our mission
The fashion industry is the second most polluting industry on earth, producing 10% of global CO2 emissions while using enough water to supply five million people. Every year, 92 million tons of clothing are discarded, yet less than 1% is ever recycled.
Sustainable fashion promised a solution, but delivered guilt, minimalism, and greenwashing instead. 72% of brands admit to misleading their customers, and the average garment is worn 36% fewer times than it was just 15 years ago. The industry isn't slowing down. It's accelerating.
There are 42 million teens in the U.S. alone, each spending an average of $1,000 on clothes per year, not because they're wasteful, but because nothing they own is designed to evolve with them. UGLI Studio exists at that intersection: when a new trend hits, you buy a component, not a whole outfit. Long-term, a portion of every profit goes toward purchasing and protecting actual sections of the Amazon rainforest. Every acre documented, every purchase traceable.
the rind
The Rind is our modular clothing connector: durable, flexible, and designed to disappear completely when worn. It lets two pieces of fabric connect seamlessly, so you can swap sleeves, collars, panels, and graphics without tools, thread, or compromise.
Built with SLA printing and 80A flexible resin, paired with eco-friendly fabric and ethical labor. Every detail is engineered from the ground up, and if it doesn't meet our standards, we don't sell it.
the founder
Vera is the teen founder of UGLI Studio. She didn't start this because she read about fashion's problems. She started it because she lived them. She's the customer this industry keeps failing, and she got tired of waiting for someone else to fix it.
She built UGLI Studio while juggling multiple APs and SAT prep, because waiting for the right time was never really an option.
