Written by Menswear Style in Interviews on the 18th November 2021

Neem is lifestyle brand named after years of seeing the beautiful Neem tree in India, on countless buying and sourcing trips by founder Nick Reed who has worked in Menswear for over 20 years. The Neem is a natural herb that has healing properties and is used as a natural antiseptic. It also has anti-bacterial and viral properties and has been heralded as “An ancient cure for a modern world”. The founder has created Neem as an ‘antiseptic’ for fast fashion; to produce men's clothing that has been made with care, a result of a transparent supply chain with the safeguarding of our environment as the focus. Neem products last longer and when they are worn out, can be returned and re-cycled. Neem clothes are always smart yet dishevelled and they're sustainable with an authority on style – they call it Power Casual.

In a recent episode of the MenswearStyle Podcast we interviewed Nick Reed, Founder of Neem London about his new post-pandemic work uniform that is elegant, comfortable, and versatile. The brand is focused on sustainability and uses textile waste to recycle back into clothing. Our host Peter Brooker and Nick talked about sustainability, financing the brand, reducing carbon footprint, and being inspired by the style of Douglas Jardine and Richie Tenenbaum.

“Neem London is focused on three important areas. The first is what we're calling a post pandemic work uniform, which is a product that's focused on the work market, but in a more modern, elegant, and comfortable but smart way. The product is unquestionably versatile and is designed to be worn at home, at the office, to the gym, to the bar, and to the restaurant. The second focus is that we've produced a recycled shirt range with a focus is to produce a shirt that's the lowest emitting in greenhouse gas emissions in the world. We're at the equivalent of about 15 bananas whereas the industry average is a lot more at over 200 bananas or 2100 plastic bags. The third is that we want to increase the recycling of textile waste into new clothing yarn. At the moment in the UK, we consume about 1.1 million tonnes of clothing a year, and we're actually pretty good at collecting it through our history of charity shops. We collect about 700,000 tonnes a year and about 1% goes back into new clothing yarn. We want to ensure that the textile waste that we take back from any brand is recycled back into clothing yarn. I believe if you're a fashion startup today, you've just got to be super aware and focused on textile waste. There's an enormous amount of waste in the industry, so I made it a priority and focus for my brand."

This is a shortened transcribed edit of episode 143 of the MenswearStyle Podcast with Nick Reed, Founder of neemlondon.com. You can listen to the full version below or listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favourite podcast player.

We discuss Fashion and Textiles Waste, Recycled Yarn, Climate Conscious Clothing, and the Post Pandemic Work Uniform with the founder of Neem London, Nick Reed.