Responsibility

Now more than ever, our love of creating beautiful bridal gowns and ready-to-wear has to be balanced with being mindful of the environment.  We believe we have a responsibility to ensure we are doing our best to reduce waste, lower our carbon footprint and minimise our impact on the planet.  At Sassi Holford, we want to be as transparent as possible, particularly as sustainability has always been at the forefront of our ethos.

We want to share with you what we’re currently doing behind the scenes by introducing the UK brands we partner with, showing you where our waste materials go and highlighting the core element of our production process, which is ‘made-to-order’.

Sassi Holford designing wedding dresses

Made in England

We are passionate advocates of British crafts(wo)manship, promoting the creative and technical skills of our world renowned British fashion industry.  Our garments are designed and handmade at our Somerset atelier, by some of the most talented cutters and seamstresses, ensuring we keep our carbon footprint down throughout the production process.  The majority of our fabrics come from Europe with some as close as 25 miles away.

Discover Bridal Shop Made-To-Order
Sassi Holford Bridal 2021 Asteria Collection

Garments with a Conscience

Right from the start Sassi Holford has been a brand that has respected the environment, which is why our bridal gown and womenswear collections have been kept small and considered.  We actively recycle and reuse by-products from all our garments, putting in place initiatives that support local businesses, fashion colleges and charities.

We are by no means a fast fashion brand, and embrace the positive values of ‘slow fashion’.  Our womenswear pieces are meticulously made to fit seamlessly into your wardrobe forever.  Although we appreciate trends, we concentrate on making clothes that work hard for you, complementing pieces you already have and creating multiple timeless looks.

cotton reels

Sustainably Sourced

As a business we have committed to The Climate Pledge to become a carbon neutral brand by 2030 and, although we have a way to go, we are already well on our way.  As well as being continually mindful of where our fabrics come from, we are very aware of our packaging materials; continuously sourcing environmentally friendly alternatives as they become commercially viable and working with a small supply chain of partners we know and trust are on the same page.  As well as our 2030 goal, over the next three years we aim to reduce plastic use by 50% and ensure we recycle 80% of our waste.

sassi holford wedding dress

Nurturing Talent

We recognise the importance of nurturing talent.  In a world where so many processes have been exported, we know that if we want to keep couture skills alive here in the UK, we need to pass on our knowledge to the next generation. This is why every year Sassi Holford takes on apprentices who work alongside our talented team learning their craft and embracing our ethos of responsibility to the environment.  We also support fashion under-graduates and graduates with paid internships, many who have become valuable members of the team.

Our Partnerships

One of the ways in which we are recycling and reusing our offcuts and waste, is to partner with likeminded brands, charities and schools. As you can see below, we ensure we provide our left over fabric and useable ‘waste’ not only to good causes, but to the future generation of fashion designers who we hope will ensure our responsibility ethos carries on through the fashion industry in the years ahead.

  • Phoebe English – Our bridal fabric offcuts are used to produce fabrics that are then made into sustainable garments.
  • Creating Tomorrow’s Forests – We are planting trees to offset our carbon omissions.
  • Lulu – We send our silk offcuts, and they transform them into beautiful hair accessories.
  • Inner Wheel – We supply the highest quality silk to Inner Wheel who make comfort cushions for breast cancer patients for our local hospitals.
  • Sue Ryder – We send past season bridal and ready-to-wear samples to be sold in charity shops and digital stores raising money towards their palliative, neurological and bereavement support.
  • Colleges & Schools – We are proud to say that fabric offcuts over 1 metre are sent to local fashion college to be used by fashion students for their work. We also offer fabric cardboard tubes and small fabric offcuts to local primary schools to be used for arts and crafts.
  • Ecosia – We have adopted Ecosia as our preferred search engine as it donates 80% of its profits to non-profit organisations and plants a tree for every search you make.

If you have any suggestions that will help us reach our carbon neutral target, or any of the targets we have set, we would love to hear from you. You can contact us here.