SLOW FASHION, LESS WASTE

We make TATUM differently.

We produce in small quantities, make much of our collection to order and keep production right here in Cape Town. It means we can make what is actually wanted, rather than filling rails with stock just for the sake of having more.

But even when you produce slowly, making clothes creates waste.

Every time a TATUM piece is cut, small pieces of fabric are left behind. Too small to become another bikini or swimsuit, but far too good to throw away.

So we don’t.

For years, we’ve kept our offcuts and looked for ways to give them another life.

One of the simplest became one of our favourites.

THE TATUM SCRUNCHIE

You may find a little something extra tucked into your TATUM parcel.

A scrunchie made right here in Cape Town from our leftover fabric.

There is no special fabric ordered for them. No extra production run. They exist because the fabric already existed.

And because they are made from our offcuts, yours might even match the TATUM piece you ordered.

Our TATUM babes love them. We love seeing them worn. And we especially love that something that could so easily have ended up in the bin gets to leave our studio as something useful instead.

BUT WE’RE NOT STOPPING THERE

Scrunchies only use the smaller pieces.

We still have offcuts.

In fact, we have years of them.

So we’re working on what comes next and exploring new ways to use the fabric we already have before bringing anything new into the world.

We don’t have all the answers yet.

But we do know that throwing perfectly good fabric away because it is no longer big enough to become a swimsuit isn’t one of them.

For us, slow fashion isn’t about being perfect.

It’s about making less. Making better. Using what we have. And constantly asking ourselves if there is a better way to do the next thing.

Sometimes it starts with something as small as a scrunchie.

TATUM