tonle post archive

About Open Closet (2021)
Join us as we create a sustainable fashion future together Open Closet is a circular trading and resale platform for pre-loved tonlé garments. Each piece is carefully cleaned, repaired, and reimagined if needed. Open Closet is a way to extend the life of those finished garments, prevent them from ending up in a landfill, and avoid the undermining of another economy when they hit the donation bin. Subscription How it works: Subscribe and rent 3-5 items per month. Wear and enjoy your styles. If you love something, you can buy it. Send back... Read more...
What is Fashion Justice? (2021)
The modern fashion industry is one of the most exploitative industries in the world of both people and planet. It has been designed to create wealth for a select few, while many others pay the price. tonlé is leading a new circular fashion ecosystem designed to protect and support the people who work on our clothing, and the earth we all depend on.  fashion isn't just.  The fashion industry—much like the capitalist system it is a part of—operates on a model of exploitative extraction that is rooted in the long... Read more...
Transparency and Accountability (2021)
What is transparency?  There's a lot of talk in the industry about transparency. And while we believe in transparency - much of the conversation revolves around a system where brands are separate from production, and a brand's ability to be sustainable is based on its ability to effectively police its supply chain.  As a brand and a manufacturer, we are trying to push back on the dominant notion that the work of garment makers and factories being inherently less valuable than the work that brands primarily do, which is design, sales and... Read more...
Featuring Poet and Artist, Bobby Sanchez Music (2021)
A new garment for AW21 Bobby is wearing the mock neck dress in size small. Photo: @lookingdownthelensofacamera   We're thrilled to have trans and two-spirit poet, model, musician and painter Bobby Sanchez modeling classic zero waste pieces from tonlé's fall collection.  As an artist and activist we're honored to have the opportunity to collaborate with Bobby in this way, and to share one of their poems here, with their permission. We invite you to continue learning from them on tiktok or instagram and consider supporting their work through venmo (@bobbysanchezmusic) as they advocate on behalf of Indigenous makers,... Read more...
Mindful and zero waste holiday gift giving (2020)
For many of us this year, celebrating the holidays will be different. Though we may not be able to be physically with our loved ones this season - please know there are ways to bring joy to your loved ones either through buying things that are made thoughtfully, shopping second-hand, homemade gifts, or acts of service instead of gifts.⁠ We explore some ideas in this post of both tonlé gifts and other ways to share joy and community care without furthering consumption.    While we are a brand and we need... Read more...
Sharing risk and reward in a vertically integrated fashion business (2021)
This wasn’t the post we expected to be writing today but...we just found out last night that Phnom Penh will be on lockdown and thus our workshop will be closed until the end of April due to a spike in Covid cases. While this will definitely be difficult, and we’ll need some extra support, it won’t crush us, and the tonlé team will be paid on time and in full. So it's a good time to talk about why it’s important that our brand and production are integrated and share... Read more...
Tonlé Code of Conduct and Sustainability Progress (2021)
Introduction   There’s been a lot of talk lately within the sustainable fashion community about how transparency is not enough, and for good reason. Large corporations that made promises of sustainability gains in 2019 failed to follow through with the most basic ethical component to pay their workers fairly, on time and honestly, pay their workers period. The Covid-19 pandemic has revealed in great clarity the fundamental failings of the fashion system at taking care of its people on the most basic level. In addition, recent data, collected and highlighted... Read more...
Featured sustainable retail partners (2020)
Featured partner retailers Want to see our zero waste styles in person? Visit one of our partner retailers below. For wholesale requests, please email hello@tonle.com.   Australia Modimade - 11 Springwood, New South Wales, 2777 Aware the Social Design Project - Shop 14, 41-45 Macquarie St, Belmont, NSW, 2280 Cambodia  Dorsu - #28A, Street 21 (Abdul Carime) Phnom Penh, 12000  Dai Khmer - 464 Phnom Penh, 12311 Czech Republic TukTuki - Antonínská, 602 00 Brno-střed United States    Alaska Grassroots Fair Trade - 1317 W. Northern Lights Blvd. Ste1, Anchorage 99503 Arizona  Local Nomad - 100 E. Camelback Rd.... Read more...
Celebrating Black History Month and Women's History Month...All Year Long (2023)
On the day following up on Black History Month and marking the start of Women’s History month, as a team we keep coming back to a theme that keeps resonating: that these holidays need to be celebrated all year round. And much of the “work” is really about prioritizing spaces for community care on an on-going basis, especially for those who have been most harmed by oppressive systems. Sometimes that work is in the public, and sometimes it isn't.  Image of the core tonlé team in Phnom Penh, captured last month... Read more...
Help us Close a Chapter and Prepare for the Next One (2022)
Not that it hasn't been expressed, but the last 2+ years have been HARD. Every time we try to open a new door, it seems that there is a new challenge behind it. The truth is that sometimes resilience and creativity just isn't enough to keep going, especially when operating within systems that are not designed to benefit all. We tried a rest and reset earlier this year, but with the current economic conditions, the rising cost of doing business fairly, and production disruptions, we haven't been making enough sales... Read more...
the Plant Kween x tonlé summer 2022 collection
Infused with her signature joie de vivre, we’re thrilled to offer a second collection developed in collaboration with Christopher Griffin, AKA the Plant Kween. Created from a shared appreciation for radical self-love and community care, with a deep rooted affection for the ‘green gurls’- each of these pieces combines Christopher’s flair for fashion with tonlé’s sustainable, zero waste process. In line with our shared vision of disrupting gender binarism in the fashion industry, we developed these looks through a gender expansive lens to fit a range of bodies.  Read more...
2023 Update: Change is Constant!
2022 was certainly challenging, but we're excited to welcome the new year with fresh ideas, new designs, and projects on the horizon. Tonlé has been going through a period of transition, and one thing is consistent: change! 2022 was one of our hardest to date, yet we're still proud of what we have accomplished as a team, no matter what shape tonlé takes in the future. Today, we're celebrating our wins and continuing to be shaped by learning through challenge. We'd like to share a bit about what we've learned and how we're... Read more...