This final week of Slow Fashion October, “Known Origins,” has been amazing so far — the comments on my last two posts alone are so fantastic; go take a look here and here if you haven’t read them — and then there’s the wealth of great contributions on the #slowfashionoctober feed, which will continue through the weekend. As always, I’m calling out a few on @slowfashionoctober, but it’s impossible to do such a rich conversation justice.
For today’s links, I had this grand idea that I was going to put together an extensive, categorized resource guide for us all to lean on and build over time, and got completely overwhelmed just trying to get it started! It’s a deeply daunting task. So I’m just going to share a few links that either I personally know and believe in or that came from you guys and I’m particularly excited about. And I’m going to ask that you leave more suggestions in the comments below. Even (or especially) if you’ve left them already on other posts or on Instagram, I would love to have them all on one page, so please repeat yourself!
What’s below barely even qualifies as a scratch in the surface, but it’s what I can do at this moment — I hope it’s of some use.
Please note that it is not my intention to imply that “made in USA” is automatically a clean bill of health — it’s not. The following are all companies with a stated mission of sustainable practices. Most of the “made in USA” ones actually do in-house production, but some are simply sustainable brands doing domestic factory production.
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CLOTHES
Made in USA:
• Alabama Chanin – one-of-a-kind garments hand-stitched by a network of independent sewers, using organic cotton jersey
• Han Starnes – clothes made the in the south (sweaters in Peru), with an emphasis on traceable materials
• Elizabeth Suzann — clothes made-to-order in their Nashville studio, plus transparency about many of the fabrics
• Imogene+Willie — jeans made in Los Angeles, generally of Japanese or North Carolina denim
• Jamie and the Jones – clothes made in their Nashville studio, many with locally loomed fabrics
• Lauren Winter – clothes made in their Portland OR studio with an emphasis on sustainable materials
• Pansy – organic cotton undies and bras, made in California
• State – upcycled smocks and garments sewn in GA and NYC of sustainable materials
• Tradlands – menswear-inspired clothes sewn in Chicago, emphasis on quality/longevity and timelessness
• Zady – garments with every detail of the supply chain spelled out on the product page
Responsibly made elsewhere:
• Ace & Jig — work directly with Indian weavers to develop their woven fabrics (top photo)
• Blockshop Textiles — work directly with Indian blockprinters to develop their printed fabrics
• Everlane – claim to use only the best overseas factories, less concerned about materials
• Patagonia – activewear with an emphasis on sustainable sourcing and fair-trade sewing
• Rêve en Vert – designer goods, limited to brands with sustainability at their core
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SHOES
Made in USA:
• Bryr – handmade in San Francisco of US leathers (European bases) (bottom photo)
• Cobra Rock Boot Company – handmade-to-order in Marfa TX
• Sven Clogs – made of US leather and sheepskin (bases from Austria and Sweden)
• L.L. Bean – their famous duck boots are still made in Maine
Responsibly made elsewhere:
• Jane Sews – work with artisans in South Africa (also small-batch clothing)
• Nisolo – work closely with artisans in Peru, offering above-fair-trade wages and job training
Really looking forward to what you guys will add to this batch, especially.
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FABRIC / YARDAGE
• Hellgate Fabrics – natural-fiber fabrics from countries with fair labor practices
• Huston Textile – fabrics loomed in their Rancho Cordova CA mill
• Organic Cotton Plus – organic cotton plus hemp, wool and more
• TN Textile Mill – fabrics loomed in their Nashville TN mill
• Vreseis – fabrics woven from Sally Fox’s organic color-grown cotton
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YARN
The thrilling thing is there are WAY TOO MANY great traceable/sustainable yarn options to even begin to list — which I don’t think I could have said even a couple of years ago. (Here’s hoping the same can be said of fabrics a few years from now!) I covered some ground in this yarn resources post last year, so please take a look at that — and at the comments on it for even more. And again, please mention your favorites in the comments below! We’re blessed that there are so many …
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PREVIOUSLY in Slow Fashion October: Is it more expensive to make your own clothes?