We know that we’re only at the tip of the iceberg of making sustainable changes to our business and recognise that becoming more sustainable is a journey not a destination. We are focused on becoming the most responsible version of ourselves and are committed to achieving our constantly evolving sustainability goals.  

Materials

We don’t want to be known as another PU brand, because we’re not. Many of our designs are made using recycled or alternative sustainable materials and this number is increasing each collection. Our aim is to fully eliminate virgin materials for our handbags and only work with ethical or post-consumer recycled fabrics. We’re introducing new fabrics every year, here are a few we’re working with now:

RECYCLED PU	RECYCLED COTTON CANVAS	RECYCLED NYLON
Recycled PU is created from a mix of post and pre-consumer polyester and polyurethane (PU).  How it is made: Unused PU and Polyester materials are broken down mechanically  >  The polymers are reprocessed and mixed with PU to make the new PU material. Recycled PU reduces waste, carbon emissions and landfill.	Recycled Cotton Canvas is a mix of pre-consumer cotton and textiles leftover from production. How it is made: Unused fabrics are collected from factories and textiles mills  >  Threads are deconstructed from the fabric and spun into yarn with pre-consumer cotton >  The yarn is woven. Recycled Cotton Canvas is used in the lining of majority of our products. Recycled Cotton Canvas reduces, landfill, carbon emissions and  soil degradation.	Recycled Nylon is made from post industrial fibre, discards from weaving mills and post-consumer fishing nets. How it is made: Fibres and waste are broken down into molecules > a purification process occurs > the molecules are then combined into the nylon polymer. Recycled Nylon diverts a large amount of pollution that would otherwise end up in the ocean
CORN LEATHER	APPLE LEATHER
Corn Leather is a bio-based material that avoids chemical raw materials in its production. How it is made: Pre-consumer corn undergoes fermentation to extract dextrose > The extracted dextrose is combined with recycled PU and polyester fibres > Once processed, it is coated with recycled PU to enhance water resistance and durability. The corn used for making this textile is non-food grade, meaning it doesn’t compete with human or animal food chains.	Apple Leather is a bio-based material made form using the leftover pomace and peel from the fruit juice industry. How it is made: Recovered apple waste is reduced to a powder  >  Once processed it is combined with polyurethane and coated onto a cotton and polyester canvas. Apple leather is a bio-based material, meaning that it is partly biological: natural, organic.

A portion of our jewellery is produced in recycled 14k Solid Gold or 925 Sterling Silver. Our goal is to produce the entire Brie Leon jewellery range in recycled metals, we’re positively progressing with this goal and will update you on this development along the way. You can see our recycled range here.

Considered Design

We focus on Brie Leon pieces being designed for everyday wear, ensuring each piece is made to be treasured and last. We only release two collections a year, opposed to four like most fashion labels and are currently transitioning to a ‘made to order’ wholesale business model to minimise over production and dead stock, avoiding unnecessary material waste.

Our annual market sale ensures that absolutely no samples go to waste, we make sure every product made is re-homed to be used and loved. This includes faulty returns which are repaired locally rather than disposing them into landfill. Our jewellery is re-plated and sold if possible, we’re also working on recycling sterling silver metals to become a more circular business. 

Select Brie Leon jewellery pieces are assembled by hand in our Newtown studio. These pieces are made in small quantities or made to order to ensure there’s no over production of styles or an excess of materials.

Packaging

Packaging is one of our major sustainability focus points, we believe every brand can make the switch towards using environmental packaging materials. We use recyclable Kraft card for our mailers, un-bleached kraft paper, paper gum tape and post-consumer recycled post-cards, swing tags, info cards and sustainability info tags to pack online orders. Our jewellery pouches are created using un-bleached calico with no contaminants being leaked into the waterways during the process and popped in recyclable boxes. 

We are minimising our handbag packaging where possible and trying hard to avoid single use plastics by transitioning to corn-starch compostable protective packaging. We know we can always improve in this area and will continue to make changes frequently. 

Community

We take pride in being a female-owned business with a strong emphasis on responsibility, equity and fairness across all facets of Brie Leon. On a fundamental level, our campaigns, activations and operations are informed by the experiences of our own. We keep our ear to the ground of our wider community, placing human connection and wellbeing at the forefront of all that we do.

Ongoing examples of our charitable support include:

• Monthly donations to the Women’s and Girls’ Emergency Centre (WAGEC) based in Redfern, a stone’s throw from our showroom in Sydney. WAGEC is a grassroots organisation providing housing, wellbeing services and practical support to women and children impacted by homelessness, domestic violence and social disadvantage. A cause close to our hearts, the team behind WAGEC are leaders in the advocacy, working to end gender-based violence with our support.
• Monthly monetary contributions to The Redfern Foundation, a community fund working to build stronger social infrastructure for local Aboriginal-run organisations. The Foundation connects invaluable initiatives with government and social services, ensuring a thriving ecosystem of support for First Nations communities. We work to pay the rent, acknowledging that sovereignty never ceded and racial discrimination is pervasive across all areas of society. 
• Monthly donations to the Starlight Children’s Foundation to facilitate research, wellbeing programs and family support to improve the lives of sick children across Australia. Adequate healthcare spans all medical, emotional and physical aspects, and Starlight are leaders in providing practical assistance to families in need. 

Our team gets out and about on a quarterly basis, volunteering their time and benevolent efforts to Thread Together. Based in Botany, Thread Together diverts unsold apparel from landfill and provides curated packages to community members in need. The team is reconciles sustainability with essential social services, allowing us to lend a practical hand on a regular basis.

We also mobilise in times of emergency, contributing where we can to those affected by the climate crisis, natural disasters, and ongoing international conflict. No cause is too distant or too immense to lend our hand, so we are continuously exploring other avenues to direct our unwavering support.

If you have a cause or event close to your heart, please reach out to us via emily@brieleon.com.