In honor of the Slow Fashion Caucus launch, here are five slow fashion brands to rewear, repair, and relove sustainably.
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Reduce. Rewear. Repair. Recycle. Congress wants to break our addiction to fast fashion. (Today’s fast buying model triggers the quick reward portion of our brain and releases dopamine.) Worldwide, the fashion industry pumps out more clothes than ever before. And it’s resulting in millions of tons of more waste and emissions than ever before. Yet, with well-tailored social media campaigns and thousands of new styles which seem to be on sale regularly, fast fashion is only growing. Representative Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), along with others on Capitol Hill, is working towards curbing fast fashion waste. This year, the Congresswoman announced the first-ever Slow Fashion Caucus to create “climate-smart” policies within the fashion industry.
“Often, people don’t understand the role fashion is playing today in our climate crisis,” Pingree said during a press conference. From microplastics to CO2 emissions, fast fashion is having a detrimental impact on the future of our planet and the Slow Fashion Caucus aims to raise public awareness and advance smart policies. Some of these are things sustainably-minded brands and consumers are already doing- creating and buying clothes that will last, using and shopping for natural biodegradable materials, repairing, and recycling at a product’s end-of-life.
Buying less and refusing to buy from fast fashion brands is one way to support the slow fashion movement. Shopping from sustainable slow fashion brands is another way to move away from fast fashion. These brands don’t offer the thrill of a $5 find you’ll wear once before moving on to the next trend. What they do offer are well-made clothes and accessories you can wear, rewear, repair, and resale or recycle at its end-of-life. These pieces are made from natural materials instead of plastic-based polyester to avoid contributing to microplastics and in factories certified for meeting high environmental and ethical standards.
Reformation
Since 2016, Reformation has published sustainability reports documenting its commitment and progress at using more recycled and regeneratively-grown materials, paying Living Wages, educating employees on sustainability, and offsetting CO2 emissions.
Reformation Lucas Coat $428 is made from 70% recycled MWool®.
Nisolo
This B Corp brand offers “Sustainability Facts” for each of its products, allowing customers to view a scorecard for Living Wages, Transparency, CO2 emissions, and more.
Nisolo Ana Go-To Heeled Chelsea Boot $250 is made from leather certified by the Leather Working Group.
KOTN
Another B Corp, this brand offers long-lasting basics in soft Egyptian cotton sourced from family-run farms. To minimize emissions, yarn and clothing is made in Egypt and Portugal. The brand gives back to the region too- funding 21 schools in Egypt.
Kotn Women’s Fitted Longsleeve $45 is made from 100% cotton and is ethically made in Egypt using certified OEKO-TEX® non-toxic dyes.
Cuyuna
Cuyuna has been audited by 3rd-parties to receive ethical and sustainable certifications including Oeko-Tex 100, LWG, and BlueSign.
Cuyuna System Zipper Tote 13-Inch $428 is made from leather certified by the Leather Working Group and is made to be worn, reworn, and repaired, and resold.
Amour Vert
From recycled cashmere to washable silk to organic cotton to Tencel, Amour Vert offers a range of everyday pieces in natural fabrics. To prevent its timeless styles from hitting landfills, the brand offres repairs and a Resale Marketplace to sell and buy its pre-loved classics.
Amour Vert Marcel Wool Pea Coat $375 is made from 95% Responsible Wool Standard certified wool.
