Create your own unique piece of garment
Create your own unique piece of garment
Create your own unique piece of garment
ABOUT US
The Makers
At De Makers van GUP, we are driven by a passion for craftsmanship. We simply enjoy designing and creating things by hand. Apart from the aesthetic appeal, it are the stories behind each creation that captivate us most. As such, our designs are a form of conceptual art and self-expression.
Our inspiration comes from the world around us. We embark on "artistic dates," listen to people that have stories to tell and read a lot about what is happening in the world. Often, new design ideas take us by surprise, sparking energy and creativity as we immerse ourselves in a new and fresh concept.
The way how we run this company is pretty much the same as how we act as individuals. And as individuals we firmly believe that "doing good, will bring one good". It why we invest in social projects, why we have taken a rather uncommon approach towards sustainability and why our designs have a story to tell. By setting new examples and creating positive vibes around us, we are convinced that our reward will come some day, in one form or the other.
(The above is inspired by the Ubuntu philosophy, which we have embraced as one of our core principles).
ABOUT US
Express Yourself
Clothes are a unique way to express yourself, with styles available for everyone. But beyond style, conscious consumers recognize the importance of environmental footprint and ethical aspects when buying new products.
At De Makers van GUP, we believe customers bear responsibility for their choices (of course the same applies to companies). We therefore challenge you to read the stories below. They will explain you that with our products, you are expressing yourself in style, ethics ánd sustainability.
Unique designs that have a story to tell
At De Makers van GUP, design is at the heart of what we do. For us, design is a means of self-expression that goes beyond aesthetics. Of course aesthetics should please your eye, but more importantly, they should convey the story that is captured in the design.
The inspiration for our designs finds its origin in authentic narratives of people. We found these to be so beautiful, that we would like to share them with you. The way how we do that, is by crafting designs using traditional methods. The craftsmanship and the time we invest in weaving a story into each piece, gives all our designs a unique and creative twist.
Read the details about our designs here.
Personalise your own clothing
Clothing is a unique form of self-expression, and more and more people have the desire to personalize their wardrobe. Some companies offer complete freedom to do so, but designing from scratch can be challenging. Others provide fixed designs but limit product types and colors, leaving little room for personalization.
We think that the 'sweet spot' is right in the middle. We therefore offer:
-
a large number designs,
-
which you can print on "whatever you like" (i.e. on all products in our webshop) and
-
which you can personalize very easily via our webshop configurator (i.e. product color, design, and design position).
As most of our designs have a transparent background, choosing another product color can really make a difference.
CHANGE PRODUCT
(T-shirts, tanktops, sweaters and hoodies)
CHANGE COLOR
(50+ colors available))
CHANGE DESIGN
(10+ designs available))
CHANGE LOCATION
(2 to 4 standard locations for each product)
Clothing that is ethically produced
The clothing industry in general has a bad track record when it comes down to working conditions. Especially upstream in the supply chain, exploitation of people including child labor has still not been banned out. This is unacceptable and must end as soon as possible.
At De Makers van GUP, we don't own clothing factories, so we cannot directly control working conditions. But still we take responsibility. That is why we chose to partner with the reputable brand Stanley/Stella. Stanley/Stella, headquartered in Belgium, is known for its ethical (and ecological) profile and has a strict code of conduct and continuous monitoring in place to ensure compliance.
In addition to sourcing with the greatest respect for people, we also invest a fixed part of our revenue in dedicated social projects to support people facing difficulty to participate in society. These projects vary from small individual efforts all the way to large-scale initiatives (such as visiting refugee camps). Read the details here.
Clothing that is eco-friendly produced
While news on climate change is alarming, old manufacturing practices keep going on while we know that we can do better.
De Makers van GUP took a bold move here. By selling customized products only, our value chain is organized differently; we only manufacture goods after they have been ordered. It brings our end product waste to 0% (compared to 10-30% waste in the traditional clothing industry).
With this we have a principle advantage over any company that manufactures first and sells afterwards.
Traditional Fashion:
(mass production)
10-30%
End-product waste
De Makers van GUP:
(customized)
0%
ABOUT US
People
To explain our approach regarding people, we kick-off by telling you that we have adopted the Ubuntu philosophy as a core principle. (A short introduction on Ubuntu is given below). It is because we strongly believe that interconnectedness of people is the key towards a prosperous future for all of us.
Apart from our believe, we also see numerous examples around us that illustrate this philosophy. Take De Makers van GUP as an example. It was interconnectedness that brought us here. We discovered each others talents and give it room to thrive, withholding direct judgement. Adding the results together created something that no one of us could have done alone. A similar things holds for our customers. If we would not connect with you, you would now be buying cheaper products elsewhere.
Adopting Ubuntu cannot go without leading by example. And that is what we aim to do. Below you will find a number of examples of how Ubuntu has changed / determined our course of actions. It shows you that we are a highly social company and provides you with a glimpse of our values.
What is Ubuntu?
Ubuntu is an African philosophy that highlights the interconnectedness of all people, as it is crucial for our collective well-being and human dignity. Ubuntu - sometimes translated as "I am because we are" - promotes a shared responsibility for all of us to act with compassion and mutual respect towards each other. It promotes communities to create the conditions in which we can all thrive.
In a short video, the South African philosopher Mogobe Ramose tells what Ubuntu is about. He explains what is so important about our actions of today.
Source: Youtube, posted by Filosofie Magazine (2018)
Ethics in our supply chain
The clothing industry in general has a bad track record when it comes down to working conditions. Especially upstream in the supply chain, exploitation of people including child labor have still not been banned out. This is unacceptable and must end as soon as possible.
