8 ms·

Does anyone know where to buy their clothes ethically? My girlfriend and I always try to buy resale if possible, but we still end up buying resale clothes whic

Does anyone know where to buy their clothes ethically? My girlfriend and I always try to buy resale if possible, but we still end up buying resale clothes which qualify as "fast fashion".

philippoi 9y ago
I just walked by this place the other day. Haven't had a chance to look into how they're doing what they do, but it sounds like they could be what you're looking for: http://beawear.eu/ http://beawear.eu/
Avshalom 9y ago
There's an article floating around from Patagonia that basically says: look we're trying as hard as anyone but frankly it's impossible. you can at best pick your threshold but it is almost guaranteed that somewhere in the supply chain is something awful.
- gt_ 9y ago
  If that is true, I guess all the “sustainable clothing” brands are just achieving the impossible.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
  - Avshalom 9y ago
    No, they're just choosing where they decide sustainable such that it doesn't strictly require every body in the supply chain earning at least (ppp adjusted) poverty wages. I don't mean this as like a nihilistic "buy anything because it's all awful" sort of thing it's just that we live in an inescapably mutual world so there is basically no direct line or direct chain from the base inputs to the consumer outputs and somewhere in that tree is a leaf that is terrible. We can choose the best that we can but there is no perfect and its a stretch to even claim there's a good. this is the how capitalism kills us all. we cannot be ethical and so every day we betray our ethics until we begin to betray them as a matter of course instead of a matter of necessity.
- stevenwoo 9y ago
  I don't get this from that vibe from this older interview - it sounds almost hopeful: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2009/feb/24/patagonia-ethical-outdoor-clothing-interview https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2009/feb/24/patagon... And the current corporate statement says they are continually working to improve on this very topic. http://www.patagonia.com/corporate-responsibility-history.html http://www.patagonia.com/corporate-responsibility-history.ht...
  - Avshalom 9y ago
    "continually working to improve" means "we haven't actually gotten there yet". And that's from one if the few companies that is actively trying.
ashildr 9y ago
If you are in Germany, this may be a sound option. https://www.manomama.de https://www.manomama.de
hbosch 9y ago
You can buy your jeans from quality selvedge shops. There are many denim manufacturers to choose from that grow sustainable, organic cotton and weave/sew them in first-world countries that pay their workers livable wages. Obviously you'll pay more for these kinds of jeans – think in the range of $150 at the low end up to well past $500 for high end. If you're into techier outerwear, you can look into the very popular Outlier (www.outlier.nyc) – again, you pay a premium but the textiles and sewing are made in socially responsible ways in socially responsible areas (I think). I don't have a super comprehensive knowledge of fashion in this space though.
JohnHammersley 9y ago
In the UK there's a startup called Birdsong [1] that's providing local, ethically sourced clothing. They're still fairly small, but growing, and recently completed a successful crowdfunding campaign. They came through the same accelerator [2] as we did with Overleaf (then known as WriteLaTeX) back in 2013. [1] https://birdsong.london https://birdsong.london [2] https://bethnalgreenventures.com https://bethnalgreenventures.com
joostdecock 9y ago
I make all my own clothes. While I still need to buy fabric, it's a great way to dress ethically. You might even enjoy it. I do.
- fwgwgwgch 9y ago
  Do tell more!! Edit: noted your site but more resources welcome too Edit2: was on mobile, didn't notice docs, good site
snowwrestler 9y ago
I try to buy from Patagonia. They were one of the first major brands to popularize the environmental impact of their clothing, especially cotton. They made a major push 25 years ago to educate consumers on the impacts of cotton, and switched to entirely organic cotton to help reduce those impacts. They also helped create 1% For The Planet, were an early adopter of Bluesign, early adopters of recycled polyester for their clothing, and most recently have been promoting reselling and repairing used clothing. I don't think its hyperbole to say that Patagonia was one of the very first companies that started the line of thinking you see in this QZ article. On a personal note, most of my Patagonia clothing has been very durable. I have Patagonia stuff that is 20+ years old that I still use every year.
- grzm 9y ago
  Patagonia is also known for its use of recycled bottles to make its polyester fleece jackets, which has expanded to many of its products. Their warranty and repair program is fantastic as well. I brought in a shirt that I had worn the elbow out of and they first offered a replacement from one in the store. They didn't have the same pattern (the shirt is probably 5 or 6 years old), so they sent it in for repair for free. A couple of years ago they sent out a repair-mobile. They not only repaired Patagonia gear, they repaired items regardless of brand. Pretty damn cool. http://www.latimes.com/fashion/alltherage/la-ar-patagonia-launches-crosscountry-mobile-repair-tour-20150403-story.html http://www.latimes.com/fashion/alltherage/la-ar-patagonia-la...
- gt_ 9y ago
  Sorry but let’s not forget the “fashion” in “fast fashion”.
- aphextron 9y ago
  Patagonia is the same cheap polyester crap made in Vietnam you get from Wal-Mart, with slightly tougher welds and reinforced seams. It's the bougie male equivalent of Lululemon. Carhartt is where it's at for quality durable outdoor clothing made in the US.
  - snowwrestler 9y ago
oh_sigh 9y ago
Beware - some people think 'buying American' is a proxy for 'buying ethically', but that is not necessarily the case. Some brands are 'made in America' - but are made on nominally American territories in the Western pacific, where the workers are working in essentially sweatshop conditions. This article[1] is old but this charade is still going on last I checked. [1] http://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/18/world/made-usa-hard-labor-pacific-island-special-report-saipan-sweatshops-are-no.html?pagewanted=all http://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/18/world/made-usa-hard-labor-...
shafyy 9y ago
I recently heard about Everlane, but never tried them. They seem to be very transparent about their supply chain and their prices are totally ok. I'm not an expert and haven't spend a lot of time researching them. Happy to hear more opinions/insights.
- hmhrex 9y ago
  I had just heard about these guys too, and actually have been looking for stores like this. I'd like to switch out all my clothes that wear out fast with responsibly sourced, quality clothing. Hopefully this one will deliver.

