How to organize a clothes swap

A clothes swap SustainYourStyle organized in September 2019

A clothes swap SustainYourStyle organized in September 2019

why it’s inspiring to exchange old wardrobe

“Hey, that’s a nice pullover!”, I hear somebody saying. I look down on me and realize that I’m wearing my favorite white woolen pullover that keeps me warm whenever I start freezing.

My thoughts are being carried away by the memory of a time when I moved from Berlin to Portugal. I barely knew anyone in the country and in my first week of a new job, I met this amazing soul named Juliette which I immediately bonded with. We became really good friends and I’m sure it was no coincidence she was sent on my way.

After some time, vagabond Juliette decided to move on and leave Portugal. Only having a little suitcase she had to get rid of some clothes that she had bought there. And guess what, I was given lots of presents: The bespoken white woolen pullover, jewelry she bought in all kinds of different parts of the world and a lovely leather bag

Me in the coziest pullover on earth

Me in the coziest pullover on earth

Today, I’m back in Berlin and I’m still friends with Juliette – although we both live in different parts of the world, far away from each other. I still keep her items very close to my heart, they’re so much more than just items to me, they’re part of my personal story. 

I chose that story as an introduction to this article because it was the beginning of a bigger realization that clothes aren’t just pieces we collect to fill internal needs we can’t fill elsehow. They have a way bigger potential of transporting memories and stories that we can carry with us day by day. 

Do clothes define our personality? 

Let’s start a bit earlier. I was a shopaholic for most of my life. The more the better and as cheap as possible, please. My closet was full of pieces but no life. Realizations like the one I had with my favorite white woolen pullover made me understand that an obsessive way of shopping is just a desperate attempt of filling a hole that is impossible to fill with material stuff – living in a material world we tend to forget that.  

Picture by Sarah Dorweiler

Picture by Sarah Dorweiler

At one point, I was fed up and decided to start an experiment: I would stop buying things for a whole year. Wasn’t easy, to be honest. I had cravings of wearing “something new” in order to enhance my confidence but I didn’t give up on my personal experiment. I kept going and at some point, I realized that all the shopping windows and all the ads would not reach me anymore. 

It was like I gave up an addiction and it would not trigger me anymore. Surprisingly, I started to get more creative in terms of putting my outfits together and I got more compliments for my style than ever. Also, I dug out older pieces of the darkest corners of my closet and started wearing them again. 

That was the moment when I realized how manipulated I was – this realization might have taken me around 6 months. “Wow”, I thought, “it’s crazy how we are made to believe that we need to buy loads of clothes in order to feel valuable.”

As you can imagine, it was an enriching experience on many levels. It led me to many thoughts about how we perceive people and their personalities and which role clothes play in all this.  

How the clothes swaps started for me 

At some point, a friend of mine – who had an extremely big closet as well – offered me to swap some clothes with her. I really liked the idea and we started doing it. 

There were clothes that she didn’t enjoy anymore but I totally fell in love with and vise versa. Such a pleasure to see how different perceptions can be based on our individual tastes. 

We swapped from time to time and I started wearing her clothes with such an appreciation and connection. The secret around this: It’s less about where you bought a piece or how much you spent on it, it’s about the feeling you’re having when you’re wearing it, right? Because you radiate this feeling of appreciation and contentment and others feel drawn towards it. 

Picture by Shanna Camilleri

Picture by Shanna Camilleri

Inspired by this experience, I started doing swaps with a little circle of friends. We would meet in one of our apartments, bring clothes that are in good condition and swap them with each other. 

The result: Every now and then we meet and you see a piece that you had abandoned in your own closet for years, now being worn by a dear friend of yours and shining. I can tell you, this creates such a nice feeling in your heart and definitely makes your lips smile. 

Here’s how you can get started organizing a clothes swap yourself very easily

Having said that, I would love to inspire others to do the same and swap clothes that don’t serve you anymore but might make somebody else very happy. 

To help you get started, we created a little list that explains how to organize a clothes swap: 

 
A clothes swap SustainYourStyle organized in December 2019

A clothes swap SustainYourStyle organized in December 2019

 

1. Find a cozy place. Depending on the number of people you would like to invite to your clothes swap, you can either organize it in your own apartment or rent an external space for it. If you’re planning to organize it privately and to donate some clothes afterward, some event venues might even give you the space for free – worth asking!  

Another idea could be to ask organizers of bigger events if they would like to host a clothes swap. That’s what SustainYourStyle also did at Factory Berlin and it was nice! People could bring one or two pieces with them to the event and swap them at your booth. It would need to be announced beforehand by the organizers so that people can prepare. 

2. Limit the number of pieces. That’s a big one. Before I got to understand this, I ended up with a bunch of pieces that nobody wanted. It’s a good idea to limit the pieces that people are bringing to the swap. Tell them that quality goes over quantity. 

So they bring two up to ten nice pieces that are still in good condition but don’t serve them anymore.

3. Make the pieces shine. It helps to provide a coat stand or shelves in order to make the clothes look nice and not to throw them onto each other. 

Whenever I did a clothes swap at my place, I put clothes hangers so that people could hang their pieces onto them. That helps to see all pieces at one glance without rummaging through all of them and making a mess.

4. No party without snacks and drinks! We all know that cookies, a glass of wine or nice lemonade can be such an upgrade to an event. If you’re organizing something privately, ask people to bring something. By doing so, you make people linger and stay longer. That’s normally where the personal stories start to unfold.

5. Let the magic happen. Sit back and enjoy what you’ve organized. Ask people about their pieces: Where did they get them and why do they want to get rid of them? I’m sure you’ll hear lots of stories that will inspire you.

6. Decide what to do with left-overs. Normally, there will be some pieces left that you will need to decide what to do with. Donating is always a good idea. Another one might be to store them for another clothes swap. 

A clothes swap SustainYourStyle organized in December 2019

A clothes swap SustainYourStyle organized in December 2019

Some experiences and ideas from clothes swapping experts 

In order to give you a deeper insight into the clothes swapping topic, I decided to ask some professionals if they want to share their experiences about swaps. Isabel who’s a member of the SustainYourStyle team and Sabrina and Elena who worked as volunteers agreed to share their opinion with me. I hope it will inspire you as much as they did inspire me. 

Isabel, when and how did you first touch the topic of cloth swaps? 

Isabel wearing a jacket and a pair of jeans from a SYS swap

Isabel wearing a jacket and a pair of jeans from a SYS swap

After years of piling up clothes in my wardrobe that I just wore a couple of times, I sold all my clothes and made a fresh start. I landed in Berlin in 2017 with just a suitcase. It was such a relieving experience to realize that I did not need all the clothes that I gathered for years!

