Secondhand living is my way of life here at EL HOBO. I was brought up extremely thrifty and taught how to do most things on a budget, to reuse and mend instead of buying new.
Ethically made and low carbon impact is a choice we all have as consumers. What was considered thrifty is now environmentally friendly. The fashion industry alone is the second largest polluter in the world after the oil Industry. Re using instead of buying new is the biggest way to help reduce and help us move forward in this environmental battle.
Homespun folksy Americana inspired lifestyle is EL HOBO’s style. My father always referred to me as ‘the littlest hobo’. Due to my wanderlust nature and collector of used items. EL HOBO style is a collective melting pot of happy 70’s memories. With a passion for worldwide travel, country music and years of a surfing and biker lifestyle.
Beautiful textiles have always been a passion for me. Therefore my travels have exposed me to traditional clothing, styles and textiles. Visiting many countries rich in such items including Morocco, Mexico, India, Indonesia, America and lots of Europe.
EL HOBO’s main emphasis is on reusing and being thrifty. Sourcing cotton, threads, zips, buttons etc all secondhand to significantly lessen our environmental footprint. Reduce reuse recycle is a good start. However we need to move to reduce, reuse, repurpose, and then and only then recycle. We know at EL HOBO that its ethically made because I make it from predominantly secondhand materials.
A lot of my collections involve the use of leather and sheepskin. Above all this is only ever sourced as a used material, coming from old sofas and coats etc. I do not condone the use of animal products for pleasure, however I do feel that in reusing old leather and sheepskins etc then it hasn’t gone to an unnecessary death to end up as waste in the landfill.