HOW DOES IT WORK?
A NEW WAY OF MAKING APPAREL
The legacy apparel model is broken. Brands continually overproduce, resulting in huge amounts of waste.
Need 'huge' quantified?
- An estimated 150 billion new items of clothing are produced every single year
- Between 15 and 45 billion of those items never get sold
- 73% of waste clothing goes to landfill and only 1% gets recycled into new clothing
What this ultimately means for you (besides the obvious and avoidable environmental impact) is substandard products, because all of that waste has to be factored in to the manufacturing cost and retail price of each item. Every single penny wasted is a penny that could have been used on better materials and manufacturing, more innovation, increased sustainability, and a lower RRP.
Kostüme fixes this using a direct-to-customer (DTC) pre-order batch model, meaning that only items already sold ever get made. This simple change removes all the guesswork, stops waste before it starts, and means we can spend much more on product development without increasing prices. In fact, in most cases our products are less expensive than similar products despite scoring higher in both press and customer reviews, featuring unique recycled fabrics and high-ESG manufacturing partners, and significant product innovations.
The Kostüme way means:
1. No guesswork. No waste.
The legacy model forces brands to not only forecast demand for each new product release, but also physically manufacture, distribute and market them well ahead of knowing the actual level of customer demand. The harsh reality of this model is that an appalling amount of clothing gets landfilled and destroyed each year without ever finding a buyer.
Every brand factors this (and the margin-damaging discounting that goes hand in hand with overproduction) into their plans. And all that waste has to be accounted for.
2. Better products.
Our pre-order model translates directly to better products. Clear and simple.
Is it luck that a new independent brand can enter a fiercely technical and competitive sector and instantly set a new benchmark with a 10/10-rated bib short that Road.cc described as being 'the nicest thing I've ever put next to my skin'? This level of quality, performance and sustainability is only possible at this price point because of our pre-order model.
With the wasteful legacy model used by most brands, you are simply never buying the 'best' version that a product could be, because significant compromises are having to be made along the way. This might mean less ethical or technically proficient factories. Cheaper, more polluting fabrics. Copycat products with no investment in innovation. Excessive product flaws and failures.
Our pre-approach means that we don't have to guess how many products to make, and in which size/sex configuration. And with no overstock, we never have to discount or landfill unsold goods. The result is that we can take more risks with product innovation, spend more time testing and refining, more budget for incredible fabrics and trims, and partner with the best manufacturing partners.
3. Competitive prices.
Best of all, we can do this without charging more for our products. Think of it as 'accessible luxury'.
Price is always a challenging conversation, because what is expensive for one person is affordable for another. Kostüme exists to make the best version of a product that it can possibly be. Could we have made our award-winning cycling shorts 20% less expensive? Of course. But they would be an 8/10 product instead of 10/10, and what would be the point of that? We'd be just another apparel brand - something the world does not really need.
In fact, if you compare our prices directly against leading legacy brands in the same category, in many cases ours are substantially less expensive despite offering what we believe is class-leading features, fabrics and sustainability. And most importantly, this is backed up by our extensive independent customer reviews.
Ask yourself this: Isn't it better to know that more of your money is being utilised to make the product better, rather than simply wasted?
4. More sustainable.
Note the word 'more'. If you see an apparel brand labelling themselves or their products as 'sustainable' then ask them to prove it. They won't, because they can't. Truly sustainable apparel doesn't exist yet, it's greenwash. However, we can at least demonstrate that our model and products are more sustainable thanks to our holistic approach. You can read more about this here.
Staying informed about upcoming releases
Unlike legacy brands our launches are not tied to seasons. We release new collections when we have something worth sharing.
The best way to ensure you never miss a release is to sign up to our newsletter and follow our Instagram and YouTube accounts. Because we aren't constantly trying to shift stock, we aren't endlessly bombarding inboxes with inane offers and content. Hopefully our mailer is one that you will actually look forward to receiving.
launching new PRODUCTS AND edits
The launch of a new product or Edit will typically be announced on the first day of the month of release, and will always go on sale at midday (UK time) on the final Friday of the month. Pre-orders close after 10 days or when they sell out, whichever comes soonest.
Each Kostüme Edit is available in strictly limited volumes of 350. When it's gone, it's gone.
When a product sells out there will be an option to join a wait list for returns, but we cannot guarantee availability after this point. Please see our FAQ to learn more about the waitlist.
Payment
All payments are taken upon placing an order, and processed securely via our third-party payment provider, Stripe.
We donate 1% of every transaction directly to Stripe Climate, which invests directly into cutting edge solutions for removing excess carbon from our atmosphere. To find out more, please click here. (Note this link opens in a new browser window and will take you to a third party website, owned and operated by an independent party.)
Delivery costs
Whilst we prioritise eco-friendly logistics partners, shipping and returns still have a big environmental impact, so we ask customers to please be mindful of this when ordering. Check the product information carefully in advance, especially sizing. Check your address details are complete and accurate. Please don't order products you might not really want or need.
For apparel and accessories, we offer two basic shipping and returns policies for UK and Rest of World:
UK:
Free Royal Mail Tracked 24 on orders over £75
£5 delivery fee on orders under £75 (Royal Mail Tracked 24)
Rest of World:
£6 Tracked shipping on orders over £100
£10 Tracked shipping on orders under £100
For art prints, we have to charge a bit more for shipping due to the size and nature of the protective packaging, plus insurance costs. Art prints are shipped using tracked and signed for services:
UK:
£10 delivery fee
Rest of World:
£25 delivery fee
IMPORT DUTY / BREXIT
For customers outside of the UK, as it stands you will likely be charged some form of import duty on any items purchased, although this can depend on things like the overall value of your order. Some customers can also experience a small delay in recieving their goods whilst this is processed.
Unfortunately this is not within our control, and is handled entirely by your local customs officials.
At Kostüme we endeavour to use the correct tariff codes based on your delivery location, to ensure timely delivery and accurate charges. Unfortunately we cannot be held responsible for or refund these charges, even in the event of products needing to be returned.
If in doubt, we recommend researching with your local customs agent whether a fee might be chargeable and, if so, what it might be before placing a new order.
We believe that our products represent good value for money even with the added cost of import duty. And with customers now direct in 29 countries, thankfully many of you do too. We will soon be introducing direct fulfilment in the Europe, meaning no more charges for EU customers. Please make sure you are signed up to our newsletter to get notified.
Manufacturing YOUR PRODUCTS
Manufacturing typically takes between 6-8 weeks, starting from the moment the Edit closes.
With the intricacies of supply chain and manufacturing, there is always an unforeseeable risk that it may take a little longer. But, it may also be shorter, and this is something we are working towards achieving with our partners. We are learning and refining with every drop.
returns
Our pre-order model is designed to ensure every item finds a home, thereby minimising the huge amount of waste inherent in the traditional clothing retail and manufacturing model.
This only works efficiently if every product really does find a home, meaning we need to implement a strict 14-day returns period should you be unhappy with the product for any reason (except in the rare case of faulty goods.) This gives us time to process the return and match up the product with someone on the waitlist. Please note this does not affect your statutory rights.
In the event that you need to return a product, in the first instance please email store@kostume.cc with your details and reason for return. Items that are for exchange or refunded must be in their original packaging, unused and unwashed. Kostüme is not liable for any returns costs.
For more information on your rights regarding returns and faulty goods please see our full Terms and Conditions.
Please note, we are a small but highly focused team. We do our best to reply to every message as quickly as we can. If possible, please wait at least 3 working days before following up.
Ride safe. Have fun!