Sustainability Efforts

On Slowness & Sustainability

Saqhoute is a slow fashion brand built in the pillars of capsule wardrobes, artisanry & craftsmanship and 0-waste. To circumvent the challenge of finding local 100% sustainable fabrics, Saqhoute builds its capsule collections based on deadstock material and natural-fabric dominant material. No fabric goes to waste in post-production through the use of fabric scraps in finishing and trimmings, producing limited stock, incorporating custom-made as a service, and donating any additional material to non-profit organisations in need of fabric waste for their own production. In addition, Saqhoute chooses to focus on using hand-embroidery to keep the craft and skill alive while reinforcing the notion of slow production to honour the craftswomen and men behind the man working on each of our garments one piece at a time and refraining from mass-producing.

Saqhoute is a founding member of the Sustainable Fashion Alliance MENA (founded in 2021), a group of fashion designers, brand owners, stylists and industry players who are passionate about sustainability from a social, cultural and environmental aspect. The alliance offers a platform to share ideas, concepts, discuss and collaborate towards projects & events that educate and raise awareness around sustainability in fashion. The SFA MENA was launched in 2021 and participated in or organised four different events that included talks, workshops, movie screenings and interactive discussions alongside the following partners: Passion Magazine, Greenish Festival, D-Caf, Creative Industry Summit. Founding members of the SFA MENA are: Fashion Revolution Egypt, Nadine Chamaa Designs, Oriental Hybrid, Saqhoute, Scarabaeus Sacer, Subtle Style, Upfuse

On Giving Back

We are currently working on SAQCause, a continuous give-back initiative where we donate a percentage of our proceeds to various local charitable initiatives. SAQCause was piloted in May 2020, with a giveback programme to the Egyptian Food Bank, where 25% of proceeds throughout the month of Ramadan were donated to alleviate the repercussions of COVID-19. We are currently setting up SAQCause to have a permanent giveback line with certain products’ proceeds being continuously donated to relevant charitable initiatives and organisations.  

Another pillar of giving back, is bringing awareness to our audience by providing information on sustainability from a fashion supply chain perspective, how Saqhoute fits within the larger sustainability umbrella as a slow & ethical fashion brand, as well as providing guidance on how to become a more conscious fashion consumer. In April 2020, we launched the Capsule Wardrobe Challenge (CWC), where we engaged with audience members across two weeks, to start decluttering, organising, mending, donating and getting better acquainted with their wardrobes in an effort to help them reduce their consumption. We are currently working on turning the CWC as a permanent resource on our website, where our audience members are able to refer to it and use it repeatedly.

The Triple Bottom Line

Saqhoute is continuously working on achieving 100% sustainability in the use of its fabrics with the aim of upholding the driving force behind it, namly the triple bottom line of building an ethical business catering to the planet, people and profit. We practice radical transparency in communicating what our clothing pieces are made out of and are active in making better fabric selections for each collection. Our target is to achieve 100% sustainable and/or deadstock fabric use by 2025.