I also started getting myself informed about the social and environmental impacts of fast fashion, and I rebuilt up my closet with clothes from flea markets and second-hand shops.

By 2018 I got familiar with the green scene in Berlin – events, gatherings, and my first swaps. Plan A, a Berlin-based social enterprise helping companies reduce their environmental impact, organized one of the most inspiring swaps I have attended.

I loved the concept, and since then, swapping became an interesting alternative for me.

Why did you fall in love with clothes swapping? / What was the magic about? 

Picture by Amanda Vick

Picture by Amanda Vick

It is fun – just like treasure hunting! Before coming to Berlin, I always felt that I was wearing the same as everyone. And that's reasonable – we all buy from the same fast-fashion chains, and follow the same trends. In my case, I did not find the time to put that to an end. 

Nowadays, and especially in cosmopolitan cities like Berlin, many people broke the social rules and bet for a less uniform and homogenous fashion trend. The most unique, the merrier. 

Back in Jordan, where I lived for nine years, I used to swap items with friends or get clothes from those that were leaving the country for good. 

For me, it was always adorable to wear my friends' garments – it made me feel closer to them and have more vivid memories while wearing those pieces of cloth. 

This is what we try to recreate in our swaps while renewing our closets fun and with a minor environmental impact.


You organized several clothes swaps yourself. What's your favorite story you remember at a clothes swap? 

A clothes swap SustainYourStyle organized in September 2019

A clothes swap SustainYourStyle organized in September 2019

Last summer, many friends of mine started asking me where to buy second-hand clothes or what to do with their unworn garments. So, my flatmate and I organized a small swap in the café she manages. The place is ideal – excellent location, small but cozy, exciting food concepts, and a lovely terrace for sunny days. 

Our swaps are small in size, which allowed us to create this casual and pleasant atmosphere. Totally strangers naturally engaged in conversations about sustainability, fashion, and events in Berlin while enjoying a glass of wine.

For me, it is gratifying to see participants talking to each other about the story behind each item they brought with them. In the first swap, a girl fell in love with a bag I bought on one of my trips to Istanbul. We ended up talking about the bazaars in Istanbul. She came back to the second swap wearing the same bag. She told me how much she is enjoying it. It felt good to see someone was giving it the proper use I could not in years.

Moments like this are pretty typical. It is often to see girls talking to each other when someone is trying on a cloth they brought. "This looks awesome on you! I only wore it a couple of times. You could try on with a black top and a necklace."  

What is still tricky in terms of organizing the swaps, and what needs additional thoughts?

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In my opinion, the biggest challenge is to increase awareness about the concept itself. Swaps are not perceived yet as a real alternative to fast fashion or buying new clothes. It is instead conceived as a chance to get rid of worn-out garments, which are difficult to be sold. In other words, swaps are seen as an alternative to donating clothes to charity and not to shopping.

In the beginning, we only established a limit to the items that could be taken to help reduce compulsive consumption. I found this approach quite helpful to avoid ending up with more unneeded stuff in our wardrobe just because they are 'for free.' However, after the last swap, we decided to also set a limit to the items allowed to be brought. 


What's your big vision when it comes to clothes swaps? 

Picture by Artem Beliaikin

Picture by Artem Beliaikin

In the last years, the second-hand and vintage market has grown in popularity to the point that, according to ThredUp, fast fashion could be replaced in a decade. In cities like Berlin, London, New York, or Amsterdam, second-hand or pre-owned clothes are not linked anymore to people with scarce financial resources.

From SustainYourStyle, we consider swapping is an excellent way to reduce our impact and continuously renew our wardrobe without compromising our natural resources. 

On top of that, the swap concept promotes socializing and relation-building, especially in this hectic digital era. This is something average shopping cannot beat!

Sabrina, you volunteered in SustainYourStyle swaps. Did your idea about swaps change after volunteering, and how?

Sabrina who helped us organizing our clothes swaps

Sabrina who helped us organizing our clothes swaps

I’m the typical person that often buys clothes without really needing them or just because they caught my eye in a store. Having bought them, I often don’t even wear them. So it happened that my wardrobe was full of clothes that I don’t wear / don’t even fit in/ don’t even like anymore. 

Normally, I gave them away to people who needed them or sold them. So I always tried to find a solution to get rid of my unused clothes without throwing them away. Then, my friend told me about her idea of organizing a swap party. 

I liked it and I wanted to join in order to help organize it. At the same time, I had the opportunity to find something new and nice I would wear more often. 

This year was the first time I heard about clothes swaps and I volunteered at an event like this. I liked the idea from the very beginning, and it was a very good experience. Seeing the amount of clothes that other people brought to the event made me think about how much we are buying without really needing anything.  

Since the swap experience, I really try to buy less "brand new" clothes and I have more interest in swapping or buying second-hand clothes.

Elena, you also volunteered at our SustainYourStyle swaps. What would you like to share about your experience? 

As it happened to me in many other issues, I started to read and get informed about a specific topic, in this case about the fashion industry. 

Elena wearing a dress she got from a SYS swap

Elena wearing a dress she got from a SYS swap

I realized it has an unethical production model that I completely reject. Yet I never dared to move a step forward and change the way I consume. I guess I did not because of convenience, lack of knowledge or both. 

So, since a friend of mine was organizing a swap, I decided to volunteer. It seemed an interesting experience for me to know different alternatives to the ones we know.  

My idea about the swap totally changed. Before volunteering, I thought many people used swaps as an excuse to get rid of very worn-out clothes. This happens in some swaps, not in all of them. 

However, what I found in this swap was clothes in good shape, and that people do not wear anymore or do not want to continue piling up in their wardrobes.

When will you organize your first swap?  

We hope that we managed to give you a good feeling for what a clothes swap is, how it can be organized and how clothes swaps could inspire people in order to rethink their ideas about fashion. 

We’re very happy to hear about your swapping experiences. Please don’t hesitate to drop us an email and share your individual story. 

Let’s inspire more people to find alternative ways of getting new clothes – we’re all in this together! 

 
 

Whether you're starting small at home or hosting a larger event at a public venue, our clothes swapping event guide will talk you through the basics you need...

 
 
Pitcure by Grit Siwonia

Pitcure by Grit Siwonia

About the author Karina Schönberger

Karina works as a creative content writer and strategist. She studied media and worked many years in marketing, events and PR. Through mediation, yoga and inner work she found her path to a conscious life and decided to work independently for herself. Today she lives in Berlin and loves to write about the important things in life such as health, transformation, nutrition, astrology, traveling, yoga or meditation. The native-born Kazakh believes that each of us deserves a healthy and fulfilled life and has the power to heal.  


