Did you know that in terms of what you need, the average person only needs 85 items in their closet for all four seasons? While still a high number, for fashion lovers, it seems close to impossible. However, as consumers, we are responsible for trying our best to combat the problems in the fashion industry, specifically fast fashion, which has spiked in recent years.
One easy way to do so is by being conscious of what you add to your wardrobe. Investing in brands with ethical practices and sustainability focuses ensures the longevity of your items, wardrobe, and our planet.
In the hopes of brevity, this article only highlights a few of our favorite brands’ sustainability practices. If you want to read further about any of these to fully understand the measures taken, each heading is linked to the brand’s information page.
Founded on the notion of sustainable and ethical practices that use traditional craftsmanship techniques, and using independent artisans who ethically handmake products, Cleobella as a brand is centered around sustainability in every way. 89% of their products feature plant-based, renewable fibers. They have funded the planting of 10,369 trees in India, saved 331,685 plastic bottles and 1,610 plastic bags, and removed 36,000 lbs of plastic from the oceans, which was used to create their Beach Tote and their swimwear.
Citizens of Humanity are intensely focused on sustainable practices in all aspects of production. To ensure this ethical production, they make their product to order, use as much regenerative and recycled cotton and leather as much as possible, and use high-efficiency washers, dryers, and dying machines. They make their pockets from recycled bottles, recycle thread for stitching on select denim, create their hardware from recycled materials used in previous processes, recycle water used in production, and create labels and tags from recycled paper. Most product production is done in company-owned facilities to ensure these sustainable practices are used.
Nature has been Farm Rio’s inspiration since 1997. Based in Brazil, the brand partners with local non-profits and actively contributes to the community around it. One of Farm Rio’s many sustainability initiatives is working with Grupo Soma to plant 1,000 trees a day, offsetting their carbon footprint from production by 100%. Through this initiative, they grow over 200 tree types and focus on protecting more than 2,000 wild animals in Brazil. Farm Rio also focuses on reusing surplus fabric for their collection and donates what is left over to other companies in Brazil. They also donate their returns and remaining product to employees and local brands to minimize waste of unbought, returned or damaged products.
To Varely, “Responsibility is as fundamental as the fit of a garment.” Creating versatile and timeless items that last season after seasons due to quality, in hopes to assist buyers in buying less. They create needed products by keeping a “cut-to-order” model to minimize waste. Varley is also partnered with Fairly Made which provides tools to measure the brand’s impact and enhance transparency in tracing product origins to ensure sustainable and ethical production.
With an “eco-chic swim line” that is created from recycled materials from the US, LSpace has been introducing sustainable practices into most aspects of their company. From tags that are made with Forest Stewardship paper, which promote the management of our world’s forests, to degradable plastic bags that fully degrade in less time, and even partnering with Thred Up to keep wearable garments in closets and out of landfills, LSpace is taking steps toward being more sustainable.
Due to their strong belief in local craftsmanship, over 95% of denim and 90% of overall manufacturing is local in LA. This ensures that each step of the process meets MOTHER’s standards while also supporting the surrounding community. MOTHER also introduced their 60% MOTHER collection which utilizes product overages, damages and scraps, blending them with rag house finds to keep more out of landfills. MOTHER also donates to a long list of non-profits, a few being Kind Campaign, mothers2mothers, and Everytown, truly speaking to their motto, “MOTHER Loves You.”
ONCEPT sneakers are not only the most comfortable sneaker you can wear, but arguably the most sustainable. From design to manufacturing and shipping, the brand hones in on reducing waste, which largely means reusing it! They are known for their “respeckled” shoe bottoms, which come from including shoe bottoms from donated shoes and waste from past productions into the new designs. They also only use high quality materials, like leather, nylon created from recycled materials, recycled insole boards, recreated memory foam from past customer returns, and organic cotton. They also ship their shoes in pull-out style boxes and branded totes over tissue, both created and designed to be able to reuse. ONCEPT teamed up with Supercircle to support past customers to send back their ONCEPTS and shoes from other brands when they are no longer wearable for a credit back to the customer, but also so ONCEPT can ensure these items are being repurposed instead of sitting in a landfill.
With their operations based in Peru, Nation follows a vertical manufacturing process, growing, harvesting, spinning, knitting, cutting, and sewing at one location to significantly reduce transportation related pollution and carbon footprint. Basing their operations in Peru also allows for ethical agriculture practices and supports the local community, which is known for their Pima Cotton that requires half the amount of water that regular cotton does to grow. Taking their sustainability approach a step further, Nation has a resell page on their website that allows customers to send in their pre-loved Nation’s items to be resold through Nation’s, reducing the amount of clothes that end up in landfills.
