How can I shop sustainable clothing?

How do I make sure the brands i'm shopping with are sustainable?

On the run up to Earth day this Friday (22nd April 2022) we thought it would be good to talk to you about navigating the fashion industry in order to find the sustainable fashion you're after. As we all become more aware of the damage we are causing our planet, we are starting to want to know more about what's going on behind the sustainable clothing brands we want to support. Whether that be the supply chain of how the brand create clothing, or sustainable fabrics or packaging, there are many different factors we can take into consideration when judging a sustainable clothing brands sustainability credentials.

Sustainable clothing means something different for everybody

A key point to bear in mind and something that we have recognised, is that sustainability means a different thing to everybody. You might feel ethical fashion is all about production process and living wage, whereas your friend next to you might feel more strongly about the eco friendly fabrics being used and the fabric supply chain. They might know more about organic cotton vs conventional cotton processes and feel sustainable brands they want to support must be using natural fabrics or natural fibres. The next person might feel from their own knowledge they've picked up along the way that recycled polyester is better than organic cotton because it's more eco friendly to be using waste to give a new life to from turning it into new recycled materials.

Researching and trusting sustainable brands within the sustainable fashion sector of the fashion industry can be time consuming and confusing. Know The Origin were keen to make sustainable fashion more accessible and easier to understand and navigate. That's why we decided to create pages on the website that clearly and easily break down sustainable materials such as organic cotton, bamboo viscose, fabrics made from plastic bottles, and explain in simple and easy to understand paragraphs what each fabric is, the process behind it and some information on the environmental impact.

We also decided to do the same for sustainable credentials. You might not know what BCORP means for example, but it might be something you're seeing pop up more and you'd like a small, easy to find, easy to understand paragraph that helps you understand what it means for a brand to have that certification. We've also written guides to help you understand what it means when we say 'made in', what it means for materials to be labelled vegan materials, fair trade or similar certifications and how we've judged a low carbon footprint.

Shopping Sustainable Fashion at Know The Origin

We have a curated collection from many brands. From ethical luxury womenswear to eco friendly ranges from your favourite go to brand. We've got the up and coming London based brand Contur making their products in the UK from recycled materials, TOBEFRANK a brand that helped factories through covid by buying their surplus stock when other brands cancelled orders and using deadstock materials for their t shirts and hoodies. We've also got more brands such as sustainable fashion brand Boody creating sustainable underwear, and ethical clothing brand Organic Basics offering seamless ethical fashion activewear using ethical and sustainable production methods. Other clothing brands include sustainable fashion brand Tentree who plant trees from every order. (You are also able to plant trees at our checkout too!) Tentree also offer full transparency on their own website sharing the names of their factories.

If you're interested in shopping ethical fashion or more eco friendly options we highly recommend you checking out our brands. If you know what certifications matter to you or fabrics you want to buy then we recommend shopping via our Shop by Values menu. Equally, if you're quite new to shopping eco friendly clothing brands we recommend just enjoying shopping as you would on any other site, and then checking out the badges of honour on the product or the brand credentials info underneath the product and clicking through there to learn more about what makes that brand or product more eco friendly.

We hope you enjoy the site! Our core message and the reason we are here is to encourage you to start that journey to shopping more sustainably without feeling like you don't know where to start. We've brought together tried and tested brands and products we think you'll love and we've been as open and transparent as we can about what sustainability credentials those brands and products do and don't have, so you can choose what matters to you. We hope you love the site and enjoy your shopping experience with us. 

If you've got any thoughts you'd like to share with us, please feel free to email us at hello@knowtheorigin.com we'd love to hear from you!