Island Girls: Gudrun & Gudrun Clothing

By Diane Small

In distant land, on a tiny island where sheep outnumber humans, conserving the natural world is a priority for all, and wearing wool is a long-standing tradition.

It’s within this setting that two friends with the same name decided they wanted to create clothes that ” live up to the standards of conscious consumers that do care about each other, the environment, our common natural resources and that yet want to be stylish”.

And that’s how Gudrun & Gudrun clothing was born.

Handmade & Sustainable

Based on the tiny Faroe Islands just off the coast of Denmark, the label mainly produces classic sweaters made from 100% untreated and undyed Faroese wool.

The yarn, taken from Faroese mountain sheep that feed on unfertilised grass, is knitted by hand into timeless jumpers by  Faroese, Jordanian and Peruvan women.

Any lambskin used in their production is from waste food production: they are derived from sheep kept for mutton, thus, the Gudruns state: “no animals are used for our production only. In our new accessories line we use fish leather. This is also a waste product. The fish is caught for eating – and we make use of the skin”.

In addition to their environmental credentials, the brand is also socially conscious, and started a women ´s empowerment project in Jordan because they believe that female empowerment “all starts with the opportunity to earn your own money”.

The two Faroese women are certainly empowered, then, not only from having earned their own money through the creation of their brand, but also by ensuring their tiny islands, just dots in the North Atlantic, will be preserved for generations–of people and sheep–for generations to come.

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