By Kristina Lauren
Last time, we had a fairly simple introduction to sustainable fashion practices. But you may now be wondering out of all the fashion brands out there, which ones are best to shop at. So, today, I’m going to introduce you to three fashion brands that are doing big and unique things to contribute to sustainability.
Organic Basics
These guys are probably the best example of a sustainable fashion company that I’ve seen so far. As much as they are an online store for clothing, they could also double as an educational resource for not just sustainable fashion practices, but eco-friendly ways of operating other aspects of business.
They make it clear that they only use “the most responsible fabric and technology available”; that their pesticide-free cotton is produced on the coast of the Aegean Sea; and they specifically seek out factories that minimize textile waste. But what sets them apart the most is their low impact website.
They point out that data transfer can lead to carbon emissions because it requires electricity. This all culminates to climate change. Compared to their regular website, Organic Basic’s Low Impact website reduces data transfer by up to 70%. It’s able to do so by not loading images before they’re needed, not using videos, and minimizing the power consumption on the user’s end.
Organic Basics has also created an A-Z Guide on why fashion is dirty and how they’re trying to change that. Overall, they’re very thorough.
Happy Earth
When you land on the Happy Earth website, the first thing that will stick out to you is the words “Give A Damn”, followed by them calling on you to “Plant trees. Clean up trash. Fight climate change.” And those three actions are exactly what The Happy Earth does through its company.
They’re definitely still an apparel business first, offering bundles containing shirts, beanies, scarves, and other accessories, but what stands out about them is that the other half of their brand is actively combatting climate change.
They don’t just practice eco-friendliness with ethical factories that minimize carbon emissions, but they also claim to plant 15 trees and pick up 1 pound of trash for every product sold. If you check their website, they’ve seeded hundreds of thousands of trees and picked up almost 4000 pounds of trash. That’s pretty impressive.
Similar to Organic Basics, they have a wide variety of educational content for their website visitors, including detailed instructions on how to contact your government representatives about climate change, and a journal about various topics in sustainability.
Conscious Step
With a cleverly-named brand, Conscious Step sells socks—that’s it. But the sock industry can actually be quite lucrative when you look at the Shark Tank brand Bombas, who just brought in over $100 million in sales in 2019. However, Conscious Step appears to be prioritizing sustainability over profit.
They are a certified vegan brand, their socks are made with the cleanest cotton, and they support various charitable causes. But what makes them stand out to me is the effort they’ve made to highlight their workers—sharing the stories of three factory workers in India and dedicating a whole webpage to emphasizing how important conscious manufacturing and fair wages are.
Conscious Step has also partnered with a variety of charities and human rights organizations, such as Habitat for Humanity, who helps create affordable housing worldwide, and The Trevor Project, which is dedicated to helping LGBT youth.
Whether you’re just getting started in your sustainable fashion journey or you just want to know more companies out there that serve your eco-friendly interests, these three brands should have something for you.
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