Fair Trade Clothing: A Starter Guide
Let’s talk about fair trade clothing!
Briefly! What is fair trade and why is it important? According to the World Fair Trade Organization, “Fair Trade is a trading partnership, based on dialogue, transparency and respect, that seeks greater equity in international trade. It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions to, and securing the rights of, marginalized producers and workers.” Said more plainly, fair trade clothing generally means: 1. You know where it was made 2. the company guarantees that factory conditions are good and healthy 3. the job firmly provides a living wage for its employees.
It often means they’re certified through organizations like Fair Trade Certified or the WFTO. To summarize, fair trade means no sweatshops, safe working conditions, and good wages. Unfortunately, these conditions are rare in the “fast fashion” world, especially in factories in Asia.
Why is this important? Well, I’m not here to lecture. For a lot of people, their money has to go a long way (like to my student loans T_T). But –
If you have the means at your disposal, it’s dope to buy stuff that you know was made in a just and equitable manner, from people working with dignity and not being taken advantage of.
In a world on the brink of climate crisis, fair trade clothing is much more environmentally friendly! First, a lot of fair trade clothing is made in much more environmentally manners, such as only using organic non-toxic dyes, using recycled components, etc. Some people include “environmentally friendly practices” in their definition of fair trade, but others (myself included) focus on wages/working conditions. Second, buying more expensive fair trade clothing encourages the consumer to buy less in general. Fast fashion and clothing waste is terrible for the world. There’s nothing more environmentally friendly than simply consuming less. Focusing on fair trade is a great excuse to ignore flash sales (y'all know what I'm talking about...), find a garment you love, save up for a bit, and pull the trigger when you’re ready. There’s a mantra I love - “own fewer, better things”.
So let’s jump in. Where can you get your fair trade stuff? There’s no perfect way to find out. There are a few great sites like Good On You, The Fair Trade, and Fair Trade Certified. There are certifications too (Blue Sign, WFTO, FTC), but not every company can afford the process. Generally, you have to trust people a bit. People respond pretty honestly when I ping them with my “is your stuff fair trade?” letter. Buying made in America/Canada/Japan (places with pretty solid labor practices) is an easy shortcut too. The list below is an evolving work. Fair Trade is more of a spectrum than a binary. Some brands definitely pay their workers well, but what about their material sourcing? And even if the material is responsibly sourced, how environmentally friendly are their practices? I’ve done my best to find some brands that I trust, based off my own research, websites like Good On You, and the word of friends at the Sustainable Fashion Alliance.
There’s a lot of overlap below, but I try to list based off what I generally associate the brands with. Poke around!
Shirts/T-Shirts/Sweatshirts
Pistol Lake. My favorite. These guys have great t’s, henleys, sweatshirts, and athletic apparel. They’re designed and manufactured in LA, which is a great shortcut towards fair trade.
PACT. This is a great company for stocking up on your affordable basics. You’ll see them on the list a few times as they have t’s, underwear, shorts, etc.
Lady White Company. I love these guys. They recently won Heddel’s list of best plain white t-shirts. More pricey but they’re also made and manufactured in the USA and source their material locally too. I’m wearing one of their t-shirts right now.
Industry of All Nations. These guys really go all the way. Working directly with factories in Asia and lifting up the communities. And 100% environmentally friendly too with their dying. Their button-ups look pretty sweet.
Pants and Shorts
Naked and Famous Denim. I haven’t corresponded with these guys, but they source all their fabric from Japan and it’s made and manufactured in Canada, so they should be a pretty safe bet. I’m planning on digging into this. 1.5. As a follow up, any nice Japanese denim - your Blue Owl, Momotaro, etc etc - should all be good to go based off being made and manufactured in Japan. However, if you really want to be sure/safe, you might want to look into number three, down below.
Kuyichi Denim. I haven’t tried these guys but I’m interested. Founded by an NGO, they appear to be extremely fair trade in both their environmental impact, material sourcing, and manufacturing.
Prana. They have some surprisingly nice chinos, as well as a host of their athletic/outdoorsy stuff. Caveat: not everything they sell is marketed on their site as fair trade, though they’re generally listed as a fair trade brand on various sites. I’ll do some more digging here.
