Rachel founded The Sustainable Sequin Company in 2018 to supply the fashion industry with sustainable embellishments, provide design and sampling services, and offer sustainable textile consultancy.
Since then, she has created sequins for a large variety of global brands, independent designers, students and artists.
Current Products and Services
At The Sustainable Sequin Company, we pride ourselves on taking strides towards a more eco-conscious future. Currently, we work with sequin film that comprises 20% recycled PET and 80% virgin polyester. While this is not yet perfect, it represents a significant step in the right direction as we continue to seek even more sustainable alternatives.
Why choose our 20% rPET sequins?
- Preservation of Non-Renewable Resources: By incorporating recycled plastic, we contribute to the conservation of non-renewable fossil fuels.
- Reduced Environmental Impact: The use of recycled materials leads to decreased energy requirements during manufacture, resulting in lower emissions.
- Landfill Space Conservation: Our commitment to recycling means less waste in landfills and a reduction in toxic pollutants from incineration.
- PVC-Free: Conventional synthetic sequins often contain PVC (a known carcinogen), our sequins don't!
Crafted in the UK, tailored for you
Our sequins are punched or cut to order in the UK. This blend of traditional punched production and advanced digital cutting helps us avoid overproduction, reducing waste and minimising our environmental footprint. Whether you're an independent designer seeking a few grams or a large fashion brand in need of kilograms, we offer a range of quantities to meet your requirements.
Choose from an extensive array of shapes, sizes, colors, and finishes in loose sequins for hand application, or opt for sequins on the spool for digital production.
Collaborate with Rachel for custom designs and sustainable consultancy
Looking for something truly one-of-a-kind? Rachel specialises in crafting custom-designed sequins and swatches tailored to your precise specifications. She can also advise on the most efficient use of materials and complete sampling work.
In addition to our sequins, we offer sustainable textile consultancy services for brands and designers seeking to align with eco-friendly practices. For more information, please don't hesitate to get in touch.
First Bioplastic Trials
Rachel has always loved textiles; studying for a degree in embroidery before working as a print and embroidery swatch designer, embroidery technician and sustainable fashion tutor. Her interest in sequins blossomed whilst studying for an MA in Fashion and the Environment at London College of Fashion in 2012.
Rachel created naturally coloured biobased polymer sequins during her research-led, material-focussed MA. These sequins were developed in response the short lifetimes of fast fashion garments, and were designed to dissolve after a few wears, releasing natural dye to colour the fabric and creating a 'new' version of the garment.
Research and Development
Since completing her MA, Rachel has worked with fantastic partners to pioneer the development of biodegradable, commercially viable, washable sequins made from natural materials. Collaborations with the BioComposites Centre at Bangor University, and then the University of Leeds - supported by an Innovate UK Sustainable Innovation Fund project - paved the way. Currently, Rachel is working closely with the Royal College of Art, the University of Leeds and the University of Bradford on an AHRC-supported Future Fashion Factory project to perfect biodegradable sequins.
Why biobased + biodegradable sequins?
Biobased sequins, crafted from natural sources, offer a world of advantages over their synthetic counterparts. They represent a significant step towards a more sustainable sequin industry. Advantages include:
- Renewable Source
- Reduced Carbon Footprint
- Biodegradability
- Reduced Dependency on Fossil Fuels
- Reduced Pollution
- Potential for Closed-Loop Systems
- Promotion of Circular Economy
Pioneering Sustainable Sequins at Scale
At The Sustainable Sequin Company, we're dedicated to achieving maximum sparkle with minimal environmental impact. We're committed to creating plastic-free sequins that not only dazzle but also perform flawlessly, and can biodegrade gracefully at the end of their life cycle.
Having successfully produced biobased, biodegradable sequins at a laboratory scale, we're now embarking on the scaling-up process. This breakthrough in creating sequin film from renewable, biodegradable resources signifies a significant reduction in fossil fuel consumption and the associated greenhouse gas emissions. Would you like to join us in forging a more sustainable industry and a healthier planet?