Do you ever wonder how your favorite clothing brands affect the environment while they’re being made? I do. I think about all the byproducts of clothing. Waste, pollution, and dead animals. So when I shop, it’s not enough for me to just like the shirt or to get it just because it’s cute. Before I buy something, it should be cute, ethically made, with sustainability in mind. Meaning they are doing something in their operation that offsets pollution (air, water, land, etc). I want to know HOW that piece of clothing was made. How did it get to this store in front of me? What’s the process? How far did it have to travel to get to me? All that transportation waste (diesel, jet fuel, electric, gas) adds up to a lot of pollution.
Fashionable modern woman on landfill, consumerism versus pollution concept.
Cute Ethical Sustainable
Clothing Brands to Support
In most stores, you have no idea unless you look at the “made in” tag and make assumptions. You could look up the store’s mission statement online, and then support cute eco-friendly clothing brands that take the environment into consideration during their production. Have you heard of fast fashion?
“Fast fashion is a design, manufacturing, and marketing method focused on rapidly producing high volumes of clothing. Fast fashion garment production leverages trend replication and low-quality materials (like synthetic fabrics) in order to bring inexpensive styles to the end consumer.”
The Good Trade
So why is fast fashion a problem? To start, the amount of water usage and pollution. Some of the byproducts from textile factories including lead, arsenic, and mercury are all dumped into rivers and oceans. Which is extremely harmful to both human and aquatic life. The countries that make fast fashion items en masse are usually less wealthy and have no labor laws. Most work environments are dangerous for workers, and the byproduct of all this is untreated toxic wastewater.
Why Should I Care How My Clothes are Made?
- Wastewater from factories is dumped directly into rivers which leads to oceans. In Bangladesh alone, 22,000 tons of toxic waste from tanneries go untreated and straight into the waterways each year. It eventually runs into the sea and pollutes that too.
- Up to 200 tons of fresh water is used to dye and complete just one ton of fabric. 200 TONS of FRESH water.
- Extinction Rebellion and the UN also found that 3.6 billion people (almost half the world’s population) are at risk of water shortages during the year.
- Fast fashion companies generate more pollution than international aviation and shipping COMBINED.
Cute Ethical Sustainable
Clothing Brands to Support
Save Lands – save an animal, eat a plant
Join me in my mission to help save our planet, by planting trees! Look adorable in eco-friendly clothing and help save Mother Nature at the same time! Save lands is truly a cute ethical sustainable clothing brand. I love their tee shirts and tank tops with the cute slogans like “Find Your Road” and of course my “Pot Head” gardening tank that I get compliments on ALL the time. I’m laughing out loud because it cracks me up every time I see it.
Every item sold at Save Lands plants 12 trees.
Our Mission:
Count to 2, in that time humans just destroyed an entire football field of forest. 80,000 acres are destroyed every single day. Lands was founded with one concept in mind: It is time to take a stand, it is time to make a difference, and unite everyone with the one thing we all have in common: planet earth. Help us reach our goal of 10,000,000 trees planted.
Save Lands Mission Statement
Made Trade – Ethical. Sustainable. Beautiful.
Made Trade is the largest online store for ethical and sustainable sourced goods, carrying more than 10,000 products like clothing, shoes, jewelry, accessories, bedding, home goods, and furniture. Made Trade is an ethical and sustainable clothing alternative for the conscious and discerning consumer.
We believe we can make the world a more beautiful place by holding ourselves to a higher ethical standard. We call it being “ethically elevated.” It means we put artistry above efficiency. Fair wages above profits. Sustainability above mass production. Quality craftsmanship above mindless consumption. And transparency above everything, as we painstakingly hand-select only the most beautifully-designed, ethically-made goods that put people and our planet first.
And because there’s nothing uglier than unfairness, hidden practices or trickery, we pledge to provide true transparency about the ethically made goods we offer. So you can shop freely, knowing each piece has been responsibly sourced, and expertly handcrafted with sustainable materials. And that the makers and artisans were paid fair wages.
Made Trade Mission Statement
WHOLESOME CULTURE
Wholesome Culture is an eco-friendly clothing company committed to treating animals and the planet with kindness and respect. As a traveler, I’ve seen firsthand how climate change and pollution have affected the animals, our beaches, and all the ecosystems on our planet. Responsible shopping practices are great ways to help make a difference.
Wholesome Culture is more than a clothing brand. It’s a movement to make the world a better place for everyone. To help clean our seas and go plastic-free one piece of clothing at a time.
Wholesome Culture Co.
Read more: Wholesome Culture Eco-Friendly Clothing
Prana – clothing for positive change
This cute sustainable clothing brand is one of my personal favorites. The quality of their clothing is worth the price. You can find some of Prana’s lines at the store REI as well as online. On their website, they list their involvement with communities and action plans to curb climate change.
From the fields where our organic cotton and hemp are grown, to the factories where our clothing is assembled. From the chemicals that need to be carefully managed, to the way we package and ship each style—everything we do is for the planet and its people. Sustainability has been part of our prAna DNA from day one—and doing things right is just what we do.
Prana Mission Statement
Thank you for shopping responsibly xx
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5 comments
An interesting read highlighting why we should be vigilant in choosing where we buy our clothes. The eco-brands you highlight have some wonderful designs. Love the bees.
The bees tees are my favorite. I own a few haha I hope the post inspired you to shop more eco-conscious! 🤗
This is such a great post. It’s great to know about different brands, but really just the information bringing awareness. I’ve become more and more interested in the effects of our actions on the earth, so this was really interesting! I had no idea wastewater got dumped into the rivers. That is so sad!
It’s hard to believe that such waste is still being dumped into waterways. But if there is a demand, the supply will continue to flow.