Outerknown. They have some nice looking pants, and though I haven’t worn them myself I have some friends who love them. Sustainable Fashion Alliance recommended.
Swrve. These guys make really nice clothing for biking and generally robust life wear. They were very straightforward about sourcing and making most of their stuff locally and being very certain that their abroad factories were ethical and on the up-and-up. They have some nice denim and chinos. I’m looking forward to snagging some shorts from them come summer.
Outerwear
Ugh. Jackets. I love jackets so much. So many gnarly fair trade jackets.
Nine Lives. I really like these guys. Expensive Self-Edge stuff, no doubt. But their stuff looks so good and I am still drooling over their Sky Valley jacket. Ian at Nine Lives was extremely communicative when I asked if they fit as fair trade. All of their production is in Japan and they work with a few small workshops of very well paid employees.
Buzz Ricksons. If you’re a shameless whore for military jackets (like me) these guys are your (mad expensive) jam. All made in the Toyo Enterprises factory in Tokyo.
Patagonia. “Fratagonia” jokes aside, Patagonia is one of the few big companies that really does it right. Fair trade and environmental all the way down. They have some nice outerwear, but it’s either more workwear (their barn jackets are pretty nice) or clearly technical/outdoorsy. Because they’re larger, you can get some nice stuff at a price point not as pearl-clutching as Nine Lives/Buzz Ricksons.
Swrve. These guys have some fresh looking jackets for cycling, traveling, and general use.
Industry of All Nations has a work jacket I realllly want to try on.
Outerknown has a whole host of blazers, puffer jackets, fleeces, and truckers. Well worth a look.
Socks and Underwear
PACT. They have a whole host of socks, boxers/boxer briefs. Good for your basics.
Pistol Lake. Their eudae boxer briefs are pretty sweet. I’m wearing some right now :D
Patagonia. I’m actually driving to their store this weekend to pick up some wool socks.
Athletic Apparel
This is one of the more difficult. Poke around at a few brands I’ve already listed. Pistol Lake’s eudae t-shirts, hoodies, and henleys are perfect for a good workout. I wear their minimalist tencel hoodie for chilly morning runs and as a base layer while snowboarding. I run and lift in their eudae t-shirts. And their long eudae boxer-briefs I wear as compression frequently. Swrve, Patagonia, and Prana both have stretchier shorts you could use for working out. For hiking/outdoor gear, a combination of Prana and Patagonia should have you set.
Boots and Shoes
This might be the trickiest, and it isn’t something I’ve dived into much since I made this resolution a couple months and it will be a while before I need new kicks.
Nisolo was recommended to me by a friend at the Sustainable Fashion Alliance. Nice looking leather boots made at a small factory in Mexico.
Veja. Also SFA recommended. Some nice looking sneakers if you’re looking for some fair trade sustainable kicks.
Bourgeoise Boheme is a brand I’m really interested in. It’s damn hard to find fair trade hi-tops, and their boots look good. They’re highly rated at Good On You.
Ahimsa makes some fair trade, environmentally sustainable and vegan sneakers I’m quite interested in. I’m just hoping they bring back their black hi-tops.
I welcome all feedback and suggestions. Props to my friends at the Sustainable Fashion Alliance for giving me some recommendations. I’ll leave you with these words from Ian at Nine Lives, when I asked him about the price point of their stuff.
The price simply reflects the cost. In fact, our margin is painfully slim on everything we produce and we don’t even factor in a margin for things like marketing or sales. Anybody who grew up buying clothes from China, Bangladesh, etc got accustomed to a quirk of international capitalism—not to mention exploited labor as you so well know. At the turn of the century (1900) it was still common to pay 30% of your wages for clothing. Own fewer, better things indeed.
We use artisanal fabrics and artisanal sewing. And pay artisanal wages. It’s really as simple as that. The reality is that anyone who balks at the price is admitting—perhaps unwittingly—to participating in a global fashion economy with a lot of downside externalities that are not being priced into their goods. We live in an ethically complicated world with competing claims on our resources both collective and individual so I don’t want to judge them—only to say that as a basic cost structure goes, artisanal made in Japan goods cost basically that much. And the stores that sell our goods take a much smaller margin than the big department stores etc that usually add huge mark-ups.
I wish you luck and thank you for your support.