At De Makers van GUP, we don't own clothing factories. Although that implies that we cannot directly control working conditions ourselves, that does not take away our responsibility. For this reason we chose to partner with the reputable brand Stanley/Stella. Stanley/Stella, headquartered in Belgium, is known for its ethical (and ecological) profile and has a strict code of conduct and continuous monitoring in place to ensure compliance (see insert).
About Stanley / Stella:
Stanley / Stella has a 7-pilar code of conduct:
-
prohibiting child labour,
-
non-discrimination,
-
prohibition of forced and compulsory labour and disciplinary measures
-
freedom of association
-
working hours
-
compensation
-
workplace health & safety.
In addition, a continuous monitoring system is in place to guarantee compliancy. Recently the Fair Wear Foundation has evaluated the performance of Stanley / Stella.
Humans and humanity in our designs
At De Makers van GUP, design is at the heart of what we do. For us, design is a means of self-expression that goes beyond aesthetics. Of course aesthetics should please your eye, but more importantly, they should convey the story that is captured in the design.
The inspiration for our designs finds its origin in authentic narratives of people. We found these to be so beautiful, that we would like to share them with you. The way how we do that, is by crafting designs using traditional methods. The craftsmanship and the time we invest in weaving a story into each piece, gives all our designs a unique and creative twist.
Read the details about our designs here.
Why we ♥️ customer service
Yes, we love customer service. It is because in the digital world, this is one of the few moments where we can get direct feedback from you. We are therefore curious for your story and will listen first.
So what can you expect from us?
- Curiosity, friendliness and respect from our side, including a swift reply (< 2 working days).
- If we made a mistake, we will fully compensate you. And if we made a serious mistake, we will overcompensate you (that is in case we feel we caused you too much trouble).
- Expect us to act exactly in line with our General Terms and Conditions. In case we bend the rules, that will always be in your advantage.
- After having contacted our Customer Service, you should feel helped / your problem should be solved.
For those that prefer online contact, we have prepared several pre-configured forms on our website to make it easy for you. For those that prefer to call, don't hesitate. If we are not available we will plan a follow-up call with you.
Our ambition? To be recognized as having the best Customer Service in our industry. Because we think that our customers deserve nothing less than that.
Social investments in GUP Projects
Helping out others is what makes us humans human. It is also how we act personally in our ordinary lifes and we see no reason why a company should not do the same. Especially if it has the means to do so.
De Makers van GUP therefore regularly organizes projects to support people facing difficulty to participate in society. These projects, called GUP projects, vary from small individual efforts all the way to large-scale initiatives (such as visiting refugee camps). We fund these initiatives by allocating a fixed percentage of our revenue.
ABOUT US
Our Planet
While news on climate change is alarming, old manufacturing practices keep going on while we know that we can do better. De Makers van GUP took a bold move here: by selling customized products only, our value chain is organized differently: we only manufacture goods after they have been ordered. It brings our end product waste to 0% (compared to 10-30% waste in the traditional clothing industry). With this we have a principle advantage over any company that manufactures first and sells afterwards.
Below you wil find a number of short stories, explaining what choices we made in our operations and how they impact our footprint.
Biological cotton and Product Certifications
At De Makers van GUP, we don't own clothing factories, so we cannot directly control the footprint of the products we work with. But still we take responsibility. That is why we chose to partner with the reputable brand Stanley/Stella. Stanley/Stella, headquartered in Belgium, is known for its ecological (and ethical) profile and has taken lots of professional measures to safeguard our planet (policy, audits & certifications).
By sourcing from an eco-friendly partner, we can pass on all product advantages to you. This includes the use of:
-
biological cotton (see insert) and
-
several eco-certifications, including OEKO-TEX 100 and GOTS.
In our webshop, information on certifications and fabric use is available for each product.
Fact: Did you know that - with conventional cotton - making one single t-shirt requires ~ 2500 liters of blue water and a pair of jeans more than 10.000 liters!?
Footprint of conventional vs biological cotton.
Cotton Type
Soil Erosion
Greenhouse Gasses
Acidification
Blue Water Use
Price (a.u.)
Market Share
Conventional
100%
100%
100%
100%
100
Biological
74%
54%
30%
9%
105-115%
1-2%
Source: www.stanleystella.com
0% end-products waste (vs. 10-30% at our competitors)
Every year, the clothing industry produces about 150 billion garments. Can you guess how many of them are never sold? It is a staggering number of 15 to 45 billion every year. Meanwhile, the clothing industry as a whole emits 8% of all greenhouse gasses worldwide.
(Source: lp.wgsn.com/WGSN-OCC-Report.html).
The main reason for this overproduction is that fashion industry never wants to say 'no' to a customer. And unfortunately the economics are such that waste is still cheap.
But it can be done differently. By offering customized products only, we completely change the game. We can only start manufacturing once we have received your order, never before. Overproduction has now become impossible!
The technique we use for this is called on-demand manufacturing: 'you only make what you need, when you need it'. With this we have a principle advantage over any company that manufactures first and sells afterwards.
Standard vs. Customized Products
Customized Products are products in which specific preferences of the buyer have been integrated. When you buy for example a t-shirt from us, you can freely choose any combination of model / color / size / print / print location.
The table below highlights the main characteristics of standard vs. customized products.
Product Type
Each product is
Produced
Run length
Stocks
Overproduction
Standard
the same
long before
a lot
YES
10-30%
Customized
unique
when needed
single piece
NO
0%