How to Afford a Sustainable Closet

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If you’re reading this, chances are you’re looking to update your wardrobe. But, you’re not heading to the usual fast fashion shops for a quick and cheap fashion update. Instead, you’re looking to create a more lasting wardrobe, from brands that don’t rely on unethical and destructive manufacturing practices. 

Determined to vote with your dollar against fast fashion, you find and browse through some ethical brands, only to feel like that dollar of yours isn’t going as far as you expected. When you see your cart total up to more than you’re used to spending (or more than you can afford at the moment), you might feel like you’re getting ripped off, or like you simply can’t afford to shop sustainably. 

Still, you might not need a pay raise to have an ethical and sustainable closet.

Before we move on, we need to establish that the price of most ethically made clothing is higher than traditional fast-fashion because you are paying for fair wages (nobody was abused to make your shirt) and responsible manufacturing (your purchase won’t contribute to the next major chemical spill). 

Fast fashion is sold at such a low price point thanks to the abuse of garment workers and the environment. Once you understand what manufacturing your clothing entails, you see that no t-shirt could ever possibly cost only $5 if everyone who took part in its production were treated fairly. You can see exactly how bad it is for yourself here.  

Here’s how to afford your conscious closet: 

1. Set a budget

When it comes to clothing, most of us spend first, and count expenses later. Disproportionately cheap prices enable us to buy more than we need, and more often than necessary.

Grab a calculator and estimate your yearly spending on clothing. You might be surprised to see how high that number is (I certainly was). If you feel good about what portion of your income is spent on clothes each year, then you can keep this number as your ethical closet budget. If not, adjust accordingly. 

2. Make a shopping list

To avoid going over your budget, only shop for the clothes you need. Because “need” means something different for every person, try to determine which clothes you need in the same way you determine which groceries to buy. 

Just like you would look in your fridge to see what’s missing, take a look inside your closet. Do all of your socks have holes in them? Is winter coming, and you only have one or two pairs of long pants? Is your closet very blue and grey, so you might go for something orange next time you shop?

Write out a shopping list or take mental notes. The more specific your “needs” are, the less likely you are to buy things outside of your shopping list.

Here’s an example of my shopping list for the coming season: 

  • Coordinated loungewear (pandemic life. If I have to live in it, I want to feel good in it)

  • Brighter colors (my closet is very black and grey)

  • Pleated pants (hopeful, for when I begin working in person again)

  • Brown sandals (I have only one pair in black, and Spring is upon us!)

Socks and underwear (it’s time!)

Unlike grocery shopping, however, don’t go out and buy everything at once. Because purchasing an item of clothing is a larger financial commitment than pasta sauce, wait to find the items you’re looking for overtime. This way, you have more time to reflect before you buy, have the chance to shop more often, and are more likely to catch sales. 

Reviewing your closet more often can also give you a better understanding of what you actually own. You might find you have something really cool that you forgot about, or figure out a way to wear something you weren’t sure how to wear before. Creating a shopping list will also be easier when you really know your closet!

3. Create and follow criteria

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Now that you have your list, create criteria to follow while shopping. Having guidelines will help you stop spending money on items you ultimately won’t wear. 

For example, my personal criteria for buying new clothes are: 

  1. Is it on my shopping list?

  2. Do I already own something like it?

  3. Will it work well with other pieces I own?

  4. Is it within budget limits, leaving room for other clothes I need?

  5. Is it too much maintenance for me (i.e. dry clean only?)

  6. Will I like it on myself as much as I do on the model? (Will it fit me well and will I feel confident in it?)

  7. Is it a passing trend that I won’t want to wear in 5 years?

This list is a good starting point for anybody, but you can add more criteria according to your needs.

Source: Eco-Stylist

Source: Eco-Stylist

4. Buy less

Because ethical clothing tends to be pricier, it can feel prohibitive. But, not splurging on as many pieces as you’re used to might just be in your favor. 

Think about the pieces you own that are very similar to one another (personally, I’m guilty for repeatedly buying turtlenecks and things in the color black). Because we buy things we like, we can sometimes end up buying versions of the same thing over and over again. The result is ten, for example, pieces of clothing in your closet that all achieve the same thing. In other words, you’ve spent 10x the amount you needed to in order to achieve an outfit. If you already own it, don’t buy it again.

Owning fewer pieces of clothing can also make life less complicated. 20-30 pieces in your closet will yield more, and more interesting, outfit options than the mountain of clothing your A.M. brain tries to make sense of each morning. Travel becomes easier, too, with fewer pieces. If your closet is comprised of only items you wear, you don’t have to sift through as much before choosing what goes in the suitcase.  

Owning fewer, ethically sourced, pieces amplifies your impact by giving each piece more exposure and limiting extraneous waste. How many pieces do you own that you never wear anymore? Do you shop for new items anyway?

People like to update their closets and shop often, so when we own too many pieces at a time, we’re not even able to wear out what we own before we go shopping again. On average, a piece of clothing will be worn only 7 times before it is thrown out. That’s ghastly. If you calculate how often you wear each piece of clothing in your closet, is it something similar? Owning fewer pieces might feel limiting at first, but because you probably need fewer clothes than you currently shop for, all you’re limiting is how much ends up in the landfill. 

5. Consider all options

If your budget is on the low end (hello, most people), searching secondhand options will save you some money. Swapthrift, or rent through a store, or directly from other people via garage sales, family gatherings, and social media marketplaces. 

These are good options if, for example, you’ve spent a large part of your ethical closet budget on things you need, and then your brother decides to get married. You can thrift or rent second-hand formalwear for a lower price. Or maybe you factor secondhand shopping into your budget from the start – you thrift most of your basics, and save the other portion of your budget for new, more interesting pieces, like a statement jacket, or some durable boots. Or, if you’re buying clothing for kids (who grow way too fast), consider thrifting a portion of their clothes. 

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Tailor these options to meet your needs. But beware: some sellers on resale sites actually perpetuate fast fashion by buying and selling enormous quantities of new fast fashion items. A look through a seller’s page can help you tell whether you’re actually buying secondhand or not. If a page shows something like 1,000 active listings, most new with tags, and in many different sizes and styles, it’s not truly secondhand! 

In general, secondhand shopping is time-intensive because of the quantity, variety, range of quality. But, it is a wonderful low-cost option when shopping for your ethical closet.  

You can afford a sustainable closet!

Most people don’t have the funds to swap fast fashion for ethical fashion if all they are doing is opting for ethical brands. However, people can have the funds to shop ethical fashion if they also opt for more sustainable shopping habits.

