Our Values
We’re Gung Ho about fashion that proudly showcases your passions and beliefs. We weave conversation starters into the design of every garment. But we don’t stop there. Gung Ho aims to leave as little impact as possible, support wonderful people and champion the charities that work with the issues you are wearing. We truly believe the industry needs to provide sustainable fashion that doesn’t compromise on taste and style, whilst inspiring new minds that might not know about these issues in an inclusive way. So let’s create a movement that makes it exciting to be part of the change, and ultimately give back positively, one conversation at a time.
Follow the story behind each garment at the bottom of its product description
Campaigns
Each year we pick a different societal or environmental issue that needs attention. From Plastic Oceans to Climate Change, these issues are explored within the print design of our garments, or through embroidery, in the case of our statement sweatshirts. That way, the next time someone compliments you on what you're wearing you have a little more to say than just 'thanks'. Every Gung Ho piece comes with a minizine that explains the issue you are wearing, why it is important and what you can do to help. Our mission is to get people talking about these issues and inspire change.
So far we’ve campaigned for:
- Displacement
- Climate Change
- Food For Thought
- Plastic Oceans
- Precious Insects
Environmental commitment
We believe that the best design can be sustainable too. From working with natural & sustainable fabrics right through to our corozo nut buttons, we do the research to make sure we're making as little impact as we can. We’re working with a Regenesis Light Satin (made from recycled plastic bottles), a Silk Tencel (regenerated wood cellulose) mix, (both feel like 100% silk), Tencel and GOTS Certified Organic Cotton. We make sure all our inks for printing are Azo free and Oeko-Tex certified.
Our garments are designed to be adjustable and made for life, meaning that if you lose or gain a bit of weight, you still look and feel great. We design and make the collection in only 2 sizes (XS/S & M/L) or as a one-size-fits-all, which significantly reduces our fabric and end of season wastage. Any further waste is also minimised by small-scale accessories production using fabric offcuts like scrunchies and neck scarves - each completely individual and one of a kind, handmade in our London studio.
To top it all off our packaging is biodegradable & recycled, and of course 100% plastic free. Our tissue paper and stickers use soy inks on recycled paper.
We’ve partnered with One Tribe so for every person who signs up to our mailing list we save 100m² of Amazonian Rainforest.
Gung Ho - Reworked.
We've been busy reworking our system to make Gung Ho circular. Combining offcuts & garments sent back to us at the end of their lifespan, remixed with local antique furniture and broken vintage from our friends at Make Do & Mend we are excited to introduce Gung Ho Reworked. 100% upcycled, 100% impact free. Each piece is unique and one of a kind.
Shop Gung Ho Reworked here.
Social
We believe you need to walk the walk before you can talk the talk. The “Who Made My Clothes” campaign by Fashion Revolution shines a light on the people making our garments and we have always thought that “good” clothes are made in good (if not excellent conditions.) We proudly make the majority of our collection locally in London in a truly gorgeous studio. Some of our makers don’t have certifications - a lot of smaller businesses just can’t afford them - so we have our own policies they sign to ensure we are keeping a high standard. This includes guaranteeing safe working conditions, respecting workers’ rights, avoiding any type of child, forced or bounded labour, as well as any type of discrimination or harassment in the workplace, across the whole value chain. Gung Ho is also committed to protect the environment and animal welfare, as well as adhering to all existing local, national and international laws and regulations in regard to working conditions, environmental management and ethical business practices throughout all our operations. We have developed great relationships with our suppliers, and regularly go to our London makers to personally vouch for the conditions.
Gung Ho is extremely committed to embracing diversity and equal opportunity. We strongly believe that a culturally inclusive team, representing a wide arrow of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills, will help us build a better company and a better future.
Community
We understand that our sense of style might not be everyone’s cup of tea - which is why when we campaign around these issues we also throw events for our community to involve and inspire as many people as possible. You don’t need to dress Gung Ho to be part of our movement. Gung Ho has collaborated with a number of incredibly inspiring sustainable chefs to put on themed supper clubs, beach cleans and nights to support other types of artists to have a platform to express our mutual passion for change. We like to ask our community to bring a friend that might not think about going to events like these so we can engage with new minds. Do get in touch if you would like to collaborate on something.
Charities
10% of our profits are donated to a selected charity that works with the issue represented in the collection, so you can not only look good, but do good too. So far we’ve donated to Friends of the Earth, SeedsShare (which has sadly closed so we now support Made In Hackney), Surfers Against Sewage and The Worldwide Tribe. These are all incredible charities and we are proud to support them.
How it all started
With a dad who is a zero carbon architect, sustainability has been fairly drummed into founder Sophie from an early age. But without being able to follow in his more scientific, mathematical footsteps, Sophie followed her strength – drawing – to help convey these issues. Starting out, she wanted to become a political artist but after discovering a world of silk screen printing when studying in Brighton, she realised her drawings could become a walking ‘talking point’. This way, it wasn’t a piece of artwork hanging on a wall for a limited amount of people to see, it became someone’s first impression of you - and fashion shouldn’t just make you look good, but showcase your values too.
And that’s when the idea for Gung Ho was born.