Althea Simons is the founder of GRAMMAR NYC, and is taking on the challenge of creating the perfect white shirt–sustainably. Read our interview with her below!
Could you tell our readers a little about Grammar NYC? How did you get started? And where does the name Grammar come from?
Sure. So I started Grammar a little over five years ago. I wanted to have a sustainable fashion company for a long time. The catalyst was that there was a fire at my apartment and I lost all of my clothing, and so I needed to replace my entire wardrobe. When I was doing that, I found it difficult to find things that I was looking for–basic things that you need in your wardrobe. For me, the epitome of that is a white button-down shirt. I couldn't find them well-designed, well-made, that fit well, and ideally were also sustainable. It didn't exist. And so you know, I thought: This is my time to start this brand, and I have an idea now: foundational wardrobe. Staples. Made conscientiously.
That was where the idea came from. And then the name, I was thinking about foundations and systems in different modalities, and the book The Elements of Style by Strunk and White. It’s a little book of grammar that I had to read in high school in my essay writing class. I always loved it because it's so concise and it just kind of sets out these rules–which you can follow or not–but I just loved how clear and concise it was. So, that's where I got the idea for the name Grammar.
So you said that your house fire was in 2016. It's been almost seven years since then. Do you find now that there are more products and brands like yours out there?
More than there were. Yes. The industry has changed a lot in the last five to ten years, and and that's great. I think it's wonderful that more and more people are thinking about how things are made. About how complex a supply chain is, and the fact that so many human beings are involved in making a single garment.
It's almost an unfathomable number of people when you break it down, so I think it's amazing that people are more aware, and I think that it's amazing that entrepreneurs as well as larger companies are being forced to change their ways, and rising up to meet these new demands of consumers.
Yes! Often in our research, we've found that sustainability and ethical labor practices are separated. So what does sustainability mean to you?
I don't separate them at all! One of the things that we focus on as a company is that we only use organic cotton–that's GOTS certified. Not only does that mean it has environmental standards but also labor standards. It is grown without chemicals and dyes, and it’s environmentally friendly–using lower water. But also it has to come from supplies with good labor practices, good working conditions and a living wage. So to me, that is one way that I think about sustainability– these standards that you have to meet throughout the process.
There's no such thing as completely sustainable, there are always trade-offs that you have to make, but I think there's a certain bar that needs to be met, and you can always do better.
We also produce locally here in New York, which I think is really important–the sustainability of the fashion industry in the United States. It’s upholding a tradition that was generated here, and passing down the knowledge to the next generation. I think that's really important for the sustainability of the design community and the knowledge of making things in the right way–of quality, and how to make garments well, so that they last– which is a huge part of sustainability.
Regardless of how something is made, if you wear it a lot, that's very sustainable. That’s one of the biggest issues that we have with sustainability, in terms of garments in this country, is that people wear things once and then throw them away. So, longevity is hugely important, and so is being very involved in the production process. I'm going to the factory all the time and seeing how it's done and making sure that it's the highest quality that it can possibly be. That's super important to me, and it's super meaningful to have those relationships with the people that make the clothes.
In terms of all the material decisions that we make, we only use natural buttons, because I try to minimize the amount of plastic that we use. We also use all recycled packaging. And we obviously recycle here ourselves.
There's just a million little decisions that you make, and we just try to make the most conscientious and thoughtful and caring one.
So about cotton, our Textile Project is on the hunt for the world's most sustainable textile. How does cotton hold up?
There are pros and cons. The biggest con is that it uses a lot of water, and it's hard on the land. Organic cotton is better than conventional cotton in so many ways, even in terms of water usage and taking care of the soil and the earth. They rotate the crops to give the soil time to regenerate. That's part of the organic textile standard. But that would also be the one of the biggest point against it.
I am partial to natural fibers. There's just something inherently sustainable about that for me, because it does come from the earth. We're using the Earth's resources, and as long as we're doing it in a way that's sustainable, and putting everything back that we take out, It's biodegradable. It's not going to be leaking anything into the environment. Once it's gone through its life cycle it's gonna just turn into earth again, which I also find really beautiful. It also provides a lot of jobs for people because it's a farmed good, it's an agricultural product.
It's pretty amazing how sustainable clothes are created. Unfortunately, I feel like a lot of people don't buy sustainable fashion because they simply cannot afford it. What do you think about this issue? And how we might go about solving it?
I would think about it differently, I think. There's a couple of issues. One is that “sustainable fashion,” meaning like a sustainable fashion brand like Grammar, because we do things the way that we do, and we produce here in New York, it’s much more expensive. We use very high quality textiles which are more expensive. So it adds up. The reason why things like fast fashion are inexpensive is because they're not made well. They use really cheap textiles and they're basically made by slave labor, and in enormous quantities.
So when we think about our choices and we think about affordability, there's also something called cost per wear, which is the idea that the more you wear something, the less it costs, because getting so much use out of it. If you buy something for five dollars, but then it falls apart, that's actually not affordable. Whereas if you buy something for $300 and wear it 300 times, that was actually a dollar per wear versus five dollars per wear.
I think there's an issue with consumerism in our society and we should really think more about what we buy and what we're spending our money on. Buying a piece of Grammar clothing not only supports my business, but also supports the people at the factory down the street, who employ a lot of people, the people at my grading and marking, the people that sell me my buttons and on and on. Versus supporting a huge corporation.
For me, the most sustainable thing to do is buy something that's already been made. So secondhand clothing swaps are an amazing thing to do. I've done that with my friends. It’s so fun, it's free, you get to get rid of things that you don't wear anymore, and you get to get new clothes!
Earlier you mentioned your business produces in New York City. You produced with local artisans and craftspeople, and women and minority owned businesses. Why is this important to you? And are there any challenges this poses?
I think the only challenge is cost. Otherwise it's pretty easy. It's literally down the block from my studio. I really believe in supporting the local economy, and industry. Like the fashion industry in New York, the fact that the garment district is still there. Hundreds of small factories are there, and everything that you need–from fabric suppliers to trims to grading and marking, all of the vendors that you need to make clothes exist right there in about a five block radius, which is really convenient. It's really rare and I think we should protect it. I believe very strongly in the power and the good, the usefulness and the joy, and the wonder of the garment district. Basically, it's such a cool thing that we have here.
I don't think I could deal with having my clothes produced overseas, because I would be so nervous the whole time! I can go over there and make sure they're doing it right before they’re sold. They call me if they have any questions. That's really important to me. Also, having personal relationships with the people who make the clothes, that's just personally meaningful for me. Building relationships with other small business owners, and a lot of times have family owned businesses that have been here for 40 to 50 years. Pretty much all the factories are owned by Chinese women. So, that's cool.
That's cool. I didn't know that!
Yeah. The two that I work with are owned by Chinese women.
Wow. So finally, besides your website, where can people find your clothes?
We sell to small boutiques around the country. We don't currently have any in New York, but we actually have our own studio now that we've opened here in the city on 26th Street. We welcome people for appointments, and they can come and see the full collection here, but otherwise, we work with stores throughout the country. If people are in a different city and are interested in finding us, they can just email us and ask if we have a store in their area. We’re also always online!
Is the wall behind you, showcasing part of your collection?
That is top secret! All 2023 over here.
Okay, I won't push! Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to me!
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