Although it might seem like an adjustment, changing your shopping habits will not only enable you to easily shop sustainable fashion by changing how you spend your money, but will also naturally help you better maintain your closet. And of course, shopping sustainable brands will support the missions and commitments each brand makes to manufacture clothing in an ethical and sustainable way. 

What do you think – ready to start building your ethical closet?

Author: Vilte

Vilte Vaitkute is a personal stylist at Eco-Stylist. When she was 10, she was gifted a sewing machine, and things just sort of took off from there. Vilte spends much of her time thrifting, editing, and creating outfits for herself and for friends.

DAGSMEJAN - THE BRAND WITH AMBITION TO CREATE THE MOST COMFORTABLE SLEEPWEAR

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SHOP, LIVE AND SLEEP SUSTAINABLY: WORLD EARTH DAY

April is the month of World Earth Day and it has never been more important for textile companies and consumers to reflect on the impact our clothes has on the environment. We have more clothes than ever right now, on average 5 times more than our grandparents, yet we know that 20-40% of the garments in our wardrobes are never used. Wearing a garment only 5 times instead of 50 times mean that 400% more carbon emissions are created. Fashion is a significant contributor to global waste and pollution but there are actions we can take to shop and live more sustainably.

THE FASHION CHALLENGES AND THE SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS

So what are the major issues in fashion today and what is Dagsmejan doing about it?

1. WASTE: HOW CLOTHES END UP UNUSED IN THE LANDFILL

The challenge: Fast fashion and the dropping price of textiles has led to a huge spike in textile demand and production. The average consumer buys 60% more clothing than they did 15 years ago, only wear garments on average 7 times but still 30% is never sold and go straight to a landfill. 17 million tons of clothing was sent to landfills in the US in 2018 alone. 72% of clothes use synthetic fibres which can take up to 200 years to decompose.

The Dagsmejan solution: At Dagsmejan we have adopted a “slow fashion” design philosophy – we focus on both contemporary and timeless designs which create joy for our customers over many seasons and also allow us to carry over products we have produced to many of to the coming season. Furthermore, we are committed to use natural fibers such as merino wool or botanic fibers that only take 6 months to biodegrade as well as recyclable and biodegradable packaging material. And at Dagsmejan we take great pride in every garment we produce and hence we will NEVER put a returned garment to landfill as many low price brands unfortunately do. All returned products are carefully examined, refreshed, repacked and restocked.

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2. WASTE: FABRIC LOST ALREADY IN THE PRODUCTION

The challenge: Fabric is produced on rolls and cut into pieces to sow together in a garment. With the right lay plan you can increase the yield of the fabric and reduce the waste but still 15% of the fabric intended for clothing ends up on the cutting room floor.

 The Dagsmejan solution: Apart from constantly working on the lay plan to reduce cutting waste we also use fabric left over when cutting a t-shirt for example to produce smaller items, thereby reducing waste. Working together with Lernwerk, a work reintegration organization helping people to re-enter the job market, this fabric is used to create sleep accessories.

3. WATER CONSUMPTION: WASTING WATER 

The challenge: The fashion industry uses 1.5 trillion liters of water every year. 2.6% of the global fresh water is used for growing and producing cotton. At the same time millions of people across the world don’t have access to fresh water.  The Dagsmejan solution: Dagsmejan uses fibres that are resource efficient including botanic fibres that require up to 20x less water than cotton. The fibres are produced in a closed loop system where 99% of the process water is recycled and used multiple times. These botanic fibres are exceptionally sustainable, one more reason why this is our preferred option and why we never use cotton.

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4. CHEMICALS: TOXIC ENVIRONMENTS 

The challenge: Garment production is chemical intense, this doesn’t have to be bad but use of toxic chemicals can create problems both for the workers involved in the manufacturing process as well as our environment. 23% of the chemicals produced world-wide are used in the production of apparel.

 The Dagsmejan solution: all of our production processes are Oekotex certified and whenever possible we use eco-yarns that are bleached with oxygen instead of chemicals. Several yarns used are also Bluesign certified, verifying that the highest attention is given to sustainable production practices and ensuring worker welfare.

5. GREENHOUSE GASES EMISSIONS OF THE FASHION INDUSTRY

The challenge: Energy used in the production of clothes are generating a lot of green gas emissions. In particular synthetic fibres are energy intensive and production in some low cost countries like China, Bangladesh and India are often coal fueled which is the dirtiest form of energy in terms of carbon emission. The clothing industry represents 10% of global carbon emissions and 70 million oil barrels are used every year to produce polyester.

The Dagsmejan solution: Dagsmejan use the finest, natural fibres and the production takes place entirely in Europe. Each step of the way actions are taken to reduce energy consumption from using carbon neutral natural fibres, dyeing methods that require less heat and thereby less energy and using renewable energy.

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6. RAIN FOREST DESTRUCTION: REMOVING NATURAL HABITATS

The challenge: Though cellulosic/ botanic fibres have many advantages compared to cotton and synthetic fibres when it comes to sustainability if not done right there is a real negative side to it. 70 million trees are cut down every year to make clothes and when this is happening in rainforest areas the local eco systems come under threat.

 The Dagsmejan solution: Wood and pulp used by Dagsmejan comes from natural forests and sustainably managed plantations. All fibers are certified with FSC® or PEFC™ . Dagsmejan uses fibres from Lenzing, one of the most sustainable and ethical producers of any fibres worldwide. Dagsmejan also works together with Eden reforestation projects, a 501c3 NGO that focuses on fair employment and reforestation.  

7. WORKING CONDITIONS

The challenge: The growth of fast fashion and the expectation of ever dropping prices for garments have lead many brands to produce in low cost countries in Asia like Bangladesh, China and India. Unfortunately there the working conditions are at times very poor. The minimum salary levels only representing 20-50% of the living wage required, workers are expected to work 7 days a week up to 14-16 hours a day with poor health and safety conditions.

The Dagsmejan solution: 100% of the textile production from the spinning of the yarn, to knitting and deying to garment making takes place in Europe and all our production partners are OEKO-tex certified. Dagsmejan sleepwear is handmade by experienced garment makers. Production is carried out according to the standards issued by the BSCI (Business Social Compliance Initiative) ensuring that all workers have fair working conditions. 

SLEEP BETTER IN A TOTALLY NATURAL AND SUSTAINABLE WAY

HTTPS://DAGSMEJAN.COM/BLOGS/SLEEP/CLOTHING-SUSTAINABILITY-WORLD-EARTH-DAY

At Dagsmejan they believe in a world well rested.

Fouremme: behind the scene

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What is the origin of Fouremme? What reveals your brand concept?

