Journal

Last weekend, we took advantage of the nice weather and hit the woods and the streets to capture a couple of kids at play in Jackalo. The photographer, Maria Dawlat, was amazing and captured such beautiful moments of play (where the kids actually did put the pants to the test!) My pictures hardly do it justice, but soon enough I'll have some of Maria's great images to share with you. 

So here's a quick behind the scenes teaser of the shoot. I hope you enjoy and I can't wait to share the professional shots with you all!

Finding the right fabrics for the first season of Jackalo has been a bit of a journey. I’ve settled on a premium, highly traceable organic cotton, but it took a while for me to get there. Here’s why…

When I began thinking about the first pair of pants I’d develop, I was stuck on technical fabrics. These are the fabrics used in mountaineering, climbing and the like. I even went to the biggest fashion trade show in Europe and focused exclusively on the technical fabrics section. I was, admittedly, wowed by the performance capabilities.

I noticed however, that a lot of the technical fabric manufacturers rely on synthetic fibers. More often than not, these fibers are sourced from non-renewable resources. For example, polyester is a petroleum product. And all of these synthetics shed very small particles when you wash them—often referred to as microplastics—that end up in our food systems (and ps- I’m doubting they are tested for food safety!)

As you may have read in one of the past posts, there’s so much innovation happening in the world of fabrics right now. There are creative means of recycling fibers and plastics into new fabrics and high-tech production of highly sustainable materials. I’m a firm believer that all of this creative thinking is critical to bringing fashion into a new era that is more conscious of the impact it has on the environment.

But for now, I have concerns about these microplastics in our oceans. I ultimately felt like I needed to see more progress on solutions to that problem before I could use a polyester (even a recycled one) in our products. One day I hope that technology for keeping these plastics out of our waterways improves to that I might incorporate these recycle fibers in our clothes. But for now, I felt like I need to start elsewhere.

I thought a lot about a conversation I’d had with my brother. We talked about old-fashioned work clothes—the denim coverall that every farmer wore—and how those provided great durability but, initially, not-so-great comfort. I began to think that with the right woven cotton I could achieve both durability and comfort, without having to rely on synthetic materials.

With my focus narrowed to natural fibers, I found that the next challenge was traceability. Where does the fabric come from? Who made it? How were they treated in the production? Even if you get an organic fabric, employment standards are different everywhere and it can be hard to determine if the workers were treated fairly. So for me, that meant that not all organic or sustainable options are created equal and I couldn’t just pick any organic product off the shelf. I had to find one with the highest certification level and a commitment to transparency.

In months of searching, I was lucky enough to come across a textile manufacturer in Germany that produces only high-quality, fully traceable, cotton with the highest level of organic certification (IVN Best) and Fair for Life fair trade certification. So for me, this is the proverbial fabric jackpot. In the samples, the fabrics look great, feel super strong, wash wonderfully, and are soft enough for kiddos.

I can’t wait for you to see how they look!

More soon,
Marianna

Last I wrote on the process, I was anticipating my trip to Portugal to meet with my manufacturers and see the samples. I was seriously nervous about a hundred different things in this trip. Would the samples look good? Would they fit well? Would the factory conditions be good? Would I feel confident about the people I was working with? And under each of these big questions, were lots of little related questions.

Amazingly (and luckily!) the trip was a success across the board. The people helping to get this brand off the ground are lovely. They are family businesses, working together to make an honest living and to create quality employment in their communities. The factory was safe, clean, and well organized. The women and men with decades of experience in clothing manufacturing demonstrated great care in how the products are made, and are constantly innovating. As I brought up my focus on environmental sustainability, I was pleased to see how much they were already doing and that they were totally supportive of my unusual requests (like saving and setting aside any larger scraps or imperfect fabric.)

Then the samples--each one was beautifully constructed and the fabrics looked great. Since I wasn’t about to take my son out of school for three days to come with me (maybe next time), I hired a fit model to try on all of the samples. Eight-year-old Pedro looked great in the samples, and handled my detail-oriented questions with grace. Were they easy to put on? How do the pockets feel? Are they comfortable when you sit down? Which style do you like the best? And the look of glee on his face as dove into the Dutch stroopkoekjes I brought was priceless. (BTW, in the pic at the top he is wearing the Jackalo coverall.)