Does anyone know where to buy their clothes ethically? My girlfriend and I always try to buy resale if possible, but we still end up buying resale clothes which qualify as "fast fashion".

philippoi 9y ago

I just walked by this place the other day. Haven't had a chance to look into how they're doing what they do, but it sounds like they could be what you're looking for: http://beawear.eu/ http://beawear.eu/

Avshalom 9y ago

There's an article floating around from Patagonia that basically says: look we're trying as hard as anyone but frankly it's impossible. you can at best pick your threshold but it is almost guaranteed that somewhere in the supply chain is something awful.

gt_ 9y ago
If that is true, I guess all the “sustainable clothing” brands are just achieving the impossible.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- Avshalom 9y ago
  No, they're just choosing where they decide sustainable such that it doesn't strictly require every body in the supply chain earning at least (ppp adjusted) poverty wages. I don't mean this as like a nihilistic "buy anything because it's all awful" sort of thing it's just that we live in an inescapably mutual world so there is basically no direct line or direct chain from the base inputs to the consumer outputs and somewhere in that tree is a leaf that is terrible. We can choose the best that we can but there is no perfect and its a stretch to even claim there's a good. this is the how capitalism kills us all. we cannot be ethical and so every day we betray our ethics until we begin to betray them as a matter of course instead of a matter of necessity.
stevenwoo 9y ago
I don't get this from that vibe from this older interview - it sounds almost hopeful: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2009/feb/24/patagonia-ethical-outdoor-clothing-interview https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2009/feb/24/patagon... And the current corporate statement says they are continually working to improve on this very topic. http://www.patagonia.com/corporate-responsibility-history.html http://www.patagonia.com/corporate-responsibility-history.ht...
- Avshalom 9y ago
  "continually working to improve" means "we haven't actually gotten there yet". And that's from one if the few companies that is actively trying.