We are four sisters and the idea of creating our own brand came about a couple of years ago. We wanted to start a project together as sisters, and as one of us had always been interested in dressmaking and designing, a dress collection seemed a good way to start something we could all enjoy doing. As we began learning about the fashion industry we discovered that not everything is as glamorous as it looks. Fouremme is our chance to challenge the way the fashion industry currently operates and rethink the way clothes are made. We are committed to creating fashion that is mindful of our environment and people. Our dresses are simple, versatile, and timeless and designed to make you feel comfortable every time you wear them.

What does the word “Sustainability” mean to you and how do Sustainability issues impact you as a brand?

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To us, sustainability is creating something that can stand the test of time. Our dresses are designed for circularity, they are created with their life-cycle in mind. We use certified fabrics with a focus on textiles made from recycled materials, because we believe that we should use what is already available, and we love natural fabrics that can revert back to nature. We buy from trusted suppliers, as locally as possible. Our designs are simple, versatile, and timeless, created to be worn year after year. Our dresses are quality garments handcrafted on demand by a small local team. Our packaging is minimal, we simply wrap our dresses in recycled tissue paper and place them into durable and compostable mailer.

What is your strongest commitment in terms of Sustainability in your business? What could you do better?

Our strongest commitment is our on-demand (zero-waste) policy. When we think about sustainability in the fashion industry, one of the problems we often see is the creation of large amounts of waste, mainly due to overproduction and overconsumption. Our way to tackle this problem is to have a dress made only when a customer places an order. Not only this is our way to reduce waste, but we also hope that receiving a garment made just for you will make it special, and you’ll love your dress and wear it year after year.

In the future, we would like to focus more on after-sale services. We hope to be able to introduce initiatives such as “Take-back for recycling scheme” or repair services.

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What are your main objectives for the next 5 years?

Our goal is to increase brand awareness and spread the message of sustainable fashion. Not only we would love to connect with people who are already trying to shop more sustainably, but we want to bring the message to as many as possible.

What is THE product that at best represents and defines Fouremme? And why?

Dresses, of course! Why? You see a dress, you think of women. And Fouremme is a women’s brand run by women. Our dresses represent women’s femininity and strength. We design pieces for women who want to feel effortlessly beautiful and confident. Our dresses are simple and versatile, designed to always make you feel proud of what you wear.

URBAN MEDLEY- the story behind the scarf

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HOW WAS URBAN MEDLEY CONCEIVED AS A BUSINESS?

Urban Medley was ideated based on a simple philosophy, to give back to the land I loved and originally come from, India. I started this curated platform to promote sustainable, handmade accessories from India and to bring to the global consumers, products made by artisans which balance tradition with contemporary design. Our products represent centuries-old forms of weaving and printing.

It is a journey to revive traditional art forms which are inherently sustainable.

More importantly, if this ecosystem is not preserved and protected it will simply die out leaving a huge void in our heritage.

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WHY THE NAME URBAN MEDLEY?

The name of our brand  ‘Urban Medley’ reflects the medley or collection of heritage, art, and fine craftsmanship which is beautiful, exclusive, and adds a little more color and fun to life.

WHAT DOES THE WORD “SUSTAINABILITY” MEAN TO YOU?

For me, sustainability is a concept of equity. Equity in terms of a sound balance between social, environmental, and economic perspectives along the entire value chain of a product.

For our brand more precisely, it means creating products that are mindful of the environment and the communities which are involved in the process. 

It also includes understanding and preserving traditional forms of weaving and printing which will perish from the onslaught of fast fashion and big brands unless they are protected and promoted.

Our artisans are mostly not schooled professionally they often pass on their technique and craftsmanship – through apprentices, master to student, or one generation to the next. 

Excessive commercialization can break this frail ecosystem hence it is important to allow it to flourish within its native ecosystem. It is exactly for this reason that our designers work with the artisans within their communities. Guide them on the use of designs and colors so that their products are appealing to a global consumer base.

HOW DO SUSTAINABILITY ISSUES IMPACT YOU AS A BRAND?

We are committed to selling maximum possible sustainable products only. I do not like saying 100% sustainable as that is difficult across all the parameters of a business.

Sustainable products are mostly more expensive than fast fashion products. This can be a huge hurdle for smaller brands as they are competing with the bigger players in the market. People have the notion that sustainable products are not the trendiest. These are issues we must constantly battle with.

Consumers need to understand that when a product is fairly made and the maker is given an honest remuneration for the labor, it will reflect on the product price. When a product is handmade that in itself makes it so much more exclusive than anything machine-made or mass produced.

It is not possible for us to give deep discounts this defeats the whole purpose.

CAN YOU EXPLAIN THE SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS USED BY URBAN MEDLEY?

Brand Urban Medley is presently focussing on accessories made of two materials- Peace Silk and Organic Kala cotton.

Peace Silk  It is not very commonly known. It is a cruelty-free way of making silk. Instead of boiling the cocoon in hot water while the silkworm is still alive, as is done in conventional silk, we wait for the silkworm to cut through the cocoon as it metamorphoses into a moth and discards the cocoon. The yarn is spun from the discarded cocoon and then woven into silk fabric. Spinning and weaving are done by hand and the silk yield in this method is much less than when you boil the cocoon- however as a process it is more ethical, cruelty-free, and sustainable. It retains the purest qualities of silk. Our scarves and capes are hand block printed on peace silk.

Cotton, as we are aware, is not one of the most sustainable simply because of the excessive amount of water required for its cultivation- however KALA organic cotton is an old-world cotton which is completely rain fed while using no synthetic fertilizer or pesticides. This is a resilient variety of cotton traditional to the Kutch region of Gujrat in Western India.  This the cotton we use.

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WHAT COULD YOU DO BETTER IN TERMS OF SUSTAINABILITY?

We would like to better inform our customers about the supply chain. Not just the fabric but inform them in greater details about the artisan behind each product. Going forward we would like to work more with recycled materials - as in making products out of used fabric and garments. Presently we are working only with new fabrics and materials.

WHAT ARE YOUR MAIN OBJECTIVES FOR THE NEXT 5 YEARS?

Increase the brand awareness amongst conscious consumers. Introduce our clientele to a wider collection of sustainable products made of hemp, bamboo, and Piñatex®. Create an exclusive range of products that truly stand out and are representative of traditional forms of art, weaving, and printing.

We also need to be financially viable as a brand or else we cannot continue to support our artisans.

Have a stronger voice within the sustainable ecosystem. Be a source of credible information for the consumers and help make them change their lifestyles and consumption pattern for a better greener world. 

