collective is reinventing what it means to be a fashion brand in 2020. There’s no high-profile design guru at the helm of this company, but a collective of scientists, designers, thinkers and creators from all walks of life. Members of the team include alumni from prestigious institutions such as Harvard, Stanford and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Without a hierarchical structure in the company, this new model of collective leadership champions the team, rather than the individual. Just like us at Selfridges, the PANGAIA group believes that the power of the collective is more effective than individuals working alone to make change happen. “We’ve organised ourselves into this global group of like-minded individuals who continue to grow this community and welcome our investors, customers, collaborators to be part of the collective too!” says the group.  So, what do the members of the PANGAIA collective have in common? “We are united by one vision and a dream to design a better future.” 

 

 

Discover more about the Bee the Change initiative at milkywire.com/beethechange

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