Northern Playground: Quality, price and environmental impact

"Northern Playground's mission is to reduce the consumption of clothing. At the same time, we make our living selling clothes. It is an obvious paradox."

This is what they themselves state clearly on the page explaining their business model.

Thoughts on prices and discounting

"Over 30% of the world's clothing is sold at a discount. That creates poor margins for the company, and customers buy things they don't need. We do everything we can to make sure our garments never end up on sale."

"Our prices are not low. The industry is marked by price pressure. That yields poor profits and forces companies to bet on volume. High volume lets you squeeze manufacturers and subcontractors to the maximum, which in turn creates miserable working conditions and catastrophic environmental effects."

- northernplayground.no

The design and technology industry is no exception

In tender processes, hourly rates are often pressed so hard in the fight for contracts that it borders on irresponsible.

Statistics from Kreativt Forum and an article in Kampanje show that "The hourly rate of Norwegian advertising and design agencies has only increased by 15 per cent in 20 years."

Kampanje also wrote earlier this year about enormous price pressure in the industry, and the challenges it helps create.

"The first step is to buy quality products and use them until they are completely worn out"

- northernplayground.no

What does Northern Playground do that inspires us?

• No discounts, fair prices
• No overproduction
• A clear focus on local production
• No middlemen
• They spend little money on marketing and outbound sales
• A focus on durability
• A focus on multifunctionality
• They don't follow "trends"
• "Clean" design; no large, vulgar logos or illustrations. Clean and timeless colours.
• They make it easy to repair and recycle
• Honesty in their communication
• Openness about who they produce their products with
• "Slow fashion". They don't do collection-based clothing development. They don't launch new products just to have something new.

Why do we at Vasser care?

Not only does Northern Playground inspire us with its approach to business development, but their design principles and general mindset are something we recognise ourselves in.

When we create design and digital solutions, we also focus on durability and long-term functionality. Unfortunately, the industry often operates with frequent replacement of technology and visual identity. That is why we greatly appreciate seeing good role models lead the way as Northern Playground does.

We not only try to build the best possible solutions for our clients, but also try to create a sustainable workplace for ourselves along the way. It is therefore important for us to be honest in our communication, and to price our services in a way that secures a safe future for both us and the client. Northern Playground shows it is possible to price your products and services fairly despite extreme pressure from competing brands.

As for sustainability; as Northern Playground themselves say clearly: "There is no such thing as sustainable textile production". In the same way, there are no sustainable websites. Every website needs files available on a server, and the server needs energy. We always try to use sustainable servers for this, but that doesn't mean the problem is solved. There is also battery power needed on end users' digital devices, data transfer from telecom operators and so on. Our focus is on minimising unnecessary resource use on websites, and simplifying websites in use, so that unnecessary traffic is avoided as far as possible, while respecting the broad spectrum of visitors to the website – not just those with a fast fibre line.

Open and honest communication is another important aspect. We never outsource our services. If a project needs expertise we don't possess, we are clear and honest in our communication with the client, and are happy to make recommendations from our network where desired, but we never try to pretend to be something we are not.

Sometimes these things mean we are not the right partner for a project, because other agencies can deliver both cheaper and faster. But fortunately there are also clients out there who appreciate quality, a long-term perspective and good, sustainable collaboration.

We are cheering for you, Northern Playground!