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WHICH IS THE PRODUCT YOU ARE TRULY PROUD OF?

There is a long journey from the moment a product is conceived to the point we are ready to sell it. This journey includes research, designing, production and finally holding in our hands the finished item.  Each step is so dear to us and we invest so much of our time and passion that we cannot but love each item equally. It is hence very important that each of our products finds a loving home and owner.

Shayonti Chatterji - Founder of Urban Medley

ACE Bags - the circular bags brand for Active, Chic & Eco souls.

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WHAT IS THE ORIGIN OF ACE BAGS? WHAT REVEALS YOUR BRAND CONCEPT?

Our brand name - ACE - stands for Active Chic Eco, the lifestyles we believe in and wish to promote through our brand. Those values reflect our heritage since we grew up in Sweden and Belgium where sustainable behaviors, living close to nature and sports are part of the national pride. 

ACE was founded with the willingness to offer women a "sporty chic" and functional bag to carry throughout the day without compromising our planet. 

Since fashion production and consumption have terrible environmental consequences, we decided that sustainable fashion was the right way, the only way, to set the basis of our new brand, with a conscience to inspire, engage and commit. This is why our collection is based on the circular fashion model, with the eagerness to minimize waste and the use of new resources by employing recycled and recyclable materials such as fishing nets rescued from the ocean and other nylon waste.

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WHAT DOES THE WORD “SUSTAINABILITY” MEAN TO YOU AND HOW DO SUSTAINABILITY ISSUES IMPACT YOU AS A BRAND?

For us sustainability means creating something beautiful and useful without harming the environment and, more precisely in our case, it is turning a problem into a solution by transforming plastic waste into Sustainable, Fashionable and Functional products!!! 

It is about switching the way we produce, consume and dispose. It is going from a linear economy of “take, make, waste” towards a circular one by:

  • designing new products without harming our planet, using minimum natural new resources, producing minimum waste and facilitating the reuse,

  • taking responsibility for the products we put out there making sure that they do not create more waste and end up in landfills, this is why we use not only recycled but also recyclable materials in order to close the loop of the product life cycle. We are proud to be a Circular Fashion brand!

  • giving back to the planet by allocating 1% of our sales to our partner the Healthy Seas Foundation,

  • offering meaningful sustainable options to the consumer, inspiring and empowering them to make a difference by buying less, choosing well and making it last! (quote from Vivienne Westwood).

We have to tackle many challenges as far as Sustainability is concerned, one of the biggest one is the misconception about ethical fashion: it doesn't look cool, glamorous, nor stylish, we want to change that and make it fun, fresh, modern and desirable!

Another challenge is to fulfill the highest standards of production and processes to ensure transparency, traceability and affordability. Suppliers of sustainable fabrics and components are hard to find and much more expensive. Product development is also more complex and longer.

Another one is to bring the right amount of production and adapt it to the requirements of the clients. This is why we also operate pre-order systems for some models to avoid over-stocking and produce on demand and we try to involve consumers in the creation of our products.

Ensure circularity is also quite complex because of the technological investments and processes needed to recapture the value of the natural resources used for the production. For instance, you have to control and track every step of the supply chain to safeguard the possible “regenerability” of the ECONYL® fiber we use as main material.

And a last one will be the lack of availability and visibility of sustainability shopping. There aren’t enough brick and mortar nor online stores commercializing innovative sustainable brands. The mainstream online platforms aren’t offering sustainable filters even if some of them are progressively adapting to it.

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WHAT IS YOUR STRONGEST COMMITMENT IN TERMS OF SUSTAINABILITY IN YOUR BUSINESS? WHAT COULD YOU DO BETTER?

Our business model is regenerative, based on the transformation of waste into new resources for the production of new products. We also commit ourselves to close the loop of our products cycle through our Give Back program: customers can return  their end-of-life bags to us and the old material will be recycled and redesigned into new products. What’s the point of being sustainable if your products add to the waste! ECONYL®, the recycled nylon we use is endlessly recyclable and performs as well as conventional nylon coming from the very polluting crude oil industry.

But we still have work to do to find other regenerable components like trimming details or metallic components. We just replaced our zippers with new recycled ones made of ECONYL®. Our goal is to be 100% circular by the end of 2022.

WHAT ARE YOUR MAIN OBJECTIVES FOR THE NEXT 5 YEARS?

  • Be 100% circular.

  • Better inform the consumer. As a brand, we have a huge responsibility since we are the bridge between production and consumption and we influence the consumer lifestyles and behaviors. It is our duty to “educate” and help our audiences to make better choices.

  • Extend our collection to new products and design the best sustainable options. We need to make sustainability more glamorous and popular.

  • Have a strong digital presence in sustainable platforms around the globe.

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WHAT IS THE PRODUCT THAT AT BEST REPRESENTS AND DEFINES ACE BAGS? AND WHY?

Our first design - our iconic Tote Bag – we are thrilled to receive such positive feedback from our customers using this model; it is the ideal “all day bag” for gym, work and travel. It is lightweight, practical, with plenty of room and pockets and machine washable! It is a timeless piece but with a sporty chic edge, to fit every outfit and occasion! 

How to Build a New Wardrobe for a New You, Sustainably

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Dear Conscious Consumer, 

This is for you -- someone looking to make a change. As you’ve grown and evolved, you may have found yourself in a new career, a new relationship, and yes - wanting a new wardrobe.

You might be itching to throw out the old, quickly replace it all with new, and close the door on the old you. Don’t. Don’t let yourself get caught in the same old pattern of toss, buy, repeat. It’s easy enough to do but you’re a new you, a more mindful you.

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TIME FOR A CHANGE 

Let’s look at your closet. We often say yes to cheap and attractive fast fashion, disrespecting our planets not only by buying them, but also when they end up in a landfill 6 months later. We’ve all been there, but what if you could consider a more sustainable solution?

You can renovate your closet to match your values, while also being kinder to garment workers and the planet. For example, you can swap, gift, or donate clothing that no longer fits who you are. And for the truly unredeemable clothing -- did you know there are recycling centers for that?

This is what Eco-Stylist does. Their personal stylists help you take control of your closet and build a curated selection of clothes that you love and that will last for the long haul.  They help you make getting dressed fun and rewarding again. When you book a Total Closet Overhaul session, you get professional guidance redefining your personal style and rebuilding your wardrobe, with sustainability factored in every step of the way.

Curious how the Total Closet Overhaul works? Let’s dive in.

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GETTING STARTED

First, you book a free Kickoff Call. In this 30 minute virtual session you chat about your clothes and your style goals.  Are you looking to reduce or expand your closet? Which occasions would you like to look sharper for? Do you know what you want or would you like to be guided through the process? 

