Kanula T-shirt Review

Reviewed by J Wright

The company Kanula was dreamed up on the island of Skiathos by Richard and Caroline Joyce and they tell their story of inspiration on their clothing website. The designs they saw around them were the early catalysts for their brand.

Whilst they were travelling they became aware of the nesting beaches of turtles and Kanula became their way of helping; enabling them to donate to charity – specifically to help the turtles and in their own words “Kanula would be an ethical and sustainable brand which would focus on giving back to the planet instead of shareholders and in doing so, we focused on producing no plastic waste materials which often end up polluting the oceans and harming sea life like turtles.”

At the end of their trip they had conceived Kanula “and decided on charity called Sea Turtle Conservancy because it was small and run by passionate people who care as opposed to a large charity with a highly paid management organisation”. So far so good, the consumer world of fashion is rarely ethical nor kind to our planet, to achieve that along with funky designs is a winning combination. (Editor’s note – this is the reviewer’s opinion)

It’s good to know that 8% of every purchase on the site goes directly to the sea turtle conservancy.

I had a flick through the website pages and I was intrigued about the designs, they’re really attractive, focusing on sea creatures and lizards and they really appealed to me. It made me want to buy holiday clothes, but Kanula is more than that, these aren’t simply fair weather disposable goods. My son chose a manta ray on a teal cotton t-shirt. He loved the image and the colour and it was great to see such a huge range of colours available. There were three shades of blue to choose from, along with many other variations and the item was true-to-colour when it arrived.

You can choose from tshirts, sweatshirts, hoodies and bags, all in a wide range of designs, colours and sizes.  It’s good to see there are women’s t-shirts too, instead of the one cut fits all approach. These have a wider shaped v-neck and seem to be a more flattering cut.  The website is easy to navigate and choices are made easy with fitting and colours to choose after the design. There’s plenty for everyone. The t-shirt would have been £15 which is not unreasonable for such ethically produced garments.
Unfortunately the t-shirt they sent out wasn’t the right size and as such I am unable to comment on fit, how well it keeps shape, comfort or how well it washes after wear.  I can say that the cotton feels like good quality fabric. Not the flimsy and thin weave we associate with low quality clothing.

Kanula state on their blog that their garments are made to order and they’re proud of this, again in keeping with their values and ethics. Not that this seems to affect production. My sons t-shirt was dispatched quickly. The t-shirt arrived in a cardboard box, completely in adherence to the ethos of avoiding plastics which are harmful to sea creatures and the planet alike, that was refreshing.

Update posted online 11/2/21 –

We received a second t-shirt to expand on the review. I like the attitude of the company for undertaking that, they believe in their product enough to go the extra mile and rightfully so.

My son has worn the t-shirt a few times now. He really likes it and seeks it out. He loves the colour and how it feels on his skin. The cotton is comfortable and it has washed and worn really well. The design shows no sign of being impacted by washing, it’s resilient. The t-shirt has kept it’s shape no matter how I’ve dried it or how rough he’s been putting it on or taking it off.

The fabric colour looks exactly as it did when it arrived and didn’t bleed colour onto the rest of my laundry. A sigh of relief for most parents I imagine. I have the sense he’ll outgrow it rather than the garment wearing out or fading.
I have an urge to buy holiday clothing now!

Rating: 4/5

RRP:

This product can be purchased from the Kanula website here.