Daft Punk helmets, two factory visits and a wedding.
Date: March 2024
A few weeks ago, I travelled a few thousand kilometres to visit Mihir and his team at their Fairtrade factory. It was a wild trip. Touring factories and having my senses blown at Mihir’s wedding.
If you haven’t been to Delhi before, it’s a place of extremes. You can buy sparkling water from the Himalayan mountains for £6.50 and drink it on a 10 minute Uber ride that’ll set you back just 60p. Traffic is mental. Beeping is constant (and encouraged). Bikes cycle into incoming traffic down one way streets. Blatant poverty on one side of the road and high rise luxury around the corner.
We arrive at the airport at midday, get in a taxi, and the driver, who was probably in his 50s and driving a brand new hybrid SUV, took us 40 minutes into Delhi, proudly showing off pictures of his sons whilst speaking English he’d picked up from countless trips to and from Indira Gandhi International Airport.
The next day we arrive at the factory and are greeted by Tanvi (our merchandiser). Her and a colleague have laid out flowers ready to steal a trophy at the Chelsea Flower Show and have written Yes Friends in flaming hot orange and white sand. I then plant a tree (a tradition they’ve built at the solar powered factory), so we can watch it grow each time we visit over the years to come. They know how to host.
The factory is only four years old. Mihir’s Dad dreamt it up after being in the garment game for over 30 years. It’s beautiful. Red brick on the outside and an atrium, complete with water fountain, runs through the middle of the building, allowing daylight to stream in from both sides right the way down to the basement. They’ve thought about every detail. This is where Yes Friends bulk production takes place.
We start the tour on the basement floor meeting the workers who knitted our sweatshirts and fleeces. We work our way round the factory seeing master cutters and pro tailors at work. Each line of workers are making a single product, perfecting each part of their garment before handing it to the next person to work their magic, until at the end of line is a completed garment. Each one is measurement checked, ironed, loose threads cut, and packed ready to head to the other side of the world. The sheer amount of work that goes into every single product is incredible.
12:45pm hits, a bell goes, the lights turn off and everyone immediately heads to the canteen for lunch. There’s no waiting around. As it should be.
Mihir’s Mum had made us chickpea curry. Based on my very British tikka masala taste buds, I thought it would leave me in a pool of my own sweat, but was pleasantly surprised to find enough heat to keep me on my toes whilst not leaving me sitting on white porcelain for days. TMI Sam.
The next day we head to another factory. It was Mihir’s family’s first Fair Trade USA certified factory. It’s much older than the solar factory and could do with a lick of paint or two. But despite that it’s still the preferred factory by lots of workers. It’s closer to where most of them live and has better food options nearby. Some of the workers have been there for over a decade. This is the factory where Yes Friends fabric is checked-in after dyeing, patterns made and the pro tailors bring Yes Friends samples to life before bulk production.
We end the day on Mihir’s family terrace, with his Mum giving us a tour of her garden-turned-full-time-hobby of nurturing potted plants. She’s known in the family as "Delhi's Queen of Orchids". For good reason.
The whirlwind continues, as the following afternoon I’m back on the terrace. This time putting turmeric paste all over Mihir’s face as part of the wedding festival. He’s clearly hating it - and his cousin’s loving it - encouraging everyone to cover him in as much bright yellow paste as we can get our hands on. We drink wine in the sun all afternoon, and the colour of my face starts to resemble an overripe tomato.
The day after is the main wedding event. It’s non-stop dancing. Music is everywhere. Trumpets in one ear. Drums in the other. My ears were ringing after 10 minutes. The music is constantly changing. Imagine Disneyland but at a wedding.
At one point, one of the singers gets me to sing on the microphone to hundreds of guests and tells me my Hindi’s atrocious. They pass the mic to someone from Scotland and she gets slightly better treatment. There was enough food to feed a small town, open bar and just about anything you can think of, including two hype men on the club stage wearing rainbow sequin suits and Daft Punk style diamond embossed helmets, seriously.
