Kaly Ora × hub.brussels × Tapio: a unique design combining sustainable fashion and climate expertise

In recent years, fashion has hit the headlines for its impact on the environment and on people. Fortunately, some businesses in the sector are not afraid to innovate and show their commitment to reducing their impact. Kaly Ora is one of them.

”Doing fashion differently”

Kaly Ora is a Belgian brand of eco-friendly swimwear and homewear founded by Flore Carlier and Trang Nguyen. The project was born under the Thai sun following an awareness of the impact of the fashion industry on the environment and on the treatment of workers. The two co-founders had a goal: to do things better and differently.

Kaly Ora’s first collection is made up of pieces made from recycled plastic waste from the oceans — mainly fishing nets. To guarantee a product that respects the environment and people, Kaly Ora uses the highest quality ECONYL® regenerated nylon yarn. It favours collaboration with workshops, not industries, and is part of a transparent economic and inclusive system.

The decarbonation coaching adventure

As a sustainable brand, it was important for Kaly Ora to know where and how to act to reduce its carbon footprint and ensure more transparency towards its customers. In 2022, the company was selected with five other startups to participate in a decarbonisation coaching conducted by June Van Veer (hub.brussels) and Tapio.

Results analysis

Kaly Ora has carried out a complete carbon report (scopes 1, 2 and 3), from production to the end of its products’ life, including logistics. As Kaly Ora does not have any offices, vehicles or warehouses, its entire carbon report is made up exclusively of indirect emissions under scope 3.

Transport by air currently accounts for the largest share of Kaly Ora’s emissions (28% = 4.08 tonnes). For Flore Carlier, reducing the carbon footprint will depend on the choice and location of suppliers and the products used. In this sense, Kaly Ora intends to make significant changes:

• One example is the transfer of production from Bali to their much closer workshop in Turkey.
• Another notable change is the company’s intention to reduce emissions from upstream logistics by favouring road transport over air transport.

The main sources of emissions:

1. Products and services — mainly the materials needed to make the different parts.
2. Logistics — the aircraft accounts for almost 98% of emissions from this driver.
3. Mobility — the plane represents 99% of emissions linked to mobility, mainly due to travel to visit suppliers abroad.

Solutions

Once Kaly Ora’s impact had been calculated, Tapio set about developing reduction scenarios and calculating the reduction potential for each action. In the future, the company plans to increase the number of products sold from 2,450 in 2022 to 7,100 by 2032 — while reducing the amount of emissions per thousand products sold by 57% (from 6 tonnes of CO₂e to 2.6 tonnes).

1. Mobility

To achieve these goals, Tapio suggested the company replace air travel of less than 1,000 km or reduce air travel to Turkey. The solution would be to send the materials directly to Belgium rather than travelling to see them.

2. Logistics

In terms of upstream logistics, Tapio suggested replacing the Asian supplier with a European supplier:

• Supply distance divided by 5, footprint reduced by 9.2 tCO₂e.
• Replacing half of air travel by train via the Belgian rail freight company Lineas would reduce Kaly Ora’s footprint by 1.1 tCO₂e.
• For downstream logistics: deliveries using more environmentally friendly modes such as bicycles or electric vehicles, especially for the last mile (e.g. urbike).

What’s next

Now that it is aware of its impact, the next challenge for Kaly Ora is to engage all of its suppliers and customers by communicating on its reduction strategy and targets via the Tapio tool. Including all stakeholders in its reduction strategy, even if it means asking them for data on their carbon emissions.

For Flore Carlier, the most striking result of the adventure remains the carbon footprint of photo shoots and personal travel to visit suppliers. As she says, this step is essential to understand where to act and the right actions to take.