ARKET Children Everyday basics designed to be shared
Designing for longevity is key to reducing the footprint of our clothes and everyday items, which is why we have made timelessness and long-lasting quality the foundation of our design aesthetic as well as our sustainability approach. The longer you can keep and use a product, and the more people who share its benefits, the smaller the overall impact on the environment.
Creating a collection of actually sustainable children’s products is challenging. A typical child grows through eight sizes in the first two years of its life, and on average, their parents buy around 280 pieces of clothing during this time – most of which are only used for a few months, or even less. To be able motivate the use of resources required to make these products, we need to design our childrenswear with a longer-term horizon in mind. Each of our garments is carefully made to be used and loved for a long time, and then handed down when outgrown. To make our products easier to share with other families, they are mostly unisex and consciously designed with a classic expression that transcends short-lived trends.
Sustainable everyday basics
Many of our team are parents themselves and share a dedication to developing practical products that endure and enhance the lifestyle of curious children. We also feel a genuine responsibility to contribute to a better future for our children. The foundation of the children’s collection is a gender-neutral assortment of functional, practical and comfortable wardrobe basics for year-round everyday wear. Soft bodysuits, leggings, tops and cardigans for the youngest ones and an array of durable denim and colourful jersey sets for kids age 2 to 10. The products are nearly exclusively made from sustainably sourced materials such as organic cotton, responsible wool and recycled down and polyester.
Hand down when outgrown
We encourage all our customers to gift used ARKET products to family and friends, resell them online or donate to charity shops to prolong the life of used garments. To make it easy and convenient to swap outgrown clothes for larger sizes, we are also offering a wide selection of our childrenswear for rent in partnership with the Circos online shop.
The Long-term impact of responsible design
design Creating something new and making claims on our shared resources comes with the responsibility to leave a positive contribution to the community, says our Head of Design for Childrenswear, Elisabet Holmström.
'Active and deliberate choices in the design process can make a change. These choices are as much about not doing certain things, not going down certain paths. I think this is especially true when designing for children. I had been working in commercial fashion for a long time, so when I became a mother myself, I really felt I wanted to make kids’ clothes that are free of stereotypes.'
Elisabet Holmström
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