In the last few years, there’s been a wave of ethical fashion lines that have been popping up offering a much-needed alternative to combat big-box retailers and the fast fashion industry. Here are a few amazing brands that we’re totally drooling over their style and smitten by their ethics. Hoping Santa will leave us something from this list – tell him we’ve been good this year. 🙂
Their promise: “Founded in 2013 by Phoebe Dahl, Faircloth + Supply transcends the boundaries of a traditional brand. We design timeless collections that we hope in turn will forge a path towards women’s empowerment worldwide. After studying fashion design in San Francisco and London, Dahl envisioned a line of effortless linen casual wear, sustainable yet classic, inspired by heritage textiles and utilitarian work wear.We are your everyday dreamers, working hard towards a mutual success: to create clothes that want to be worn, in a world we want to live in.There are approximately 170 million children worldwide who are not enrolled in school. Of those children, 70 percent of them are girls. Equal access for females to education is crucial to ending global poverty. In order to ignite change, we have created an approach to building infrastructure within the communities we reach, to ensure education for girls in Nepal preventing sex-trafficking, child marriage’s, and children’s rights violations. Through your purchase, Faircloth + Supply provides access to education for girls in Nepal.” – Faircloth Supply
2. Laura Siegel
Their promise:”Laura Siegel designs relaxed, effortless pieces for the globally conscious woman.Our team employs artisans from rural villages all over the world to sustain traditional cultures and crafts. Along with ensuring ethical working conditions and living wages are provided to the skilled artisans, we collaborate with organizations to ensure they receive mentorship and workshops to learn how to maintain practicing their craft, provide for their families, education on wealth management, business practices and more. We firmly believe the hand can produce something beautiful that machines will never be able to, no matter the technology. Thus, we eliminate heavy energy consumption and the resulting pollutants that disburse into the environment of these communities.” – Laura Siegel
3. Goodhyouman
Their promise: “TO deliver the highest quality 100% of the time.
TO provide a stellar shopping experience.
TO give back to the community.
TO share your stories.
TO create amazing and inspiring content.
TO manufacture our products in the United States of America.” – GoodhYOUman
4. Nuvango
Their promise: “Nuvango is an innovative fashion and lifestyle brand that collaborates with international artists to create wearable masterpieces. Our apparel is unique, intelligently designed and produced ethically and sustainably in Toronto, Canada. Our mission is to inspire people to curate their wardrobe like a gallery. To mix and match, make statements, and to be bold by conveying a story with visual identity.” – Nuvango
Their promise: “While Brother Vellies offers a variety of styles, our company was built on the enthusiastic reception of our first model, the velskoen. Relatively unknown outside of Africa, the velskoen – pronounced “fell-skoon” and known colloquially as “vellies” – are actually the ancestor of the modern day desert boot. At the workshop in South Africa, a small group of men and women assemble a few dozen pairs of shoes a day by hand, using techniques refined over multiple generations. The workshop was established in 1963 and is an open space that welcomes artisans of all genders, sexual orientation, backgrounds and tribes.” – Brother Vellies
Their promise:”Alicia San Marcos was founded on the promise of providing access to education for children in Guatemala, a country where over 50% of people live in poverty. For underserved families in Guatemala, two of the greatest barriers to education are paying for school supplies and uniforms. Each Alicia San Marcos purchase goes directly toward funding these needs. Alicia San Marcos has donated over 32,000 much needed supplies to Niños de Guatemala Organization and Casa Bernabé Orphanage to continue the education of Guatemalan children in need. Ten percent of proceeds from every purchase go toward supporting these nonprofit organizations.” – Alicia San Marcos
Their promise:” What if our true essence is Pure Love? What if the purpose of this earthly existence is to grow and learn how to come from this place of Love in all that we do? How we speak to ourselves, how we treat others, how we nourish our bodies, how mindful we are of our impact on the planet, how we do business and create product. Our mantra is I AM LOVE, which is about coming from that place of Love in all the facets of our lives. How that manifests in our business is three parts. Do what is right for the Earth, People and Spirit. For the Earth we source the most sustainable fabrics we can. The textile industry is the second largest contributor to toxic waste on our planet. For the People, we employ ethical manufacturing whether that be locally in Vancouver or in a Fair Trade factory in a developing country. There are currently an estimated 35 million slaves in the world; men, women and children. The garment industry has relied heavily on forced labour and no longer is it okay for someone to suffer so that we can have the luxuries we’ve become accustomed to. For Spirit, we put a label in each piece of clothing that says I AM LOVE. This acts as a reminder to come from this place in your own life. How you speak to yourself as you are getting dressed in the morning, how you treat loved ones and strangers, how your choices impact the planet and how mindful you are as you go about your day so that you become an agent of Love too. As we journey through life it is important to stay connected to your Spirit. Do not lose this connection as you strive for happiness, success or even to be more mindful. We don’t promise to be perfect, we promise to do the best that we can with the available resources and technology. We feel you should make the same promise to yourself. Just do the best you can, that’s all that you can do.” – Nicole Bridger
Their promise: “We are Stories is a home based studio located rurally on 5 acres of forest in the West Kootenays. Tracy’s inspiration is drawn from these natural surroundings as well as the creative community of local craft and the growing interest that supports it.Though primarily self-taught, Tracy enjoys workshops in pattern drafting, ceramics and art classes in general. She participates in design and craft shows across N. America and her work has been featured in a number of design publications.” – We are stories
9. Wallisevera
Their promise:”We serve women who want natural fibre, locally made, and sustainably produced clothing that’s also suitable for the traditional office environment. We believe that clothes can be more than just cute or comfortable or highly functional. They can be an ethical statement. All our products are designed, cut and sewn in Vancouver, British Columbia, and shipped from here to our customers worldwide. We love being part of the global economy while providing great jobs to people in our local, West Coast community.We use hemp as the foundation fibre for all our products. Hemp is one of the most eco-friendly fibres in existence. As a vegetable fibre (as opposed to petroleum-based fibre, which is what nylon, acrylic and polyester are), hemp is naturally biodegradable and highly renewable. Wallis Evera fabrics are sustainable, biodegradable, and chosen for their comfort, shape, and durability. Our clothes wear in beautifully, becoming softer and even more comfortable with every wear.” – Wallis Severa