Twin sisters Lindsay and Alexandra Lorusso grew up with front-row seats on waste management — their father is a co-owner of Canadian company Wasteco. This gave them an insider’s view into textile waste, and they decided to do something about it. In 2016, the pair started their clothing line Nudnik.
Why did you decide to start a children’s clothing line?
Lindsay had her first child when the idea for Nudnik was conceived, and it seemed like a natural fit to utilize offcut fabrics — which are a byproduct of major apparel manufacturing and oftentimes smaller in size — for kidswear. Offcut fabrics almost always end up in landfill, and the fashion industry creates enough of them annually to give every person on Earth six new T-shirts every year.
Where do you source the fabric for Nudnik pieces?
We are global waste chasers. To create a product made from waste at a reasonable scale, we have to find a large enough volume of a consistent type of textile waste. We source organic cotton, pre-consumer (never been worn), cutting waste (offcut fabrics) and transform it into our kidswear. We engineer our patterns to utilize the cutting waste to the best of its ability. Our threads and trims are diverted from waste also.
What should consumers know about the textile waste epidemic?
Consumers should be aware of the impact the fast fashion industry has on the planet. The resources used and the waste generated is truly astronomical. In our opinion, in the most sustainable closet is a mix of thrift, swap finds and sustainable brands.
Are Nudnik pieces made in Toronto?
Our past capsule collections were, but the stream of textile waste sourced locally was fractured, so we chased the waste and now make our kids’ “Disruptor” tee overseas, with cutting waste that’s abundant as a result of fast fashion.
Do you have plans to expand the brand?
Our big picture idea has always been to create a diverse range of products from waste, and we have some exciting things up our sleeves that we can’t wait to fold out in 2020.
