Ana + Zac
the softest premium pima cotton basics designed in Nova Scotia and ethically made in Peru
We think about fashion in a slow and holistic way. We acknowledge trends but we move in our own direction, at our own pace. We make things that we both love, can wear everyday and that will last a long time.
We listen to our community and build on what we learn, striving to improve on comfort, fit and the longevity of our clothing.
- sustainable business practices
- conscious consumerism
- classic gender-free styling
- high quality fabrics
- ethical manufacturing
- short supply chain
- transparent sourcing
- small batch production
- season-less colours
- inclusive design
- style repeats
- wear everyday
We are continuously developing our sustainable practices. Staying educated and adapting with a focused approach will help us keep up with our rapidly changing world.
We design our clothing in Nova Scotia working closely with our team at Raintex, a small vertically integrated textile and clothing manufacturer based in Lima, Peru.
Certified G.O.T.S organic + conventionally grown pima cotton fibres are bought and collected from family owned farms outside of Lima, Peru. The fibres are transported to yarn spinning facilities in Lima run by our certified yarn suppliers including Romosa and Bergman Rivera. The quality yarns are then sent to local low impact dye houses or machine woven into fabric by our manufacturer. The un-dyed ‘greige’ fabrics are then sent to the associated dye houses and then sent back to our manufacturer to be cut and sewn.
Our fabrics are developed and produced in local machine rental facilities rented by our manufacturers and controlled and run by our in-house trained technicians.
Our garments are cut in-house by our manufacturer, along with all sample sewing. Garment construction is currently outsourced locally and then checked (quality control) and packed by our in-house technicians.
Once finished and packed in 1/4 of the industry standard in recycled plastic packaging, our deliveries are shipped by air cargo to our warehouse in Halifax, Nova Scotia via Montreal or Toronto straight from Lima, Peru. Currently our deliveries weigh 400 - 800 kg and travel approximately 7000 km for a total of approximately 30,000 - 35,000 km of travel a year.
The current pandemic has created supply chain issues all around the globe. Despite our continued ability to access organic cotton and produce our clothing we are experiencing longer lead times, order increase requests and production and shipping delays which have all led to increased costs.
Despite these set backs, we know that now is not the time to step back from our sustainability goals but to move steadily forward and remain gentle in our approach.
Ana + Zac is a Nova Scotia based Canadian clothing brand established in 2019. Real life partners, owners and designers Anna and Zac, have been working together since 2012.
Anna Gilkerson
Anna is an FIT (New York City) + POLIMODA (Florence, Italy) trained fashion designer. Anna designs and develops the colours, fabrics and clothing collections with help from their manufacturing technicians in Peru and directs the creative and marketing teams.
Zac Barkhouse
Zac is an NSCC + NSCAD (Halifax) trained filmmaker and photographer. He worked as a menswear buyer and stylist for over ten years. Zac manages the finances, oversees all logistics and helps design the line with Anna.
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