A tradition (that we should definitely adopt in the UK), is that periodically throughout the DJ set, they would put on kids music and people would get their drink of choice and dance with it on their head. Unbelievably, there was only one smashed glass.
Here's Mihir's bride, Drishti, nailing her dance (and one of the hype men in the background).
After probably the biggest night out of my life, I slept for two hours before heading to the airport to fly back to Heathrow, my head spinning and my heart grateful for the previous few days.
Mihir and his family are running an excellent business in India. Taking serious care over what they do. Complying with the highest social and environmental certifications out there (Fairtrade, GOTS etc) and working to make their factory as sustainable as possible, recycling 100% of their water and powering 50% of the factory with solar panels. We’re really proud to be working with them.
We were also reminded of the reality that, despite all the best certifications and legal standards, garment workers still aren’t highly paid and living conditions aren’t what you or I would want. So I left knowing that what we’re doing at Yes Friends is a good thing. Giving a bonus to garment workers for every product we make, to directly increase the wages of the people making our clothes. And we know that if every other brand followed suit, we would in fact, transform the fashion industry.
Thank you so much for joining us on the journey 🧡
Sam, Director of Yes Friends
April 7th 2021
1,138 hours
Apparently, it takes 10,000 hours to become a master of something. By that definition I think most of us are masters at sleeping and eating. I’m not sure what else I can claim though.
Yes Friends has been in the making since October 2020. At the time of writing, I reckon it’s taken 1,138 hours (roughly). We’re 10% of our way to that illusive “master” status.
But in the midst of the scrappiness of start-up life, I’ve watched masters at work. They’ve been behind the digital canvas at 3am. Writing emails to countless journalists. Running around London on photoshoots. And most recently making a film.
Today, as well as launching our T-shirt campaign, we’re releasing that film.
It’s made by Zac, Ben & Gabriel. Collectively they have more experience behind the camera than most of us do breathing. And as I watched their meticulous care over each shot, I knew I was watching masters at work. Who knew it takes 2 hours to shoot 10 seconds of video?! Not me.
So here it is, a film about Yes Friends, made by masters. It marks the start of our 30 day campaign selling 3,000 T-shirts.
April 7th 2021
1,138 hours
Apparently, it takes 10,000 hours to become a master of something. By that definition I think most of us are masters at sleeping and eating. I’m not sure what else I can claim though.
Yes Friends has been in the making since October 2020. At the time of writing, I reckon it’s taken 1,138 hours (roughly). We’re 10% of our way to that illusive “master” status.
But in the midst of the scrappiness of start-up life, I’ve watched masters at work. They’ve been behind the digital canvas at 3am. Writing emails to countless journalists. Running around London on photoshoots. And most recently making a film.
Today, as well as launching our T-shirt campaign, we’re releasing that film.
It’s made by Zac, Ben & Gabriel. Collectively they have more experience behind the camera than most of us do breathing. And as I watched their meticulous care over each shot, I knew I was watching masters at work. Who knew it takes 2 hours to shoot 10 seconds of video?! Not me.
So here it is, a film about Yes Friends, made by masters. It marks the start of our 30 day campaign selling 3,000 T-shirts.
Time to resurrect my Year 5 painting skills.
A few months ago, I decided to resurrect my Year 5 paint mixing skills.
After the great controversy of Dusty vs Dusky pink, you would have thought Sage Green would have been a walk in the park. But after trekking round endless clothing stores, fabric shops and sending lab dips back and forth with our factory, we couldn’t find the colour we wanted (and you voted for) anywhere.
So after a long day of searching, I picked up some red, blue, yellow & white paint and set about making the Yes Friends Sage Green. To be totally honest, I felt slightly silly even buying the paint and thinking this could work. I mean it’s definitely not an example of industry “best practice”.
But after a few hours of failed attempts and paint everywhere, I managed to get a colour match 🎉
So being truly humble, I decided to name this colour after myself. To remember this long day. And that even when ideas sound kinda silly, they might just work.