With all of the travel time, I was only able to have one day to do all of the things I needed to do. It was packed, but wonderful. I returned home, with a huge to do list, and a pile of samples to measure and test. I’ve spent the last few days huddled over the samples measuring each and every detail and preparing lists of changes (which I’m look minor at this point) and planning out the next steps for launch. Lots to do!

Thank you all so much for your support and willingness to spread the word. I so appreciate every email you’ve sent to friends and share on Instagram.

In the words of my old boss Andy, “Onward!”

Best,
Marianna

Happy Spring! Across the interwebs this month mending experts are showing off their skills and inspiring others to fix their clothes using the hashtag #mendmarch. Just as we get excited for new plant growth in the Spring, now's the perfect time to put some new life in your worn out clothes (or help your kids pants make it the last few weeks or months to shorts weather!) At special request from one of my followers on Instagram, I'm putting together a quick list of some great resources for those new to mending. And a little word to the wise, the old adage "a stitch in time saves nine" is actually quite true! It is much easier to repair something that is threadbare or has a tiny hole, than to repair a large gash! So get that mending pile started and dig in.

Sashiko/Boro

Every week, I’m shocked at the size of our pile of plastics to be recycled. Mountains of milk cartons, pasta containers, and cheese wrappers. As a family of four with varying tastes, we produce a lot of waste. Here in the Netherlands, so much can be recycled. But that doesn’t make our mountain of waste any less disturbing. I find I often use convenience and our kids as an excuse to be wasteful--if we weren’t running after a toddler and a big kid we’d do things differently, if we weren’t two working parents we’d have more time to make more and buy less.

Inspired by the movie River Blue, which details the catastrophic impact fashion has on the environment and my sister-in-law’s own efforts to reduce her family’s waste, I convinced my husband and older son to go plastic-free for the month of February (the little guy just got taken along for the ride.) We knew we couldn’t be perfect--we excused the cartons of milk (dairy and non) and the critical coffee (no paper-bag coffee around here!) and accepted that our scheduled weekend of travel wouldn’t be perfect. From there, we proceeded to dive into a month of plastic-free living as an experiment in habit-development and a means of assessing where we could reduce in the long term. We definitely faced a lot of challenges along the way and found some ways we could make lasting changes. Here’s what we found:

 Challenges

• Location. Our part of the Netherlands doesn't have lovely bulk foods areas in super markets that we were used to in the States or the emerging Zero Waste aisles that are becoming popular elsewhere. So all of the dry staples we rely on (beans, rice, nuts, and dried fruit) are cased in plastic, even at eco markets.

• Super markets coat almost all produce in plastic. I understand that they want the food to last longer (à la Trader Joe’s in the states) but I really, really missed lettuce (which is impossible to find without a plastic bag in the winter.)

• Food delivery is a huge culprit. Grocery delivery is a major sources of plastic waste in our house. We found that giving up grocery delivery meant we were able to make more conscious choices with our food purchases.

• Convenience foods are another culprit for waste. Our kids do love a veggie nugget and tofu crumble and we all love the “night off” we get from the occasional take-out order, but most convenience foods come in plastic (minus pizza. Thank GOD for pizza). So we said goodbye to them for the month and got ok with a little bit of additional cooking. Homemade tortillas were a ton of fun to do as a family but also more work than it is worth doing on a regular basis. Granola on the other hand, is so damn easy that it seems insane to buy the stuff. That said, as the primary cook in our house and a staunch feminist, I felt really burdened by the added work of avoiding the convenience foods. Yeah, I do love cooking, but I want it to be on my terms. 

Outcomes we can maintain

• This effort prompted me to look into a delivery service that could accommodate no/low-plastic (especially on produce where it really isn't necessary if you are buying fresh.) I’m excited to move from supporting a big grocery store chain to a small entrepreneur who works directly with local farmers. Back in the US, I always subscribed to Community Supported Agriculture programs, and this is the equivalent--it positively impacts local farmers and reduces waste dramatically. Win-win.

• Discovering all of the farmers markets and farm stores. Our city only operates farmers markets during the week so discovering the "far" farmers market in Liege that is open on the Sundays was a huge win. Yes, it is a bit farther, but it is beautiful and has all of the produce and cheeses you could want.

• Milk taps! While my husband and I don’t drink cows milk regularly, our kids do and our family loves yogurt. With a little searching, I found out that lots of farms across the Netherlands have “milk taps”--self-serve, cold milk vending machines where you can buy by the liter, using your own containers. This milk is very cheap (comparable to conventional milk at the supermarket) and organic, unpasteurized, and unhomoginized. For the little guys, I’d scald the milk to kill any potential bacteria or make it into fresh yogurt. Next time, I’ll make it into ricotta or even try my hand at mozzarella-making.

