Retail Focus spoke to Daniel Astarita, Managing Director at Kesslers London & Proportion London, about the companies’ push toward sustainability, led by their innovative EcoForm mannequin. EcoForm, a fully recyclable and biodegradable alternative to fibreglass, reduces carbon emissions by 96% and competes on price without sacrificing quality. Astarita explained that sustainability has become just as important as price in retail, with brands increasingly prioritizing eco-friendly solutions. EcoForm’s flexibility, with no minimum orders and UK-based manufacturing, allows it to cater to a variety of needs, from luxury fashion to sports brands. Looking ahead, Astarita plans to eliminate fibreglass mannequins by 2025 and expand the use of EcoForm’s sustainable materials across the retail sector. EcoForm is already available, helping brands enhance their sustainability efforts while reducing environmental impact.
Who are Kesslers London & Proportion London?
Kesslers London and Proportion London are two of the oldest retail designers and manufacturers in England. Kesslers London has been around for 125 years, and Proportion
is approaching it’s 158th anniversary. Based in East London, both brands have a longstanding history of manufacturing, an absolute passion for continuous improvement, innovation, and most recently taking a real lead on sustainability.
What does sustainability mean to the brands? Why is it important?
Sustainability means more than it’s ever meant before. Sustainability is a word that’s been around since I came into the industry 20 years ago, but I think the importance of sustainability for me and the clients I’m talking to has only really started to resonate over the last 3 years. For me personally, thinking about when I had children and the legacy I’m leaving behind for them – sustainability has meant more to me. I also think we’re actively seeing a shift in retailers and brands and the decisions they’re making. Price will always be important, but previously – it was the key driver and for some the only thing that was important. I am now seeing an active shift towards making a purchasing decision based on your product sustainability being as important as price.
What is EcoForm?
EcoForm is incredibly exciting. Working in an industry that historically had a fair amount of criticism for its carbon footprint, it’s great to be able to bring something to space that can start to have a real meaningful impact. We understand the global effect that mannequins and the disposal of mannequins has had for decades and across the globe, it’s 10 million mannequins a year that go to landfills. EcoForm is a solution to that. It’s a truly game changing solution to fibreglass mannequins, solving all the problems that other alternatives to fibreglass present. In short, EcoForm is a UK manufactured, environmentally friendly, fully recyclable, biodegradable mannequin – that when compared to fibreglass, offers a 96% reduction in carbon output, which has been officially quoted and tested by industry leading bodies.
Sustainability has been a top topic for retail brands, what makes EcoForm stand out/different?
There are a few things. We spoke before about price, and how sustainability jumped up that decision tree being on par with price. Price is always going to be a driver, EcoForm competes on price with its fibreglass equivalent. EcoForm offers all the same benefits as a fibreglass mannequin, in a fully recyclable material. EcoForm is also made in the UK, Proportion London is the only manufacturer in the uk for retail mannequins, but we also want to help provide clients with global outlets the tools to be able to produce EcoForm under license for us soon. EcoForm is different because it has done more than tick the boxes it needs to tick to look sustainable. It looked at the end solution, and how to tackle the problem head on.
What other aspects make EcoForm sustainable?
We have really looked at everything. Starting with the design and ensuring that we keep the quality standards that are synonymous with Proportion London right through to end of life. We also looked at taking out the chemicals in the paint, the packaging, transport methods, the way it leaves the factory, and the energy used to power our Proportion London factory. But perhaps what is more exciting is EcoForm has no minimum order quantity. So, while there are other sustainable mannequins on the market, sometimes you must order several hundred of them, or you must fork out 6 figure numbers for tooling. EcoForm solves all these problems with no minimum order quantity, expensive tooling, and it’s available in the UK, being produced by Proportion London’s expert craftsmen in our purpose-built London factory.
How does EcoForm look, will it fit specific tailoring/requirements?
Another exciting thing about EcoForm is it can look however you want it to look. We recently engaged in a project with Birmingham City Football Club, where we designed a brand-new range for them. We designed and crafted athleisure mannequins from EcoForm. The benefit of Proportion London and EcoForm is because there is no minimum order or expensive tooling, we can adapt it to give you something truly bespoke or we can roll it out in high volumes. We are currently working with All Saints on their specific requirements, which is so exciting. For me, EcoForm can appeal to luxury fashion retailers, sports brands, museums, high-street, and even in its raw form – it’s stunning.
Are there any special requirements for EcoForm, or ordering it?
The Proportion London team have been working on EcoForm for 3 months now, our manufacturing team fully understand the process. EcoForm has all the same longevity, quality, and general properties of a fibreglass mannequin so if you need to dress or clean a mannequin, there is absolutely zero difference and no special requirements to look after them. The only difference is that, at the end of the life of EcoForm you can recycle it, and it can then be changed into either renewable energy, milk bottles, or anything else. Now, a regular fibreglass mannequin will just go to landfill.
Are brands allowed to talk about EcoForm as part of their sustainability initiatives – are there any restrictions?
There are no restrictions at all. We can supply our clients with all the science- backed data, as we understand brands now must report sustainability as part of their measures and we understand that customers care about it. We would love to give that science backed data to any retailer, or brand and would love them to shout about it. We started EcoForm for all the right reasons and want to make a marked change in the retail footprint. We want to see the number of mannequins in landfills reduced dramatically as it’s a scourge for our industry. The more brands that are talking about this, the better for EcoForm, and therefore the better for the future of retail.
What does the future of EcoForm look like?
First, I would like to eradicate fibreglass mannequins by the end of 2025 from our production. I also want to explore EcoForm more, and how we can start to transform more than just mannequins with EcoForm’s sustainable and biodegradable ingredients.
Is EcoForm being used right now, or do brands have to wait?
EcoForm is available right now. We will shortly be offering EcoForm in every project we do, and giving an EcoForm comparison quote for customers, so they can make a truly informed decision. At Kesslers London, and Proportion London, we love working with brands to work on new ranges, activations, and are pro-actively excited to drive EcoForm.
The Proportion London team are looking forward to talking to anyone about EcoForm and how we can get more EcoForm mannequins out in the industry. You can find them through our LinkedIn page, @proportionLondon, social channels @proportionldn or website proportionlondon.com. You can also email info@proportion.london People can also contact me through LinkedIn @Danielastarita, and I will always connect them with the right team member.