Once your goals have been laid out and you see the vision for how to get there, you decide if you’d like to continue. If you don’t think this is for you, no worries. If you can’t wait to dive in, let’s go!

Next you’ll get the keys to your ideal style. It comes in the form of a 90 minute virtual Closet Cleanout.

CLEAR CLOSET = CLEAR MIND
What’s a closet cleanout? Imagine updating your resume, but make it fashion! 

In this video call you get assistance looking at each item in your closet and evaluating it. Does it fit you well? Is it aligned with your new style vision?

Eco-Stylist will work with you to ensure you don’t toss anything that looks great on you, while also working to keep your closet free of clutter that’s no longer you. They’ll help you decide which clothes to keep, which not to, and how to dispose of your old clothes in the most sustainable way.

INSPIRATION BOARD

Next, you can expect to receive a Style Inspiration Board in your inbox. This is like a visualization of your ideal style. 

This page full of fashion inspiration is tailored to you, and that means it’s your say what happens next. Do you love it? Do you like some parts, but not others? Did it miss the mark? If the answer is anything other than “you love it”, they’ll adjust it until it’s just right, before moving to the next step.

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Next - some magic happens. They will create a Personal Style Guide for you with everything you need to finish building your dream closet. 

THE GUIDE

Your Personal Style Guide will serve as the keys to your renewed closet. It includes a personal letter, a shopping guide, an assessment of your closet, specific outfit suggestions, tips and tricks, sustainable closet upkeep information and resources, and more.

Your personalized shopping recommendations will of course be from Eco-Stylist certified sustainable brands. These new pieces, in tandem with the clothing you already own (or whatever survived the Closet Cleanout), will achieve your style goals.

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WHAT’S NEXT?

Your Personal Style Guide and Style Inspiration Board are there for you to reference long-term. At this point you’ve started to become a master of your own personal style. Now you can go out there in the world and own it.

We’re always updating our lives, and our closets often follow suit. This year, let’s break that wasteful cycle, and update our closets in a more mindful way. 

If you would like to try out the Total Closet Overhaul you can get started here. Or if you’re just looking for an hour of style advice, or to gift personal style to a loved one, you can do that too here

All the best.

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Author

Vilte Vaitkute is a personal stylist at Eco-Stylist. When she was 10, she was gifted a sewing machine, and things just sort of took off from there. Vilte spends much of her time thrifting, editing, and creating outfits for herself and for friends

Knickey underwear: behind the scene

What is the origin of Knickey? What reveals your brand concept?

After working in both design and retail, we learned firsthand the detriment that the fashion industry has on both the planet and its people. We vowed to make products that are better for the earth, and better for us - starting with the first layer we don daily: undies. Knickey offers the best basic briefs from certified organic cotton and the world's first Recycling Program that diverts old intimates from landfills. We are on a mission to make organic the everyday option for people everywhere - and we are just getting started.

What does the word “Sustainability” mean to you and how do Sustainability’s issues impact you as a brand?

Sustainability is a term we try not to use too frequently, as its meaning has diminished in recent years. It is too nebulous a word to properly capture the vastness of issues that the fashion industry faces, and it, therefore, fails to address the nuances in application that consumers and companies alike may take to approach these issues. Further, it has been exhausted by greenwashing and misappropriated by too many companies, serving only to mislead consumers and in that process, miseducate them. For Knickey, sustainability means articulating exactly how our activities as a company relate to climate impact, resource consumption, and how we treat people. And importantly, it means that we provide credible evidence to any claims that we make. In a time that it is vital for all companies to prioritize action in these verticals, we believe that it is equally as important to qualify those actions accurately -- and to stay away from using broad stroke buzzwords without qualitative and quantitative support.

What is your strongest commitment in terms of Sustainability in your business? What could you do better?

Our strongest commitment is to constantly improve upon our climate impacts, and to move the fashion industry toward more environmentally-friendly practices in production. But there is so much to tackle - and with just one product line currently, we are only hitting the tip of the iceberg! We would love to support additional sustainable materials outside of the realm of organic cotton, and inspire more companies to invest in innovative alternatives to their current offerings. We believe that rising tides raise all boats, and if more brands demanded transparency from their suppliers, the more positive impact we could collectively have on the industry.

We utilize organic cotton certified to the Global Organic Textile Standard. GOTS is recognized as the world's leading processing standard for textiles made from organic fibers. Our adherence to Oeko-Tex prohibits the use of harmful toxic chemicals in production - such as formaldehyde, azo colorants, pentachlorophenol, cadmium and nickel. Importantly, it goes beyond the legal regulation set forth by the US Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act [CPSIA] to prevent the use of unregulated toxic chemicals that still crop up in underwear across the industry. Additionally, our factories are Fair Trade certified to ensure everyone involved in the production of Knickey undies is treated with the respect and care they deserve. That means living wages, safe working conditions, and absolutely no toxic substances that could be harmful to people’s health. Finally, Knickey packaging is thoughtfully crafted from post-consumer recycled waste, and designed for reuse. Materials are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council to ensure that they are renewably-sourced from post-consumer waste, or sustainably harvested trees. Our packaging is dually intended to be used in our Recycling Program, encouraging customers to recycle intimates to prevent textile waste that would otherwise end up in a landfill. We take great care to ensure that every component of our supply chain and business upholds our core tenets of sustainability and better business practices -- better for your body, your wallet and our world.

What are your main objectives for the next 5 years?

The next five years will be characterized by a delicate dance of scaling the business while remaining true to our values and the goals we set out to achieve in circularity, material innovation, and social impact. We have some exciting innovations in mind for our Recycling Program, and we are simultaneously working hard to source a bio-compatible stretch component in order to have a biodegradable product and completely closed loop offering, As a company, we work tirelessly to ensure that we are being the most responsible in each sector of our business that we can be, and we're continuing to iterate, innovate and improve upon our offering to eliminate the current tradeoffs that can come even within a certified sustainable supply chain. 

What is THE product that at best represents and defines Knickey? And why?

The thing that best represents Knickey is our commitment to the most sustainable product components. Whether that means in fabrication, manufacturing processes or in fair labor practices. These principles are embedded in each and every one of our products, and demonstrates our commitment to better business, and a better world.

Bringing Men into the Sustainable Fashion Agenda

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If you’ve spent much time in sustainable fashion communities, whether that entails shopping with different brands, reading thought pieces or engaging in online discussions, you’ve probably noticed that these spaces are often founded and led by women. Women also make up the majority of the activists and engaged community members in these spaces. 

And to be clear: that’s a great thing. 

