RELAUNCH
RELAUNCH
When would it be the right time to change? At what hour do we become certain? When does the moment strike? To alter the course of our future, to reshape, to challenge, to break, rebuild our very core, the heart of Merchants?
We could not restore our past by moving through it.
This is our answer to the gift of time, the pace of change.
Welcome back - Merchants of the Sun is open again and our eyes are on tomorrow.
I’d say things are going back to normal, but they’re not.
Normal wasn’t working. What is ‘normal’ to our peers depletes our surroundings and harms our community. Normal is a finite resource that cannot carry us into the future. Normal is as fruitful as lost hours, and we all deserve better than that.
Here at Merchants we are pioneering a new schedule of ethical production, reconciling fashion artistry with sustainable values. Our assimilation in this role means we are a brand fated to both teach and learn, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
THE STATUS QUO
At first glance, the fashion landscape is a labyrinthine forest, characterised by unstable terrain and unfamiliar obstacles. We all take on roles of orienteers to find our place in that outlook, but it's too easy to become swept up in the entanglement of branches and the waning ecosystem of business-as-usual.
So, we’ve found our bearings and reoriented Merchants, without contributing to the convolution of mindless creation and consumption. That labyrinth is now a trajectory of care where we can use time, rather than race against the clock. We plan on adapting with each minute, leaving behind only the faint echo of the last one.
Ethical business is an opportunity. When presented with avenues upon sustainable avenues of options, we have established a level of thoughtfulness across all practices. In doing so, we’ve invoked principles of longevity, uniting style with both environmental and social durability.
Everything we do confounds to create a sizeable impact that must be moderated. Closing temporarily allowed us to reconfigure every single structure of Merchants; from our factory to our packaging, we have created a brand that supports its people and planet even more so than before. We’ve knocked down walls of uncertainty, reworked our collections, and redecorated our vision, all in the name of sustainability.
We did not remove,
We did not restart,
We reframed.
Merchants 2.0, The New Chapter, by stopping and resetting we have built something special. Here’s what we’re up to.
CLOSE THE LOOP
One of our most anticipated introductions is our Close The Loop recycling program. Designed as a pragmatic response to waste and mass-production, our Close The Loop system ensures our products and materials remain in circulation for as long as possible. As a step towards circularity, we are ensuring our chain of impact is carefully considered from cradle to cradle.
We accept all unused Merchants of the Sun jewellery in exchange for a handsome incentive. All of our recycled and unsold stock is melted down and used to create subsequent collections.
TRANSPARENCY
As a label and team, we have many people and parts counting on us. Our community is counting on us to move carefully, and our planet is counting on us to tread lightly.
In the interest of being open about our every move, we are regularly audited by an external third party. We are working with Climate Active Australia and B Corp and will keep you updated as to our formal certifications. (Climate Active - Expected September 2022 & BCorp expected December 2022).
To instil confidence in our community, we will also be compiling an annual impact report to summarise the sustainability of our operations, detailing the breakdown of our production, supply, retail and shipping processes. This report will be published at the end of the financial year which will have been audited by our external third-party compliance team.
No questions will be left unanswered; clear-as-day transparency is the only way forward.
SLOW CREATION
We have taken our foot off the gas to incorporate a higher level of responsibility and consideration across all of our business practices.
Moving forward, we will only offer limited collections, in addition to our core range. Each piece is designed to transcend trends and become mainstays of your wardrobe, rather than contributing to excessive or mindless consumption.
We are motivated by a zero waste world - a foresight for change that will not be compromised.
CULTURE CLUB
As the salt of the earth and Merchants of the Sun, we want our community to be brand advocates as much as they are advocates of adventure, movement, confidence, social justice, enjoyment, and identity.
We will be releasing an online hub for those in our community to work, play, read, and enjoy. Browse our calendar of gigs and events, check out our latest initiatives, read about our team, and join our loyalty program all in one directory. This is where we will update you about our biggest projects, including how you can stay with us (stay tuned).
As part of our relaunch, we’re also taking Merchants global and expanding to the US - now is the time to explore the Club and spread the love.
The Culture Club is open to everyone to revel in the spoils of belonging, but you'll want to sign up to access exclusive rewards. We expect this to be completed out by the end of the year.
…AND MORE
Refusing to be hindered by a lack of consideration, we have reset every facet of Merchants to create a trusted, enticing experience of art and adventure. Stopping business entirely was our MO to becoming an ethical and socially accountable brand - we’re building a future with care and mending the parts of our industry we detest and reject. With that said, change takes boldness, and evolution takes a village.
Our action also takes place through social initiatives, including our annual Anti-Black Friday campaign and mental health campaigns. Our focus is appropriately split between awareness, education and donations to better our social surroundings.
As leaders in this space, our direction is derived from you, our community.
To our wearers, your patience and care for others are so appreciated. We will continue to slowly create and refine our brand with you in mind.
To our industry, let’s do better. Normal no longer cuts it.
What good is living in today when you long to be somewhere else, when you long to be at tomorrow?
To sense possibility before it has become anything, anything at all; that is everything. Time marks an opportunity, and change marks an index of clarity.
There is no imagining that is better than here, no time greater than now, no change lost on a beginning.
Browse our collections, peruse our Journal, buy only what you need, and give back where you can. Join our Culture Club to stay tuned with what we’ve accomplished and the projects we have in the works. As always: Make Few, Design Well.
Welcome back - stay awhile.
Follow our socials and watch our evolution unfold here.
