Tamaasa

tamaasa.com
facebook.com/tamaasa
twitter.com/tamaasaclothing
Physical location:  134 Piha Road, Piha, Waitakere City
(This is not a retail shop so please phone first.)
Operating Since:  2009 

Tabitha Maxwell

What are you all about?

What kind of clothes do you make?

Tamaasa is a collaborative label (formerly known as Earthage) founded in 2009 by myself and my business partner & fellow designer, James Bristow.  Since then Tamaasa has become an infusion of both our backgrounds in music and fine arts placed alongside our personal ethics; which look at breaking the boundaries of sustainable clothing & creating an avenue for people that like to question how their clothes are made - where and what environmental impact they have created in production.

James Bristow

It is important that, as designers, we constantly question what impact we are creating on, not only the earth, but also our own health & the health of others by trying to avoid anything made with harsh pesticides, chemicals, dyes and unfair trade practices.  Our clothing ranges have developed up until now to feature large chunky knitted scarves, skeanies, gloves, organic cotton basics, merino knitted capes and winter luxury items; with winter 2012 being developed now with lots of exciting new trends.

Who makes your clothes?

At present, we manufacture all of our own clothing in NZ, by hand knitters and organic cotton knit manufacturers here in Auckland.  I design and create all of our patterns & sample everything which is generally then outsourced to be made by small manufacturing businesses in New Zealand; and occasionally we have one-off items made here at Piha, or finished by myself or James.

Who sells your clothes?  Can we buy them online?

We currently stock at TAll in Tairua & have an online shop.  As this is our first full year in production, we have been approached by many new stockists in the past six months & look forward to being stocked around Auckland and NZ next season.

What price range are your clothes in?

As we are an eco company & all of our fabrics are sourced ethically and from NZ, as a rule, we tend to use very high-end fine fabrics and fibres such as 100% Alpaca fibre which can be very expensive to source.  These luxury fabrics place our label in the high end of clothing labels, with our clothing pricing from anywhere between $45 and $400.

Why do you think NZ clothing labels outsource their manufacturing overseas?

As a designer that is passionate about not only looking at fair trade but also environmental issues, I have to say that it is almost impossible to develop everything here in NZ, with the technology we have available.  In the 80s, a lot of our manufacturing was sent overseas when labour was found to be cheaper in places such as China & only now is it slowly building up here in New Zealand again; so the costs to produce a garment here is extremely high, even when you consider charges for freight etc from overseas.  NZ also doesn't have the technology to apply to so many different manufacturing processes that designers use everyday.

Fortunately though, times seem to be changing & people are more interested in paying a little bit extra for something that is very well made here on our shores.  One thing I can say for NZ manufacturers is that they tend to have fantastic standards of production, with the quality of garment being superior to overseas manufacturers.

What could the Government do to help clothing labels keep it in NZ?

Stop signing all of these trading agreements with overseas parties & start looking at developing our manufacturing sectors here in NZ.  It is a sad reality that New Zealand is one of the most expensive places to live, partly due to the fact that we export most of our goods & I believe NZers have such a great ability to create and work hard that we need to start introducing technology for digital printing here, large scale knitting facilities & developing green sustainable fabrics.  The eco trends of overseas designers is a huge sector that hasn't even been touched on in New Zealand & developing eco fabrics here would be a nice advancement from the Government, I feel.

Anything to add?

As consumers, try to always look at how your garments are made & where they are made.  It is so easy to turn a blind eye to the harsh reality of how your clothing is made.  For example, children in overseas countries are in some cases exposed to extremely toxic chemicals, all for the sake of a knit tee that you may pay $5 for.  An item may be cheaper to buy, but in the process, you are very possibly contributing to unsafe farming practices, unfair trading, and chemicals that eventually may affect your own health as well.  At least, by keeping our clothing manufactured here in New Zealand, you can be aware of how it is made.