• Bread is super easy to do zero waste. With your own bag you can get fresh bread from bakers or the bakery section of the grocery store. But if you want to take it to the next level, making your own bread is really easy and sooo much better than store-bought. I’m a big fan of the Artisan Bread in 5-minutes a Day approach that my mom introduced me to years ago. By keeping a huge bin of dough in your fridge, you can just pull off a chunk and cook it every day. It really does take about 5 minutes a day to do this, and it feels so nice in the winter to have the smells of fresh-baked bread swirling through your home.

• Bringing our own produce/bread bags to the store. This is the easiest win. We avoid a lot of plastic by just bringing our own small bags for produce and bread. Apples, pears, bananas, and citrus are almost always available without plastic wrapping. For berries, we’ll just have to wait until they are in season at the farmers market and bring our own containers or buy frozen which are generally available in recyclable paper boxes here. Seasonal is better, anyways!

• We will keep talking about waste and making conscious choices. This is a huge outcome for us. This effort got our eight-year-old thinking so much more about the waste he produces. He turns off the lights more and takes pride in thinking of the ways he can consume less. He understands more clearly that a little effort can have a big impact.

So, while we aren’t going to be as stringent as we were for the month of February, I’d say the experiment was worth-while. Yesterday I noticed that the groceries my husband picked up that evening after work were pretty solidly plastic-free. Our 28 days seems to have created a bit of a new habit--thinking more carefully about the choices we make when it comes to plastic. And to me, that’s a really important outcome. What do you think? Could your family commit to being plastic-free for a month? Where could you make lasting changes to reduce your plastic waste?

Favorite recipes from our plastic-free experiment:

• Artisan bread in 5-minutes a day. This book is worth getting and for those that are gluten-free, they have a book geared to that need as well.

• Easy Healthy Homemade Granola. This recipe is really easy to iterate from. We did a version with no nuts, so our kid could bring cereal to school (which he loves.)

• Homemade Tortillas. Go easy on the oil or you end up with more of a fry-bread (which is also good, but not a tortilla!)

Hey folks!

I just wanted to share a quick update on where things are with Jackalo™. As I’m sure you know, starting a clothing line is a serious challenge, even for someone with years of experience in the fashion industry. But I’m 100% an outsider. So what’s that like for someone like me? Hard. But luckily, I’m a super nerd. 🤓 I love to learn about every detail of design, production and why the fashion industry has oh-so-many problems. The more I learn, the more I hone my vision for how Jackalo™ will be a different company: a company that cares about the impact our clothes have and makes it easier for parents to clothe their kids without guilt.

So, a lot of what has been happening is research and learning from peers. Research on materials, suppliers, and working conditions. Research to understand who is doing fashion well, and how I can learn lessons from them. I’ve been connecting with others who are starting fashion lines, people who have been there before, and experts who can point me in the right direction.

But alongside this research and connecting has been a ton of creation. Over the summer I had two styles in development and samples made of both of them. Our tester-in-chief, my eight-year-old Elias, has been wearing his Jackalo™ pants frequently and putting them to the test on the playground and on the road (see above pic of him sporting them during our travels this past December in Thailand.) So far the results are good. I’ve tweaked the original styles and now have five more styles that are in the works. Patterns and samples are being made. And I’m getting seriously excited to see how they look, what’s working and what needs to change.

I also *think* I’ve nailed down my fabric. (Don’t want to speak too soon. Fingers crossed it looks great and wears well in the samples!) The process of picking a fabric was its own long story, which I’ll save for another day.

So, more to come!

Thanks so much for your support,
Marianna

Fashion bloggers and street style mavens the world over have extolled the virtues of mixing high and low, designer clothes with main stream and thrift items. And when it comes to kids’ clothes, style has made big strides, with fashionable choices available at democratic prices at Old Navy, Target, etc. But the sad fact is, most of the “fast” or “low-end” fashion comes at a very high cost to our environment. Think petroleum-based fabric blends that end up in landfills after the cheap fabrics give way, toxic dyes that end up polluting waterways and reservoirs, and opaque operations that mask shady workplace practices and unfair compensation.

