Refresh Your Wardrobe With Earth-Friendly Pieces from These Sustainable Local Fashion Brands
Feb 3, 2021 • Cristina Morales
Feb 3, 2021 • Cristina Morales
Did you know that the fashion industry generates 4% of the world’s waste (that’s 92 million tons) every year? Though the road to sustainable living isn’t easy, you can make more earth-friendly wardrobe choices by choosing to buy from planet-conscious brands, starting from these local sustainable fashion brands:
Candid Clothing is all about creating effortless, versatile staples you can wear with any outfit. To reduce waste, they use factory surplus fabrics and also train communities to create upcycled accessories from their fabric scraps. Plus, their prices are super affordable! This four-way puff sleeves top costs just ₱590. To shop, visit their official website.
Lazy Fare and Lucy in the Sky are two sister brands that use reclaimed or deadstock fabrics, which are leftover fabric rolls from garment mills. Manufacturers often oversupply these fabrics on purpose to lower the cost of production, and these fabrics are either burnt, discarded, or resold at a lower cost. Lazy Fare and Lucy in the Sky make products with a low carbon footprint and use reclaimed fabrics in limited quantities to limit their waste. Because they use true deadstock, this means that their designs often come in limited supply, so be sure to check their socials frequently for restock announcements. Their designs usually retail for not more than ₱500. To order, visit their official website.
Hate seeing someone wearing exactly the same thing as you? The folks behind Re Clothing understand the struggle, which is why designs from their main collection are hand-embroidered, so each piece is unique. All designs are also made in small batches. Their pieces are curated secondhand items or made from deadstock fabric, so not only will their pieces add more character to your everyday ensembles, they’ll also make you feel great about your sustainable choices! Their hand-embroidered tops go for as low as ₱449, and you can also check out their loungewear line Loaf, which has items that sell for as low as ₱220. To shop, visit their official website.
Founded in 2007, Rags2Riches is one of the OG sustainable brands in the country. The social enterprise uses upcycled, overstock cloth and indigenous fabrics to create stylish pieces that last. The company also empowers community artisans, most of them mothers, with a unique system that allows them to work from home. This super cute off-shoulder top retails for ₱1,800. To buy, visit their official website.
Sunki’s first collection (which was launched in September 2020) uses OEKO-TEX® certified linen, which means it doesn’t use harmful chemicals during its production. The brand also uses 100% biodegradable cassava plastic in its packaging, as well as seed paper for their tags (they can be planted in your garden!). Plus, they collaborate with TELAStory Collective (more on them below), which ensures that the seamstresses Sunki works with gets paid up to 6 times more than the average garment worker so they earn a true living wage. We have no choice but to stan. These super cute pants cost ₱2,500. To get one of your own, visit their official website.
TELAstory pays all of its workers a true living wage, which is enough for themselves and several dependents. The collective only uses biodegradable, locally made textiles or locally sourced deadstock/waste fabrics for their designs, and not one scrap goes to waste. They either get reused in new products or get stuffed into yoga cushions. They currently don’t have anything on sale, but you should follow them on social media for restock announcements — and check out their official website while you’re at it!
After Rio Estuar realized just how much waste her successful clothing line was creating, she decided to close it down and retreat to a small beachtown community to learn how to live sustainably. When she returned to the city with a new mindset, she launched RIOtaso, a play on Rio’s name and the Tagalog word for scrap fabric “retaso”. Using carefully curated fabric scraps discarded by the fashion industry, Rio creates one-of-a-kind pieces that reflect your own uniqueness. Their halter tops currently retail for ₱1,600 upwards. To order, visit their official website.
Who knew wearing actual sackcloths could look so chic? Since 2009, Craftcha has been upcycling katcha cloth, old jeans, Hinabi and scrap cloth to create stylish, unique pieces. Best part? They’re super affordable too! Their pieces go for as low as ₱100 (for a tote bag). To shop, send them a DM on Instagram or Facebook.
Did we miss your favorite local sustainable fashion brand? Tell us about them in the comments!
Though a chronic dabbler in whatever tickles her fancy, Cristina claims she can count her passions on one hand: feminism, literature, the environment, embroidery, and the power of a solid pop song. She lives in Uniqlo lounge pants and refuses to leave the house without a winged eye.
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