ashildr 9y ago

If you are in Germany, this may be a sound option. https://www.manomama.de https://www.manomama.de

hbosch 9y ago

You can buy your jeans from quality selvedge shops. There are many denim manufacturers to choose from that grow sustainable, organic cotton and weave/sew them in first-world countries that pay their workers livable wages. Obviously you'll pay more for these kinds of jeans – think in the range of $150 at the low end up to well past $500 for high end. If you're into techier outerwear, you can look into the very popular Outlier (www.outlier.nyc) – again, you pay a premium but the textiles and sewing are made in socially responsible ways in socially responsible areas (I think). I don't have a super comprehensive knowledge of fashion in this space though.

JohnHammersley 9y ago

In the UK there's a startup called Birdsong [1] that's providing local, ethically sourced clothing. They're still fairly small, but growing, and recently completed a successful crowdfunding campaign. They came through the same accelerator [2] as we did with Overleaf (then known as WriteLaTeX) back in 2013. [1] https://birdsong.london https://birdsong.london [2] https://bethnalgreenventures.com https://bethnalgreenventures.com

joostdecock 9y ago

I make all my own clothes. While I still need to buy fabric, it's a great way to dress ethically. You might even enjoy it. I do.

fwgwgwgch 9y ago
Do tell more!! Edit: noted your site but more resources welcome too Edit2: was on mobile, didn't notice docs, good site

snowwrestler 9y ago

I try to buy from Patagonia. They were one of the first major brands to popularize the environmental impact of their clothing, especially cotton. They made a major push 25 years ago to educate consumers on the impacts of cotton, and switched to entirely organic cotton to help reduce those impacts. They also helped create 1% For The Planet, were an early adopter of Bluesign, early adopters of recycled polyester for their clothing, and most recently have been promoting reselling and repairing used clothing. I don't think its hyperbole to say that Patagonia was one of the very first companies that started the line of thinking you see in this QZ article. On a personal note, most of my Patagonia clothing has been very durable. I have Patagonia stuff that is 20+ years old that I still use every year.

grzm 9y ago
Patagonia is also known for its use of recycled bottles to make its polyester fleece jackets, which has expanded to many of its products. Their warranty and repair program is fantastic as well. I brought in a shirt that I had worn the elbow out of and they first offered a replacement from one in the store. They didn't have the same pattern (the shirt is probably 5 or 6 years old), so they sent it in for repair for free. A couple of years ago they sent out a repair-mobile. They not only repaired Patagonia gear, they repaired items regardless of brand. Pretty damn cool. http://www.latimes.com/fashion/alltherage/la-ar-patagonia-launches-crosscountry-mobile-repair-tour-20150403-story.html http://www.latimes.com/fashion/alltherage/la-ar-patagonia-la...
gt_ 9y ago
Sorry but let’s not forget the “fashion” in “fast fashion”.
aphextron 9y ago
Patagonia is the same cheap polyester crap made in Vietnam you get from Wal-Mart, with slightly tougher welds and reinforced seams. It's the bougie male equivalent of Lululemon. Carhartt is where it's at for quality durable outdoor clothing made in the US.
- snowwrestler 9y ago

oh_sigh 9y ago

Beware - some people think 'buying American' is a proxy for 'buying ethically', but that is not necessarily the case. Some brands are 'made in America' - but are made on nominally American territories in the Western pacific, where the workers are working in essentially sweatshop conditions. This article[1] is old but this charade is still going on last I checked. [1] http://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/18/world/made-usa-hard-labor-pacific-island-special-report-saipan-sweatshops-are-no.html?pagewanted=all http://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/18/world/made-usa-hard-labor-...

shafyy 9y ago

I recently heard about Everlane, but never tried them. They seem to be very transparent about their supply chain and their prices are totally ok. I'm not an expert and haven't spend a lot of time researching them. Happy to hear more opinions/insights.

hmhrex 9y ago
I had just heard about these guys too, and actually have been looking for stores like this. I'd like to switch out all my clothes that wear out fast with responsibly sourced, quality clothing. Hopefully this one will deliver.