LABFRESH guarantees and wishes you a stain, odor-and wrinkle-free day!
“Sustainability is not a box you tick. It’s a muscle you train.”
Amsterdamer Lotte Vink is a graduate of Social Psychology and Business Economics who had the vision to smarten up the fashion industry, as well as the planet, and that was to use molecular techniques to produce life-proof clothing which you don’t need to wash or iron often.
With Dane Kasper Brandi Petersen, she founded LabFresh and invented the coffee and wine stain, odor, and wrinkle-resistant business and casual shirt. Unlike most fashion houses, they want you to buy less and wear their products longer.
The couple met while working for Peterson’s The Cloakroom, an online menswear shopping service he sold to Motomoto in 2016. Say Vink: “LABFRESH is our way of fighting fast fashion and cheap products that you only wear a few times before you get bored with them. Two-thirds of your clothes’ carbon footprint occurs in the use phase, with our products you significantly reduce waste and the amount of water and energy you use. “
Developed in Switzerland, premium Egyptian cotton fibers are treated with a patented INDUO® technology on a molecular level before they are spun into fabric. The treatment blocks all fluids from entering the fabric, without compromising on the premium feeling and the breathability, resulting in clothes that stay clean and fresh for many days.
“The only way to clean up the fashion industry is to buy fewer clothes, wash them less, and keep them forever. We want to empower consumers to change irresponsible consumption patterns by developing clothing that lasts longer and always looks fresh in an increasingly disposable world.”
The company began with a Kickstarter campaign in 2017. It was the most backed in the history of crowdfunding. Investors include a Dutch venture capitalist and a concern based in Dubai. Previously, Peterson worked for shipping giant, Maersk.
The Labfresh FreshCore™ range is hydrophobic and anti-bacterial and can survive all kinds of spills. Whatever you throw at it won’t stick or smell. 82 percent of Labfresh customers have university diplomas and more than half are single. Demonstrations are given at outlets and the clothing is now available in over 100 countries.
Knowing that they are free from embarrassing sebaceous or perspiration stains and unpleasant odors and their shirts aren’t creased, is a huge confidence booster, both socially and professionally. The reduced environmental impact is another selling point. Says Vink: “Men are incredibly loyal to brands but once we show them that they can wear the same shirt for five days, they’re willing to switch. Labfresh guarantees you usually smell superior and look terrific.”
The Amsterdam-based company won further investment after winning “Get In The Ring”, the Dutch version of “Dragon’s Den” and “Shark Tank”. They also received a grant to make anti-bacterial socks for the homeless. All products have a one-year guarantee that protects optimum stain repellency for up to thirty washes and “stench repellency” for one hundred. Adds Vink: “ I have a lot of belief that what we are doing now will be the new standard. It looks and feels like normal clothing but will last you much longer. “
Labfresh works closely with Pauline Guesné, co-founder of INDUO®. Its research is financed by MIT and WBSO. Environmentally-friendly credentials are further enhanced by the use of only certified dyes and no nano-coatings are used. Working with smart scientists, the self-proclaimed “couple of crazy entrepreneurs” were originally inspired by the fabric technologies used within sportswear and the Danish army. Says Kasper: “It was just a passion project and we wanted to just drive around and live in a van whilst working from our laptops.
“I have an ingrained belief that you can use technology to make almost anything in the world better. Any brand with a decent amount of commitment and resources could get the technology up and running within one year.
“There are a lot of great ideas that never made it out of the labs, but which are totally applicable. But their ideas were just expensive and annoying to produce. These ideas were also bad for business because they led to less repurchasing. If people buy stuff with our technology, they can wear the same shirt for ten years and it still looks good, which means you sell fewer shirts per customer. We thought it was perverse that there’s this industry which doesn’t give customers the best products because it’s bad for business.”
Vink concludes: Our logic is simple. If your clothes stay clean longer, you’ll wash them less and wear them longer. If your clothes last longer, you’ll buy less of them.” As well as classic white and blue, LabFresh makes Oxford starch shirts, knitted shirts, sweatshirts, T-shirts, and overshirts. “Washing something after just one wear is so 20th century.”
