TOTEME is a Swedish fashion house founded on the principles of minimalism, long-standing style, meticulous craftsmanship and methodic repetition. We craft modern classics with purpose, occasion and longevity in mind – each piece is made to last and be cherished, and each collection seen as an opportunity to build on our existing offering and perfect our styles.
We are committed to establishing TOTEME as a brand that inspires customers and brands to make decisions that benefit, as opposed to harm, people, animals and the environment.
The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and our collaborations with leading industry organizations inform our sustainability pillars of design, planet and community as well as our environmental, social and governance (ESG) framework.
We plan to meet our goals by learning continuously from industry developments, creating targeted key performance indicators (KPIs), policies, audits, training and workshops, improving our accountability and transparency, and partnering with the right suppliers and organizations to craft high-quality, lasting pieces in safe and fair conditions.
TOTEME stands for style, purpose and quality. We take a curated approach to creating long-lasting, trans-seasonal pieces considering function and occasion, attention to detail and materials, and social and environmental impact. We believe in offering a streamlined wardrobe that is upgraded and complemented as opposed to reinvented, and present our collections through styling that expresses their full potential to encourage the TOTEME customer to buy better and less, and wear more.
Our longstanding Signatures are unmistakably TOTEME: they have a classic expression and a clear purpose in our wardrobe. Whether it is a tank, trench or flip-flop, we strive to make the best wardrobe archetypes by tweaking and perfecting them over time through improved materials and manufacturing techniques.
One of our priorities is to make quality pieces in consideration of the environment and animals. We are continuously improving our practices and joining forces with key organizations that can help us minimize our impact on the planet. All our suppliers are required to follow the requirements outlined in a contract named Sustainability Commitment as well as any of our policies that are relevant to them.
To bring down our carbon footprint, we have a few initiatives in place. First, we are reducing air freight as well as running our premises on renewable energy and encouraging our suppliers to follow suit. Second, we are working on consuming less water in our production and carrying out regular risk assessments to check for harmful chemicals. Third, are minimizing waste in our premises and supplier facilities – for instance, we have incorporated CLO technology to avoid sample overproduction. By 2030, we plan to reduce greenhouse emissions by 42% and eliminate hazardous chemicals from our supply chain.
As stated in our Animal Welfare Policy, we forbid the mistreatment of animals at any stage of our supply chain and ask our suppliers to follow the United Kingdom’s 2006 Animal Welfare Act. We additionally follow the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to ensure that we do not use materials from exotic or endangered species. As members of Fur Free Retailer, we do not use fur in our collections.
As part of our efforts to reduce our carbon footprint, 95% of our fabrics and yarns are sourced from the same location as the factory that will use them.
We mostly use preferred fibers, which are natural, organic, recycled, fast-renewing or biodegradable fibers whose production helps create better environmental or social conditions. For example, 6% of our fibers are recycled, 73% of our wool is Responsible Wool Standard-certified and 81% of our cotton is organic. In 2021/2022 we increased our use of preferred fibers from 15% to 46% and currently 73% of our fibers are preferred. By 2025 we aim to only use preferred mate
Animal welfare
Chemicals
Environment
Minerals
Sustainability commitment
Travel
The Chemicals Group
Swedish Textile Initiative for Climate Action (STICA)
Textile Exchange
Leather Working Group (LWG)
Fur Free Retailer
Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)
Global Recycled Standard (GRS)
Leather Working Group (LWG)
Organic Content Standard (OCS)
Recycled Claim Standard (RCS)
Responsible Animal Fiber Standard (RAF)
