FTC (Fair Trade Cashmere) is a premium knitwear specialist that was founded in 2003, by the Knezovic family that still runs the business from Switzerland.

The company has also recently implemented a series of new projects that include the use of innovative fibers and blends, while pushing ahead its commitment toward traceability, and also launched a new trans-seasonal T-shirt model, T by FTC.

This cashmere knitwear specialist operates through production sites in Shaanxi and Hebei provinces, in China, according to a fair policy by paying what it considers fair wages to its workers, long-term employment and good working conditions and long-time close partnerships and a deep understanding of local needs have thus been formed. FTC actually invests not only in its own company but also in the local people, for example by supporting and building schools.



The cashmere brand has recently achieved the Made in Green by Oeko-Tex label, one of the few acknowledgements to include various areas of sustainability such as environmental, safety, social and traceability and, since November 2022, a QR code attached to each item of the collection helps to access information about the brand’s life story and value chain.

 

Among others projects, it has focused on further enhancing cashmere's properties in terms of softness and comfort-tempering by adding them a sense of caring for the skin.

The company has actually created a new material called Seacell Cashmere. Seacell is a 100% biodegradable brown algae and lyocell based fiber which provides a nurturing sensation on the skin.

 

The new material is obtained by blending high-quality raw cashmere with a brown alga that, once it is dried, crushed it is then ground into a fine powder according to a made in Europe patented process.

 

When blended with cashmere, the resulting fiber provides a sense of beneficial effect for those who wear it.

FTC has also developed Cashmere Organic Cotton, a new soft, sustainably sourced and processed cashmere by blending 30% of its own cashmere farms with 70% organic cotton. "With the Cashmere Organic Cotton line, we want to offer our customers a beautiful knitwear collection that ca be worn for the warmer summer months, and is affordable, too," commented Jana Knezovic, head of product, FTC.

Among other novelties, the company has developed a new a zero-waste productive technique thanks to its upcycled line Up Knit - Upcycling for Uniqueness. Thanks to this specific technique, material waste is reduced as much as possible, and production residues can be recycled.

 

The brand is very keen about offering trans-seasonal products. For this it has launched T by FTC, a collection of essential T-shirts for women and men that can be worn in any occasion.

 

This T-shirt model is a dressy, premium jersey, sustainably made style that can be combined with cashmere knits, blazers or many other styles.

 

The new collection includes nine women's styles and three men's styles in jersey. The selection includes from the round neck and narrow V-neck to the A-shape and casual boyfriend shirt, in a variety of basic and seasonal colors.

 

The T by FTC is made of 70% organic cotton combined with 20% lyocell-algae fiber Seacel abd 10% Smartcel, another antibacterial, anti-odor cellulose and zinc oxide mix sustainable fiber. The t-shirt is sold at €100.