But you may be wondering: “where are the guys in sustainable fashion?” Well, guys actually care about shopping sustainably quite a bit, maybe even more than women do. Whether they’re buying sustainable clothing because it makes them feel good or because they know it has a positive impact on the environment, men have proven themselves to be eco-conscious consumers. So why the discrepancy of male participation in sustainability? 

One theory, evidenced by a study conducted by Margarita Torre, is that when spaces are dominated by women, men tend to flee from them. Her data shows that it’s not necessarily uncommon for men to venture into female-dominated fields for a short period of time, but they’re far less likely to stay there. 

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There are a number of social and political issues that may contribute to this phenomenon. For example, the “Man Up” episode of NPR’s “Hidden Brain” discusses many men’s fear of appearing feminine. Gender psychologist Jennifer Bosson claims that “manhood is something that is hard to earn and easy to lose, relative to womanhood.” Many men are uncomfortable with anything that may threaten their masculinity, even an action as small as ordering a cocktail that features a mini umbrella.

Shopping and fashion in general are interests that have long been associated with women, even though men and women both care about their appearance and both need to buy new clothing from time to time. This is most likely because it is much more socially acceptable for women to be actively involved in the fashion world. Perhaps this has paved the way for women to become leaders in sustainable fashion communities, while men may feel less welcome, despite similar values and buying habits.

Whether the lack of men in sustainable fashion is due to feeling unwelcome or a fear of appearing feminine, the point remains the same: the sustainable fashion sphere is ruled by women, and it’s underrepresented by men.

The good news: we can change that. 

Where do guys go to shop sustainably? 

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There’s one resource created specifically to bring men into the conversation: Eco-Stylist. By speaking directly to guys and focusing on making their sustainable shopping journey easy, Eco-Stylist broadens the sustainable fashion community. 

It can be difficult to figure out if the clothes you’re buying check all the right boxes, especially in a space so dominated by womenswear. Do the materials used to make your shirt have a negative impact on the environment? Are the people who stitched together your jeans being paid fair wages? It may feel like there aren’t as many options out there for men who care about sustainable fashion when compared to the number of options that women have, and, to put it bluntly, there aren’t. Not yet, anyway.

But before you call it quits and opt to buy the $15 sweatshirt from the fast fashion retailer that you know isn’t likely to be providing an acceptable workspace for their underpaid employees, know that there are resources out there doing the hard work of answering these questions for you. 

Using Remake’s sustainable brand criteria, Eco-Stylist takes the time to thoroughly research brands before choosing to partner with them. This criterion takes into consideration a number of factors, including transparency, environmental sustainability, maker well-being, use of sustainable raw materials, and the leadership of the brand within the ethical fashion sphere. 

Eco-Stylist compiles sustainable clothing from 50+ researched brands all in one easy-to-use marketplace, making it possible for men to browse a variety of items in one place. This means that you can find Outerknown t-shirts, Veja sneakers, and Finisterre board shorts with the convenience of just a couple of clicks.

How can guys learn more about sustainable fashion? 

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Watch this short film by Remake, which explains why a tag that reads “MADE IN THE USA” doesn’t necessarily mean your clothing is being ethically produced.

Next, watch this clip by Hasan Minhaj to learn (and laugh) about the deceptive practices major fast fashion retailers use to appear more green than they really are.

Listen to these podcasts during your commute to work or while you’re sorting through your closet, deciding which pieces to keep for your capsule wardrobe.

Follow Eco-Stylist and Sustain Your Style on Instagram to keep up with sustainable tips, products, and brands.

What’s Next?

Share this post with 3 guys in your life so that we can bring more men into the conversation surrounding sustainable fashion.

Regardless of your gender, shopping sustainably should be a comfortable and accessible experience for everyone.

 

Author:

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Celia Wiseman studied Communication and Creative Writing at the University of Iowa, and her growing interest in sustainable living led her to Eco-Stylist. In her free time she enjoys reading, writing, and making videos, as well as any other activity that allows her to get creative.

Organic Basics: behind the Scene

Picture from @organicbasics

Picture from @organicbasics

As we are committed to informing you about Fashion and Sustainability, we want to highlight the vision of different brands about this subject through a series of interviews. Our goal is to show you that there isn’t one single definition but different meanings according to each of us.

In this section, we aim to show you the different ways to come through the big subject of Sustainability and to act for a better world.

In this first interview, we got lucky to ask to Organic Basics, the famous ethical underwear brand, how they integrate it in their organization and how they act every day to improve their environmental and social impact in their industry.


What is the origin of Organic Basics? What reveals your brand concept ?


Organic Basics was founded by Christoffer Immanuel, Mads Fibiger, and Alexander Christiansen, three friends from Denmark.

For them, it was about trying to build an honest, responsible, quality clothing brand where people could relate to brand values. We didn’t have any experience in the fashion industry and no dots were connected but Organic Basics was born anyway. By entering the industry with fresh eyes, we were able to question the entire process and ensure that every step taken was going to be better for the environment, the workers and the industry.


What does the word “Sustainability” mean to you and how do Sustainability’s issues impact you as a brand?


Realizing that the fashion industry was the second most polluting industry and that nobody was doing anything to change that, we decided to try and do something about it and created Organic Basics, an organization with a purpose.

Sustainability and ethical practices are the core of what we do. We try to take sustainability as far as we can - from our supply chain to the decisions we make as a team in the office. No decision is taken without considering whether it’s the most sustainable option available.


What is your strongest commitment in terms of Sustainability in your business ? What could you do better ?


Our strongest commitment is our organization in full working towards helping and inspiring a dirty fashion industry to reinvent itself. The beauty of sustainability is that its a process, not an end goal. So to answer the question, we could and should try to do everything better, and limit our impact as an organization and as an industry.


What are your main objectives for the next 5 years ?


At Organic Basics, we believe that it was a million bad decisions that got this industry into the trouble, it is today. And it’s a million better decisions that will get us out of this crisis of over-consumption and polluting our planet. Changing things for the better is what we are doing now, and hopefully also what we’ll be doing in 5 years.


What is THE product that at best represents and defines Organic Basics ? And why ?


I think what we as an organization love about Organic Basics is that we are so much more than products, and we refuse to let products define us rather than our values and our commitment to lower our impact as an organization and industry.

If you’re forcing me to pick one product, It would be the Tencel Lite Bralette, as it’s the embodiment of what we want to see in fashion - it’s comfortable and long-lasting, designed with a low impact carbon footprint while being timelessly versatile. 

Do you want to learn more about Organic Basics Commitments? Visit their website

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Tencel Lite Bralette,

Organic Basics.

Get 10% Discount with our Code : SYSOBC