Inspiration

The Beachy Collection was inspired by and for our coastlines. Not only did the beauty of the coast inspire these styles, but our love for the ocean also inspired the sustainable process used to create the collection. The colors and shapes in the Beachy patch sweaters reflect the shapes and colors of the sand, sea, sky, and sun. The graphic printed our Beachy t-shirt reflects and original painting done by Em (owner/creator/designer of eMpulse). 

 

Collection Styles

Our collection includes genderless t-shirts and sweaters, infused with coastal California sunshine. Each style is handmade in California with repurposed or organic plant-based fabric. Our mission at eMpulse is to find the softest most sustainable fabric we can get our hands on, and that’s exactly what we did!

The retro Beachy sweatshirts are a comfy crewneck style that you won't want to take off your skin. Made with mega soft deadstock fabric, these pullovers are ready to be your go-to cozy layer! Reflective of warm sandy beaches, the sweatshirts come in two color-ways. The yellow and grey color-way is full of salty sunshine, and our dreamy coral and sage color-way reflects sand and water of tropical beaches. 

Our Beachy cropped tee is made with watery soft GOTS certified organic cotton fabric. The graphic is from a watercolor painting by Em (owner/designer/creator of eMpulse) that she painted one sunny afternoon in the Caribbean. The coastal scene was painted with watercolors mixed with tropical salty ocean water, as she sat in the warm powdery sand overlooking the sparkling Caribbean Sea. The "Beachy" art graphic is digitally printed onto each tee, eliminating any harmful run-off. The Beachy painting is also available as an art print.

Our Golden plant dyed t-shirts are also made with the same GOTS certified organic cotton fabric. We added them to the Beachy collection, as they too are reflective of the coastline - the California coastline to be exact. Em doodled up this graphic on a specifically magical golden hour in our hometown of San Diego. Check out our Botanically dyed Golden T-shirts on these botanically dyed t-shirts to learn more! 

 

The Process

 The process started with Em’s retro crewneck sweatshirt design that includes the handmade Baechy patch. Em sourced deadstock fabric, which is repurposed excess fabric that already exists, from warehouses in Los Angeles. She calls this “fabric treasure hunting” because sourcing deadstock fabric in Los Angeles warehouses is sometimes more time consuming than the actual cut and sew process. 

When Em finally found the perfect colors that were up to her high quality and softness standards, she bought the few rolls that were available. Using deadstock fabric not only makes these sweatshirts limited edition (they won't ever be able to be created exactly like this again), but also makes these designs super sustainable. 

The sustainability factor with deadstock fabric comes from different areas of the production process. We use no dyes or chemicals, the production is simply a cut and sew process, so there is no harmful run-off in our process. We also eliminated resources that need to be used to make new fabric because we are using fabric that already exists. Using deadstock fabric is another form of up-cycling, which is how eMpulse started, and makes use of unwanted resources that could otherwise end up in landfills. We also have low carbon emissions since we find the fabric in Los Angeles, and also cut and sew the sweaters in Los Angeles.

 

After we find the fabric, then wash and preshrink the fabric, we take it over to our cut and sew team. Our cut and sew team works in a beautiful warehouse in downtown Los Angeles, making livable and fair wages. The cutting and sewing takes about a month to complete before everything is ready to be picked up by Em and stored in our San Diego home garage! 

 

Small Batch Production

Since we are only able to use the deadstock fabric we found, this collection of sweatshirts is made in a very small batch with only about 20 sweaters per color. We are always making our pieces in small batches to prevent waste and to also create limited edition styles. 

 Limited Edition styles are part of our mission at eMpulse: to make unique pieces of wearable art that are both eco-conscious and ethical. Mass producing, which is the core of fast fashion, can never be sustainable. The excess fabric and garments from the fast fashion industry end up in landfills, wateraways, and cause detrimental effects on the people and the planet. We vow to only make our items in small batches with the most sustainable fabric we can get our hands on. We have joined the slow fashion revolution, leading our world away from mass production. Check out our blog “Navigating the Fashion Industry” to learn more about fast fashion.

September 28, 2021 — Emily Karrer