My favorite sustainable fashion brands
Living an eco-friendly life is a holistic process rather than a one-sided. Swapping out beauty products is a great start but it doesn’t end there. There are lots of things we can improve in our lives, especially when living in today’s society and in big cities. I’ve previously touched on the subject of food and how to eat more sustainably, however today is all about the fashion industry and how to shop more sustainably.
What is wrong with today’s Fashion Industry regarding the environment? I’ve got some quick and easy solutions below so we can take into consideration if we want to live a greener life.
What is happening now?
- Quantity over quality. Multi-billion dollar companies hire cheap labor to work in brutal conditions in order to mass-produce poor quality clothes that fall apart after a few washes.
- Harvest of cotton requires a lot of water and chemical fertilizes.
- Fast fashion relies on weekly and seasonal trends thus making people feel the need to throw away their old clothes. This situation produces a high wastage of clothing, which in result, accelerates carbon emission and global warming.
- Toxic and untreated waste is thrown straight into the nearby rivers making their way into the oceans.
- Fabrics such as polyester, acrylic and nylon are not biodegradable and also need a lot of toxic chemicals and energy to be made therefore making them the most polluted materials to use.
Solutions
- Shop from ethical, fair-trade, organic, and local businesses that:
- Address toxic pesticide and chemical use
- Use and/or develop eco-friendly fabrics and components such us certified organic cotton and hemp.
- Minimise water use
- Recycle and address energy efficiency and waste
- Avoid new leather, fur and petrochemical fabrics. Instead, opt for more eco-friendly fabrics such as organic cotton, hemp and linen.
- Embrace vintage, second hand, hand-me-downs and thrift shopping.
Here are my favourite sustainable brands!
Kitu Paris
All clothes are made from Nepali artisans, and 10% of their income goes to charity. Designed by a designer in Paris who I’ve met and think very highly of.
Bourgine
A small independent boutique in Paris. Everything is made with love and creativity right in the middle of the city.
Mara Hoffman
An all-round ethical brand. They use organic materials, focus on quality, natural dyes and partner up with artisans in India and Peru. Even though this brand is over my budget, I adore every single piece they sell and hope one day I can have some of them!
Beautiful unique jewellery from Nepal! Each Kaligarh product is handmade by small-scale artisans in Nepal and elsewhere in the Himalaya. I own a pair of their earrings and honestly they are my best buy ever. I always get compliments when I wear them.
Cor Clothes
Fabrics are printed with the designer’s watercolour paintings, inspired by her travels and the natural world. All garments are made using sustainable materials, processes and production methods. I especially love and own a piece from their Journey Two collection, inspired by her trip to Amorgos.
“Take a walk with us down the rocky path to Aggia Anna.
Dry herbs crunching underfoot.
The faint bleating of goats and distant bells that signal their movement.
Journey two is a celebration of the Greek Ionian Islands.”
Cor website
ZAZI is a luxury fashion label with a focus on sustainability and women’s economic and social independence. They work with both vintage and organic materials and aim to give new life to traditional vintage and also create new pieces in partnership with women and artisans in Uzbekistan, Mongolia, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, India and Afghanistan. It’s my dream own one of their coats one day!
These are just my top picks, but there are countless other brands that focus on slow fashion. For a full list of sustainable brands please visit the What’s Your Legacy Fashion Brand Guide.
The Green Edit
Melanie x
