Meet the Mother-Daughter Duo Making Scrunchies Eco-Friendly

Blame it on a hearty dose of Gen Z fear that the world is ending, but I’ve done a pretty good job of getting on board with the green movement lately. I won’t say I’m the next Greta Thunberg (yet), but I haven’t used a plastic bag in months and I’ve seriously reduced my single-use container dependance thanks to the Soap Dispensary and a bit of mindful shopping.

But the one area of my life that’s still seriously needing an eco-friendly makeover is fashion. What can I say, I’m a quantity over quality kind of girl when it comes to clothes. I’ve got a short attention span and a Vancouver-sized closet that maintains a cycle: buy cute cheap thing. Wear for several months until said cute cheap thing inevitably starts looking ratty. Add it to the Donate Bag that’s lived in my coatroom for over a year (TBD when/if it’ll ever make it to the thrift store that’s literally a block away). Repeat. It’s really bad, I know. One cotton shirt takes 2,700 litres of water make – that’s enough for one person to drink for two and a half years. And a single polyester shirt produces 5.5 kg of greenhouse gases. 

And I’m not the only guilty one out here – the average Canadian throws out over 80 pounds of textiles each year. Now imagine how much most retailers throw out. 

Enter Supercrush, a Vancouver-based hair accessory company founded in 2018 by mother-daughter duo Shelby Slater and Courtney Peters.

“Supercrush began as an idea of mine to just make scrunchies one night with a few friends,” said Peters. “I posted about my creation on Instagram and wore the scrunchie to work the next day and it generated a lot of interest. Friends and family started asking if they could buy them. I enlisted the help of my mom, Shelby, to sew up a few scrunchies and we quickly found out there was a big demand.”

By the next week, they had set up a website and were beginning to sell their products online. Now, two years (and a rebranding from Bunheads to Supercrush) later, the brand is on 50 plus stock lists across the U.S. and Canada, and both mother and daughter have left their full-time healthcare roles to focus on the business.

The company has been prioritizing sustainability since its beginning ­­­– all of their products are handmade in Vancouver using locally sourced materials and they use recyclable packaging and minimal waste during production.

A new collaboration with popular ethical clothing brand Kotn is decreasing their environmental footprint even further. Supercrush’s new limited-edition collection (from $16) will be made from upcycled discarded Egyptian cotton that Kotn isn’t able to sell.

The Toronto-based clothing line, which sources their materials directly from cotton farmers in Egypt (“Like farm-to -table, but for your clothes”), usually donates their unusable clothes. But donated clothing isn’t always used, and often still ends up in the landfill. Thus, the Supercrush x Kotn collab was born late last year. 

The scrunchies are available in both regular and skinny size, while supplies last at Kotn stores (there’s one in Gastown).There are lots of cute colour options, mostly in neutrals and earth-tones, all made from their super soft high-quality cotton that is handpicked by farmers in the Nile Delta.

Peters says that while Supercrush has only committed to this initial run, she’d be happy to continue the collaboration. 

“We want to treat people fairly and give back to our community.  We love what Kotn has done overseas, and we’re excited to be partnering with another brand who is passionate about sustainability and leaving the world a better place.”