Responsibility

We work with three different small ateliers in Porto, we visit them on a regular basis, we know every single seamstress behind our clothing, and we ensure their work conditions and standards are met. Working with local artisans allows us to minimize transportation and reduce our carbon footprint. We only work on small scaled productions and made-to-order basis, to avoid textile waste and overproduction. There’s always room for improvement, and we’re always looking for new ways of optimizing our production process. We value craftsmanship in design and we want to create fashion with meaning.

Community

We believe we have a social responsibility to our community, and we promote and contribute for social awareness campaigns. We work with local associations and charity organizations, through contributions of clothing or monetary donations yearly. We also love collaborating with local artists and partners, so please feel free to reach out info@carolina-machado.com if you have any ideas.

Production

Made in Portugal —producing locally and working with the same people from the start, has allowed us to build a long-term and meaningful relationship with our manufacturing partners and material suppliers. Our atelier and production facilities are located in Porto and our materials are sourced from Greece, Italy and Portugal.

Ethical

We believe in a slow-paced industry, where these values are respected: sustainability, traceability and transparency. As a fashion brand we have the responsibility of teaching our customers better ways. We launch two collections per year, and we style the new collections with items from previous ones. We believe in the concept of a capsule wardrobe, where you mix and match new items with ones you already own. You don't need a lot of clothing, just the right ones

Environment

We are not 100% sustainable, but we are committed in all different aspects of the business. We keep our communication to our customers digital and via e-mail to reduce paper waste. All of our packaging and tags are biodegradable and/or recyclable. We also offer climate compensated shipping for each order.

Materials

Starting a brand from scratch is no easy task, and we have used synthetic fabrics (such as polyester) as they were more affordable. We want to improve continuously, and we are reducing our usage of such fibers, and we try our best to pick more sustainable materials such as cotton, wool and lyocell. We are committed to be a polyester-free brand in the nearest future.