P.S. After announcing with great fanfare our new colour, the next day I walked into a shop and found a pencil case the exact colour we were looking for 🤦♂️
So we sent it straight to our factory. They sent lab dips back. And so our sage green was born. Not sure what lesson we can learn from that. But know this, there aren't any lengths we wouldn't go to to find the right colour. Within reason...
Date: April 2023
Read time: 4 mins
We get it. Sustainable & ethical clothing brands are hard to find. Really hard. Particularly ones that don’t feel like they’re designed for your gap year or Grandma.
Before Yes Friends, I used to own a couple of shops in Bristol selling ethical & sustainable brands. So I thought I’d write a list of some of my favourites. The ones I’d tell my friends about.
Brands: Idioma, The Level Collective, Rapanui
The kings of graphic tees. If you want a sustainable tee that not only make you feel like it's the height of summer, but can also help with small talk at parties with conversation starters like "what does Bayanihan mean?" then look no further.
P.S. Bayanihan is a Filipino word which means the spirit of communal unity, work and cooperation to achieve a particular goal. We should have a word for that, any suggestions?
Brands: Hiut Denim, Nudie Jeans, Kyuchi Denim
Hiut make their jeans in a small town in Wales called Cardigan. Despite the name, Cardigan’s trade used to be denim. Then one day the factory closed. Claire and David Hieatt are on a mission to get their town making jeans again.
I don’t know the story of Nudie, but I do know that like Yes Friends they’re working on a scheme to increase their garment workers wages. That’s rare in the fashion industry. They’re doing a really good thing.
Brands: Lucy & Yak
Lucy & Yak are famous (in some circles) for their dungarees. I used to have them in store. People loved them. They would walk past, say ooooooo look at those, walk in and pick up the dungas straight away. But what I love most about this brand, is back when they were first agreeing prices with their tailor, he gave them a quote and they got back to him and said they’d pay him three times higher. That never happens in the fashion industry.
Brands: KnowledgeCotton Apparel & JAN ’N JUNE & Brava Fabrics
Brands for when you need to dress up (a little). Personal opinion - Knowledge make excellent shirts. The fabrics are lush. That's hard to tell from the website, but when you get them on, you won't want to take them off.
Brands: Patagonia, Finisterre, Girlfriend Collective, needessentials
The legends of ourdoor and sportswear. If you want leggings that won’t make your bottom look like you've aged 50 years after 3 washes, then head to Girlfriend Collective.
And if you’re into embracing the sea during winter, then needessentials make Fair Trade certified, sustainable wetsuits at a fraction of the cost of other brands. They're kinda like Yes Friends for wetsuits.
Brands: Brava Fabrics, Dedicated, Lucy & Yak, Colorful Standard
If you find yourself in the mood for bright colours and bold patterns tap on the brands above.
Brands: A-dam, Pico, Hara, Yes Friends, Organic Basics
Whatever shape or size you are, these lot will keep you covered (pun intended).
Brands: Pala, Ace & Tate, Colorful Standard & Finlay & Co.
Above are a few brands who have started working with bio-acetate for their sunglasses. One brand that stands out is PALA. They're on a mission to support the hundreds of millions of people who are unable to access the eye-care they need. So for every pair of glasses they sell, they donate to World Vision.
Brands: Wild Fawn Jewellery
If you want minimalist, recycled jewellery that is handmade in London - Wild Fawn is your new best friend.
Sometimes those sustainable white chinos you've been searching for seem as elusive as meeting your vegan soulmate at a steakhouse. When that happens, here's what to do.
1. Message us and ask us to make it, we'll add it to our list of future products.
2. Head to Good On You to find the best ethical alternatives out there.
3. Head to the charity shops and second-hand stores.
We know that ethical clothing is often more expensive than the high street. That's why we launched Yes Friends - to make ethical clothing affordable.
We're on a mission to make the hottest collection of sustainable & ethical clothing on the internet. If you head to the bottom of our collection pages you can see what we've been working on and vote for your favourites.
Together, let's transform the fashion industry 🧡
Sam & The Yes Friends Team