FAQs

We manufacture at the source of raw materials, giving the opportunity to villages, towns or countries not only to grow, breed or make these materials but also to develop the finished products. By re-setting productions standards, we thrive to encourage a new sustainable industrialization not only focused in one or two countries but spread all around the world.

There are no rules for who can wear or how to wear any IOAN products. Most of our garments are sized Petite, X-Small, Small, Medium, Large, and X-Large - you choose your look and how to wear IOAN. A size Petite roughly equates to a women's X-Small, and a Medium is true to size for a Men's Medium.

All IOAN products can be considered organic due to the way in which they are created. As the word "organic" ties back to living things or material that comes from living things, we believe in producing from beginning to end making sure to utilize the raw materials from earth in the least harmful way possible. Whether it is working with organic cotton, natural dyes, alpaca fibers, farm grown teak, raffia, or even upcycled natural fibers, planet and people are our number one priority when we think about making anything, which creates a strong and ongoing direct tie to nature and all the possibilities it presents. 

This is the dyeing agents in use for what we call The Clean Clothes project, exclusively using dyes which are obtained directly from naturally occurring and replenishable plants, minerals, or resins. These are dyes which can be fixed to fabric through entirely non-toxic binding processes and are biodegrade in the local ecosystem. Color gradation and intensity are the result of the number of times the garment is dipped into the dye solution.

The IOAN natural dye process is performed entirely by hand, using materials and methods that are native to Southern India. Some of our Indigo garments are dipped up to 12 times in the dye bath and may retain some of the natural dye. We suggest machine washing your garment with a gentle detergent and warm water, either on its own or with other dark items. After one or two washes, your garments should not have any more residual dye. 

The natural indigo dye used in all Clean Clothes productions comes from the Indigofera Tinctoria shrub, cultivated in Tamil Nadu, India. In this region, indigo requires no additional water sources, as the plant relies solely on rainwater and is naturally drought-resistant. Belonging to the legume family, it requires no fertilizer, provides high yields, and helps reduce soil erosion.

After the harvest of the indigo plant, water is needed to extract the indigo pigment from Indigofera Tinctoria. This water is returned to farmlands for irrigation as it contains no toxic elements. The garment dying process also yields zero water discharge as garments are dyed in fermented indigo vats, which dyeing solution is kept for many years maintained with lime and other natural elements.

Ask questions before buying anything: ask how is it made, who made it, where is it made, in that order. Don’t get too frustrated if you don’t get an answer. That question will hopefully start to reach leadership of companies and answers will start to arrive, but only if we remember to ask and don’t become shy or tired of questioning. Remember that shopping is like voting.

Any sediment left from the dye is composted and applied around the base of other plants, with remaining water used for the irrigation of coconuts, cashews and bananas.

Yes. This is one of the main purposes of our company - to empower people and honor local processes, while making products available to the global market. The breadth of employees within our partners is vast, each of our projects involving multiple teams of local and independent people. From the mountain villages, to the city teams - our goal is to raise the living standards of our partnering teams and communities. We believe the triumph of an economically sustainable system is directly related to the collaboration of designer, worker, product and consumer, collectively sharing goals to live and work for a more fair world.

We believe our standards to be higher than those which any certification or regulation would approve. We do not work with middle men or agents, there is a direct and personal communication between us and our producers. When we welcome an IOAN partner, every process is meticulously researched and analyzed in person, confirming that each production is made with unwavering environmental and social responsibility.

In some cases we do and in others we don’t - Our world is very big, and there are a lot of manufacturers and makers out there waiting for an opportunity to re-enter or breakthrough for the first time to the world market. We encourage designers and brands to spend time and resources in sustainable research, for brands to continue spreading opportunities and change instead of taking the easy route and utilizing IOAN partners, which is not the effect we are looking to achieve.

IOAN was founded by a team of like-minded humans with the purpose of bringing production back to original makers. As consumers, we reached extreme points of frustration and discontent when something needed to be purchased - from a pair of shoes to a t-shirt - they were all made in one or two Asian countries with the simple reason of it being cheaper to produce.

Instructions for how to care vary by material and are located on the inside label of each garment.

Organic Cotton (undyed or naturally dyed) - You can basically take care of these garments in almost the same way as you do for regular clothes, but here are some tips: wash with similar colors / machine wash warm / do not bleach / do not use stain remover / tumble dry low / iron low. Do not dry clean. AVOID POURING DETERGENT DIRECTLY ON GARMENTS (indigo not affected).  Iron vinegar products, avoid lemon and other acidic liquids.

Undyed Alpaca - hand wash in warm water with shampoo or wool safe detergent / lay flat on a table over a towel and let dry. We also recommend dry cleaning to renew the fibers. You may also want to store alpaca garments folded to retain their shape.

Recycled fibers - wash with similar colors / tumble dry low. Dry clean safe.

Any natural wool with extended use and wear will show signs of pilling over time. This being said, we have found that alpaca fiber is incredibly resistant to the pilling process and tends to develop a more shaggy appearance over time, long before exhibiting any pilling texture.

We urge you to take care of your IOAN products and pay close attention to our product care suggestions so that they last as long as possible. Pigment change and variation are what makes our garments particularly unique and special. When using natural dyes, a bit of color fading over time can be expected, as can be the case for chemically-dyed products as well. For products dyed with Iron salt and Iron vinegar, it is crucial to avoid lemon and other acidic liquids when wearing our products.

To extend the life of all of our products as long as possible, we offer an indigo re-dyeing service from our headquarters at a reasonable cost. Please get in touch at info@industryofallnations.com for more information.

Authentic indigo dye is fixed to garments through a fermentation process. This fermentation process involves plant decay, decomposition, and actively-monitored live cultures to ensure that the proper levels of bacteria are maintained to assist in the fixing of dye to each garment. It’s an olfactory wonderland or act of aggression, depending on who you ask. Either way, the smell is eliminated after the first couple of washes.

IOAN rarely offers sales. Our products are already well priced for the processes and quality involved. We also do not want to offer products at a discount that may inspire purchases which may otherwise be unnecessary. As always, we urge our customers to buy less.

Any natural oil or wax finish will work well in preserving the original appearance of teak wood. We have used tung oil, linseed oil, and beeswax in the past. However, the grey tone that teak acquires outdoors over time without any wax or oil treatment is a natural look that embraces the inherent characteristics of teak.

All IOAN Clean Clothes are pre-washed and pre-shrunk. Since we use 100% organic cotton, t-shirts will shrink 3-5% when exposed to high heat in a dryer. If you hang dry they will stay the same size. We recommend hang drying Madras shirts as they are made of a more delicate fabric that shrinks 15-20% when placed in a dryer.

Yes. You can drop your garment off at any IOAN shop or mail it to our HQ (address below), indicating what repair is needed. Please read more on our Repair page, not all products are eligible for repair service.

Please note that due to their material nature, alpaca fibers require gentle handling. Standard wear and tear of alpaca sweaters and accessories cannot be repaired.

Industry of All Nations

5066 W Washington Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90016

While some of our partners are GOTS certified, Fair Trade Enterprises, or BCorp companies and certifications regarding a company's production methods can be positive signs, we often found that we went above and beyond these standards. Certification can also cost-out some smaller, independent producers.

Regarding GOTS specifically, everything from the Clean Clothes (India) and Wild Cotton (Peru) Projects is GOTS certified. Any product with the word "Clean" or "Wild" or any cotton garment made in those countries will fall into that category.