Have you ever wondered how your clothes from H&M and Forever 21 are so cheap? How is it possible that stores like these create millions of products on a regular basis for such low costs?
The answer lies in how and where these products are made: usually in impoverished, developing countries where garment workers are underpaid and work in dangerous conditions. What’s more is that these clothes are not made of recyclable materials. When they are inevitably thrown away due to poor construction, they don’t dissolve back into the earth, which creates millions of pounds of waste each year.
How do we, mere mortals, solve this problem? We can’t solve it overnight, but a step in the right direction is to invest in ethically made clothing, made by people who earn a living wage for their work and is also created from recyclable materials. Here are some of our favorite sites and brands for ethical fashion:
Shop Ethica:
Ethica is an e-retailer specializing in ethically made clothing and accessories from a plethora of local and international designers.
Reformation:
Reformation makes their own clothing in downtown Los Angeles using ethical and sustainable practices.
https://www.thereformation.com/
Everlane:
Everlane is an online fashion company all about transparency. They tell you about the factories in which each of their items was made and how much it cost to make each product.
Alternative Apparel:
This is the perfect site for finding ethically and sustainably made basics.
http://www.alternativeapparel.com/
People Tree:
People Tree is your go-to (UK-based) site for more affordable ethical, organic and sustainable clothing.