6 SUSTAINABLE AND ETHICAL CLOTHING BRANDS TO SUPPORT
- therecirculationre
- Jul 27, 2022
- 3 min read
Sustainability is becoming increasingly important, and more and more people are slowly making lifestyle changes in efforts to reduce their footprint on the planet. As a result, a growing amount of sustainable and ethical brands have emerged in the past few years as a response to the demand in conscious shopping and as a guide in directing the fashion industry into something greener. So what makes an ethical brand?
An ethical brand ensures that their workers are being treated fairly across the supply chain. This includes the practices and policies on child labor, forced labor, worker safety, and the payment of a living wage. Ethical brands also focus on their use of resources and energy, which includes reducing carbon emissions and the disposing of chemicals safely. In addition to that, ethical brands typically use little to no animal products, which includes wool, leather, and fur.
Here are a few of my favorite ethical clothing companies!
THE FIXX COLLECTIVE
If you’re looking for new styles, but don’t want to buy new pieces just to get a few wears out of them, the Fixx Collective is for you! Providing short term rentals, you can now wear the things you want without contributing to more waste, essentially sharing a closet with other clients and reducing the total amount of clothing that needs to be produced. With the goal of minimizing waste and extending the life cycle of clothing, the Fixx Collective is the solution for the ultimate sustainable wardrobe.
FOR DAYS
For Days is a circular fashion brand that uses high-quality and non-toxic sustainable materials such as organic cotton and recycled fabrics to create zero-waste. In addition to that, they also have the Take Back Bag program, which allows you to purchase empty bags of various sizes to fill up with old clothes (of any brand and material) to send back to them to recycle into things like insulations, rugs, and cleaning materials. Not to mention, this program also offers discounts on new For Days items, so you can pick up something new for your closet while you’re at it!
PARADE
Finding affordable, comfortable, and sustainable underwear is hard. Luckily, there’s Parade. Available in inclusive sizes from XS to 3X, Parade offers undies that start just at $8 and come in a variety of cuts including briefs, boyshorts, and hip huggers. Plus, Parade is committed to zero-waste with products made of 80% - 95% recycled materials, using organic cotton lining for comfort. In addition to being environmentally friendly, the label also champions diversity and donates 1% of every purchase to a charity of your choice, including Planned Parenthood and the LGBTQ+ community.
REFORMATION
Offering an impressive range of jeans, outerwear, activewear, and footwear, Reformation provides flattering pieces for every silhouette. All of their garments are made using upcycled or deadstock fabrics, while boasting an online partnership with the clothing recycling company, ThredUp. In addition to that, Reformation supports the California Garment Worker Protection Act SB62 and has partnered with the Fair Labor Association to ensure that all practices are safe for suppliers and manufacturers, and that workers are being paid fair wages.
GIRLFRIEND COLLECTIVE
With the use of recycled plastic bottles, fishing nets, and other waste, Girlfriend Collective designs affordable size-inclusive athleisure and loungewear in all sorts of fun colors and styles. These colors are achieved through a unique low-impact dye process, and the leftover dye mud is donated to local pavement facilities to be recycled into sidewalks and roads. Its compressive bras and leggings are made from 79% recycled polyester and 21% spandex, with 25 post-consumer bottles going into the leggings, and 11 in each bra. Not to mention, Girlfriend Collective uses 100% recycled packaging, and works with certified manufacturers that treat and pay workers ethically.
VEJA
As seen on Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton, Veja’s tennis-style white sneakers are not only iconic and sleek, but also sustainably made. Veja uses organic fair-trade cotton to make the canvas of their sneakers, rubber grown in the Amazon rainforest for the soles, and recycled plastic bottles for the mesh. As a certified B corporation, the French fashion brand has gone under third-party examination and meets social sustainability and environmental performance standards. According to their website, the team also spends a considerable amount of time in-field, ensuring that all practices are ethical, and that employees are being properly treated and paid.
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