SO FAUX so good

Polly Dunbar meets Nina Hopkins, the east London designer making sustainability chic

When Nina Hopkins launched her award-winning outerwear label Jakke in 2015, her focus was on creating a brand that was cruelty-free. Its fun, affordable-luxe faux fur quickly gained an army of fans. But a couple of years ago Nina began receiving messages from customers asking for something more.

‘They were saying, “It’s great that you’re saving animals but what about the planet? Your jackets are made from polyester”,’ she says. ‘I started researching and realised polyester can take 300 years to degrade, so I decided to do my best to make clothes that were less harmful to the environment.’

Nina, 43, was born and raised in Bow, east London, and spent two decades designing for high street brands before starting Jakke (Danish for jacket). Wearing her Bailey vegan leather coat in bright green, she’s a great advert for her label’s ethos: effortlessly cool and seriously committed to sustainability.

More than half of Jakke’s online collection is now produced using polyester made from recycled plastic bottles — ‘even the filling inside our puffer jackets’ — which requires 59 per cent less energy to produce than virgin polyester. The new collection’s Rebecca raincoats are produced using biodegradable thermoplastic, a compostable material derived from trees and plants. Everything from the brand’s dyes to its hangers and packaging is as eco-friendly as possible, and Nina is constantly striving to do better.

‘Technology is advancing all the time in terms of materials and production techniques, which is exciting,’ she says. ‘There’s a new faux fur which is made from recycled polyester mixed with plant-based materials including a corn by-product, so we’re working towards using that in future.’

Tech innovation has helped to make the process of buying Jakke products greener, too. The brand uses the digital platform Joor for its orders, which predicts the most popular sizes and styles. ‘The result is less waste because we’re not over-ordering the wrong

things,’ says Nina. The brand is also available via the fashion rental site Rotaro, which gives customers the buzz of wearing something new while keeping overall consumption levels down.

The rewards of Jakke’s pivot have been tangible: its coats are now available in big-name stores including Selfridges and, most importantly, customers love it. ‘They were the driving force behind the change,’ says Nina, who estimates that 70 per cent of customers now come to Jakke as a result of its green credentials. ‘Although it’s increased our initial costs, I’m really happy it’s been so well-received.’