Finding ethical clothing is easy… if you’re looking for sage green organic cotton harem pants. If you’re looking for something to wear to the community pool,* you might need to spend a little more time cruising those interwebby waves.
I thought I’d put together a little guide to those harder-to-find socially responsible choices.
1. Socks and underwear
PACT Organic is Fair Trade certified, with surprisingly diverse pattern and colour options. Their prices are comparable to what you might find at the Gap or Levi, but they have good sales. Plus, PACT offers up to $30 off your purchase for making a referral to your friends, so you could be sneaky and ‘refer’ a bunch of people on a mass order (you’d also save on shipping, since it is really costly on this site for some reason). They also offer baby basics! If you’re looking for lingerie, Hanky Panky is a fairly affordable and super comfortable made-in-the-USA option. At a higher price point, beautiful Brook There or the Vancouver-based You and Her have some really special pieces.
2. Swimwear
You are likely already familiar with handmade retailer Etsy, which is where I ordered this Ontario-made sweetie for my chubby little turducken of a baby, and I love these bandeau-style Tankinis from Candystrand. If you’d like to support Canadian-based boutique swimwear, a friend recently introduced me to Nettle’s Tale— appropriate, seeing as the designer’s friends served as her style muses. From sporty Kaycee to vintage-inspired Carli, the heart-gladdening styles reflect unique personalities and lifestyles. Buying swimwear online is daunting, I know, but grab your best-fitting bra (sport or underwire, depending on the style of swimsuit you’re ordering) and a fabric measuring tape and utilize those sizing charts. CARPE DIEM!
3. Activewear
Yoga pants. You’ve seen them everywhere. You’ve seen them in a lot of places you probably wish you hadn’t seen them.
I thought I’d have a look for them in a North American factory, now that certain CEOs think it’s dandy for kids to sew things all day instead of go to school. Oh, by the way, I’m not exaggerating. Read the article and be horrified. I was going to paste a GIF of Jim Carrey looking horrified, but my conscience wouldn’t allow my sense of humour to emerge.
Frankly, between his suggestion that women’s thighs shouldn’t touch together and blaming breast cancer rates on the entry of ‘Power Women‘ into the workforce, I’ve pretty much had it up to here with the arrogant crap he’s pulled. So, as Chip Wilson channels his inner legendary literary A-hole, I’ll be busy recommending a great list of alternative (and ethically sourced) workout clothing. Thanks to another friend for passing this one on to me.
So, yeah. Apparently the day Lululemon outsourced its (allegedly) chafey, (allegedly) see-through pants to China wasn’t the end of the world after all! Did you hear that, Mister Wilson? WOMEN CAN STILL GO TO THE GYM. WITH THEIR THIGHS TOUCHING AND EVERYTHING. THAT’S RIGHT.
4. Athletic shoes
“We’re sorry, your search for social responsibility returned no results.” Haha. Story of my life.
When approaching athletic shoes, one must either go barefoot or redefine the term ethical somewhat. The manufacture of running shoes is problematic, firstly because of the large number of outsourced components that comprise an athletic shoe, and secondly due to the large ecological footprint of the petroleum-based synthetics that typically go into their design. For whatever reason, barefoot-style running shoes seem to be ahead of the sustainability game. Ecouterre has posted a handy list of their recommended brands. If you need a traditional running shoe, New Balance is partially domestically sourced, but not solely (no pun intended. Okay, pun intended). Brooks used to offer an eco-friendly design in its Green Silence model, but it has since discontinued the offering with no apparent replacement.
7. Bedding
I assumed this one would be a lot harder than it turned out to be. Ethical bedding is actually readily available, so I’m just providing a light survey here.
Fairly paid artisans in India are crafting these splendid patchwork quilts, pieced together from salvaged fabric. I realize the concept of a rag blanket** sounds rough, but the execution is delightful, as you can see:
Sex trafficking is one of those social issues that has saturated our collective consciousness so deeply, it’s easy to repress (and ignore) what we’ve learned about its horrors. Sari Bari has not forgotten, and it is offering at-risk women an artisanal haven.
Basics like sheets, pillowcases and duvet covers are available at Glo Organic, whose fair trade certified organic cotton products are sewn in the USA.
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Are you having trouble tracking down an ethical alternative to a product you need or want? Let me know in the comments section.
*legally and without making anyone cry and without having to peruse the bathing suit section of Value Village because, well, yuck.
**And really, aren’t all quilts technically rag blankets? I’ve literally seen rags for sale at Michaels for this very purpose. p.s. I do not make frequent use of the word literally; no, I do not.
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