What’s more, the global mindset about the acceptability of fast fashion means that people keep their clothes for shorter periods than ever before...by some estimates, only six months. And for growing kids, it’s probably even less (though we can’t find any since to back that up! Just a parent’s intuition.) The concepts of mending and making do are largely fossils of a bygone era, before you could wander onto the Internet at 3 a.m. and order up a storm to replace whatever’s frayed, torn, or just not “working” anymore.

Here at Jackalo, we refuse to succumb to this consumerist apathy. We live in the most technologically advanced times in the world, with staggering global problems to solve. The potential to solve some of them--through fashion, yes--inspires us. The advances being made in fabric science means that clothing can be durable and stylish--even when worn by hard-playing, dirt-loving kiddos. In addition, there is a new generation of companies out there leading the way using transparent practices, with emphasis on responsible sourcing, creative reuse, and human dignity.  In the words of Tim Gunn, we want to find ways to have it all and “make it work.”

We love to hear about what other companies are doing to find solutions for us all, and here are some of the ones that have inspired us:

MUD Jeans not only fall well below the price range of most other designer denim, but come in the most au courant styles and washes. We are besotted with them, not only because they offer a unique “leasing” program, but because of their association with Spanish denim superstar Royo Textiles, which uses recycled and organic cotton in their denim and has a strong commitment to the environment and social responsibility. (Photo credit: @MUDjeans)

While Jackalo forms relationships with suppliers of sustainable fabrics, we’d love to hear about any companies that you think have values that align with ours. We’re all about getting out and exploring, whether it be a new park or a new idea, so share yours with us. Shoot us an email at hello@hellojackalo.com.

Hey, I’m Marianna,  founder of Jackalo. I’m a maker, a mother, an ideas person, and a professional problem-solver. I’m that friend who knits sweaters, makes kombucha, and, in my career, ponders solutions to global public health challenges. Just over a year ago, we packed up our belongings and moved from Philadelphia to the Netherlands, so that my husband could start a new job helping to grow the solar business of a Dutch company. This change gave us all the opportunity to explore more and, for me, the opportunity to make a big change with my career and to finally start the company we had been planning.

Like many parents, I’ve been increasingly frustrated by the quality of children’s clothing. I get that some parents have kids who never get dirty, who love to sit and play quietly: those kids with the perfect Peter Pan collar and knee-high socks, who sit patiently and quietly at the dinner table at a fancy restaurant with their parents. I do not have that kid. My son is the one running wild at the playground, climbing every tree, and plotting backyard camping adventures. My husband and I are the parents with a “bag o’ tricks” to get through a dinner out-—lots to draw, quiet games to play, and the “divide and conquer” strategy, where  one of us goes exploring with the kiddo until the food arrives (gifting the other parent with a rare peaceful moment to sip some wine, alone with her thoughts.)

So, as the mom of an active kid, I’m more than familiar with the destruction a kid can inflict on their clothes. Our boy routinely rips his pants and wipes peanut butter on them. He can’t stand stiff or structured clothes that hold him back. I’ve looked everywhere for his new favorite pants, , but found that nothing fits the bill—cheap or spendy. Sure, it’s easy to find sweatpants, but those rarely last long. And most troubling,  how do I know that the clothes weren’t produced by children, or in a environment-destroying factory? The fashion industry is notoriously dirty and cloaked in mystery.

After years of being annoyed at the developing holes, getting frustrated at the mounting pile of patches to sew,  and  feeling defeated ahead of “The Great Annual Chop-off” (where his ripped up winter pants become a fresh crop of summer shorts) I decided who better to find a solution to this problem than a parent who likes to make things and (ahem) solve problems?

We now have two kids, but the other one is too small to do much damage other than spit-up and sweet potato stains.  Because the older one was so hard on his clothes, we are short on hand-me-downs for his little brother. A small one in need of pants is a great motivator for me to start fresh and do better this time around—for both of my boys.  I don’t have formal experience in fashion, but frankly, most of the folks making clothes for children don’t have formal experience in children.

So with some study and support from the right people (my fashion industry insider peeps) I am assembling a team to make better kids’ pants, and to do it mindfully.  I hope you’ll follow along in our process and enjoy our updates. And as a problem solver, I always want to know your pain-points with your kids’ clothing. Whether it be by email or Instagram or blog comments, I want to hear from you, so join our conversation and help us tailor Jackalo to all families’ needs.

Hugs,
Marianna