Patchwork Jacket

Our First Zero Waste Jacket!
Textile waste is one of the world's largest pollutants, and since there is currently no way to recycle garments/textiles on the same scale as the way we recycle paper or aluminum, this means that the majority of our clothes end up in not just our own waste streams but in others around the world. While we prioritize working with natural textiles that will biodegrade back into the earth safer and quicker than synthetic materials, we are always looking for inventive solutions to give our textile scraps a new life and to keep them out of waste streams.
Because waste is not waste until you waste it! 

This past season we asked our partners in Guatemala to save all of the fabric scraps from our quilted jackets and pants to give new life to a special project! Our incredible production manager Rosa worked with a local seamstress named Sandra to create patchwork panels which were then quilted and re-sewn, resulting in our first Zero-Waste Patchwork Quilted Jacket! While we are calling this our "Zero-Waste" jacket, we want to be clear that this is still a work in progress. Not all of our scraps have found a home, but we will continue to incorporate zero-waste practices into our design and production processes. These are just the first steps on our journey to circular design!

Lived in Collection

In 2018 we began an interview series on our Journal featuring a few of the inspirational women in our lives, to see how they navigate their world while wearing Kordal -- be it as a chef, a lover, or an artist. Each one of you inspires us with your drive, your talent, and your genuine sense of self; you are the ones we do all this for. You remind us why we want to design clothing in the first place: to create pieces that encourage comfort, ease, and the unique and honest beauty in each and every one of us.

That’s why we’re so happy to offer the Lived In Collection. This collection brings together the Kordal pieces that we love to wear and that we’ve found ourselves reaching for time and time again, sometimes even day after day. We’ll admit it: we’ve worn our Alva Pants four days in a row. Go ahead and judge us! Or instead, you could join us… because it seems like our favorite styles are many of yours too!

Made to Last

Our knitwear is created using both handloom flatbed machines and Shima Seiki whole-garment knitting machines. Both processes create a fully fashioned product, meaning each piece is knit to the exact shape and there is no left over material waste. By creating a high quality garment with impeccable craftsmanship, our hope is that you will keep your Kordal pieces for many years and when it reaches its end of life it can be recycled back into the earth. To increase the lifespan of our knitwear, we offer mending services for all of your Kordal knitwear purchases.

"Initially, Even Keel was inspired by my mom’s herbal concoctions when I was a child and my initial recipes I created had many eastern herbs in it, it was a lot easier when I was frequently visiting Asia in the beginning years. However, I quickly realized a lot of the similar herbs I was sourcing locally came packaged dried and many from unknown sources in China, so I slowly turned my attention to what’s readily available to me here — things I can find wildcrafting while hiking, herbs I can source from reliable places where I know their growing practices are ethical and organic. Hence, Even Keel was inspired by my “eastern roots” and re-worked using “western herbs” - En Tsao