When it comes to sustainable fashion, we won’t claim to be experts. All we know is that most people tend to buy too many clothes that won’t get worn very often. Our philosophy, born as much out of financial sense as ethical sentiment, is to buy a few good quality, hard-working pieces that will transcend fashion fads and stand the test of time. Sometimes we supplement these items with seasonal whims, but generally our benchmark is cost-per-wear.
In a nutshell, ethical fashion concerns the sustainability of the supply chain (fair pay, working conditions and sustainable/organic resources e.g. cotton) and impact of production (carbon footprint, chemicals used to achieve desired finish, water usage). Companies win brownie points for ticking boxes such as recycled, natural, vegan, fairtrade (with local “artisans”), organic and carbon neutral. Most companies or fashion lines may tick one or two of these boxes but very few tick all. Indeed it may not even be possible to build a viable and competitive business around all of these things in this era of fast and furious fashion.
Emma Watson at the Met Gala Ball in a dress made from recycled bottles
A very passionate (and witty) friend of mine is launching a sustainable fashion blog and you can follow her progress @theelements_ldn on Instagram. Her knowledge is far more extensive than ours (Reformation is her recommendation) so give her a follow to keep updated with the best ethical and sustainable fashion brands. For now, here is our penny’s worth – there are a fair number of brands or lines out there with “sustainability” as their core value, but very few of these offer much in the way of genuinely exciting fashion. The following, we believe, are all worth a visit.
Gather & See
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- Roxy Dress by RIYKA, £145
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- May Dress by RIYKA, £166
The two founding ladies behind Gather & See curate fashion from forward-thinking designers all of which fit into at least 3 of their 5 founding philosophies: Fair Trade, Organic, Eco-Friendly, Small Scale Production and Heritage. Now working with 41 different designers, there’s plenty of choice, and decent choice at that. We particularly love everything by RIYKA, and I’m currently trying to work out which one to fit into my suitcase for the next holiday. I’m thinking either the Roxy dress, above left, £145 or the May dress, above right, £166.
People Tree
People Tree developed the first integrated supply chain for organic cotton from farm to final product, and certainly seem to be one of the more genuinely ethical and sustainable brands out there, both in terms of supply chain and production methodology. Despite early collaborations with actress and fashionista Emma Watson, I can’t get widely excited about their latest collections. However, they’ve got a couple of pieces that would offer great cost-per-wear in anyone’s wardrobe. Like this chic feminine Rebecca dress at £78 (below left), perfect for the office, or this Breton striped tee for £38 (below right), perfectly on trend.
Rebecca Dress, £78
Striped Tee, £38
Lowie
Lowie is a London-based knitwear label with an emphasis on traditional handicraft. The brand describes where each type of garment is manufactured on their About Us page. Cashmere, lambswool, mohair, merino and angora wool are all ethically sourced and their cotton has been organic or recycled for the past 7 years. SS17 is all about beautiful colours and prints – our particular favourites are this embroidered beach-inspired sweatshirt, £129, and yellow cashmere blend cardigan, £128.
Sweatshirt, Lowie, £129
Yellow Cashmere Blend Cardigan, £128
Stella McCartney
Famously No Leather, No Fur, No Skin, Stella McCartney was one the few big name major designers to take any interest in ethical fashion at all, let alone build a brand around it. Not only does she say no to animal product of any kind, she promotes female employment in marginalised communities, refuses to sell her perfume to the highly lucrative Chinese market because they require animal testing and has banned the common place process of sandblasting denim because it causes lung problems in the workers carrying out the process. Like the McCartney dynasty or not, she is one strong lady prepared to stand up for what she believes in and we salute her. We love anything in her stunning Falabella handbag range. SHOP HERE.
Edun
Founded by Bono and his wife in 2005, this brand states that its mission is to source production and encourage trade in Africa. Since becoming one of the many brands owned by the behemoth LVMH in 2009, unsurprisingly profitability seems to have become more important than the mission. However, as one of the few “sustainable” luxury brands out there, it deserves a mention. For their SS17 collection they collaborated with creatives from Rwanda and Kenya, featuring embroidery on cotton-jersey fabric courtesy of Rwandan women’s workshop Ibab, and jewellery made from recycled aluminium, brass and wood, in collaboration with Kenyan-based company Soko. We love this striped cotton gabardine top, £330, from their Pre-Spring 2017 collection:
Fonnesbech
A Danish brand after HøF’s heart, it states its “focus is on the ’sustainable wardrobe’. By this we mean a smaller wardrobe with timeless quality items, which can be used in a flexible way.” Each item you buy has a symbol telling you why it meets their sustainability standards, from recycled materials to organic content, free of harmful chemicals, or fair-trade. The collections are fairly limited and fairly pricey, but the classic Danish tailoring means they are clothes you will treasure for ever. You will need to get it shipped from Copenhagen, but that’s a small price to pay for this stunning soft-yellow cold shoulder dress or the Diya Skirt in Scarlet Red.
Really love this write-up. About a year ago, I committed to “thoughtful shopping” which involves only buying items if I feel comfortable with how/where they are made. It’s been an interesting journey to say the least and I continue to learn new things about the fashion industry the more I research and explore this topic.
I was already aware of some of the brands you’ve highlighted and some are definitely new. I am familiar with the ASOS tall section but had no clue that it had a eco line with tall sizes to boot! Good to know. I also look forward to following your friend’s blog.
xo ~Beth
Hi Beth, thanks so much for your comment. It’s a challenging space to navigate, as you will know from doing this for a year! Everyone’s eco is different… Hope you find some great discoveries on ASOS Eco xx