Free Shipping for Loyalty Members

  • MID SEASON SALE | EXTRA 30% OFF SALE SWIM & DRESSES | USE CODE: MID30 - Shop Now

  • ROXY GIRL CLUB MEMBER - GET FREE SHIPPING & RETURNS! Join Now | Sign In 

  • FREE DUFFLE BAG WITH ANY FULL PRICE PURCHASE OVER $150* | ENTER CODE: RXDUFFLEBAG - Shop Now

  • 2 FOR $120 FLEECE

    - Shop Now

surf -

Sustainability chat with ROXY's global head of design Stephanie Micci

 

In honor of Earth Day, we sat down with our Global Design Lead, Stephanie Micci, to chat about what our ROXY brand is doing about 'sustainability' with regards to the clothing design process. Take a mini-tour of her office with us as she shows us her inspiration boards, some vintage ROXY pieces she's collected, and answers some important questions about our current and future design practices. 

 

 

What is your current role at ROXY?

 

I am the Global Head of Design.

 

 

Tell us a little about your background and how you got into design.

 

Growing up, I was always into sports and design…I have been designing in one form or another as long as I can remember.

For me design is a visual language that transcends borders. It allows you to have a form of conversation with anyone, literally anyone – words are optional, design does all the talking!  I always knew I wanted to contribute to that conversation.  

 

 

Why do you think it’s important, as a brand, to be concerned about sustainability?

 

First I want to address the term sustainability. For a product to be sustainable it needs to be fully traceable, certifiable, and circular. The fashion industry, with rare exception, is not a sustainable practice. However, we CAN be responsible.  For ROXY, it is important to create responsible practices because we want to protect our playground – the ocean and mountain, essentially Mother Earth.

 

 

What is ROXY currently doing to try to move towards a more sustainable design + production process?

 

As a brand, we have been working with industry professionals to identify how we can better mitigate our carbon footprint. Looking at how our efforts could yield the greatest impact, we started at the fiber level.  Incorporating organic and recycled materials into most of our categories has been a big first step.  With each season we look to increase the percentage of our product offering that can be certifiably deemed responsible. We have more progress to make, yet we have taken important steps in the right direction.

 

 

Tell us about the sustainable fabrics that ROXY has integrated into its current collection and what are some that are coming up in future collections?

 

We utilize a range of responsible fibers from organic cotton to recycled polyester and nylon qualities.  For future collections, we are looking to continuously increase the percentage of our product offering that is certifiably responsible.

 

 

What classifications qualify a garment to be considered ‘sustainable’ in the fashion industry?

 

The generally accepted definition of “sustainable” is a product that is fully traceable, certifiable, and circular.

 

 

What are some of the things that you and your team are doing to be more transparent about the design process and sustainability practices?

 

Increasing our communications about the advances we have made, AND what we still need to improve upon.

 

 

What can we work on as a brand to do better about this in the future?

 

Be committed and consistent, which we are. We just need to keep taking one step at a time in order to continuously better our practices.

 

 

In your opinion, what could the fashion industry be doing to try to make a difference, before it’s too late?

 

We have to all work together to reduce our collective carbon footprint. We need to push ourselves to find the balance between responsibility and commerce.  Find better solutions for points in the supply chain that have the most negative impact. It’s not too late, but we all start now.