Website Round-Ups: Ethical Fashion, Global Style Picks

I shared a neat little coupon code from Threads for Thought I found in my email at the end of my post last week. That got me thinking.

Fast fashion has never been more powerful and ubiquitous than it is currently. Brutally low wages together with poor working conditions, staggering disregard for the environment, and wholly unchecked greed of shareholders and shoppers make ours the era of the (unsustainable) $5 jeans. Fortunately, many conscientious customers are self-educating and choosing to do the right thing. Homemade and secondhand economies are growing, and a number of fashion companies have made it their mission to be fair.

We here at the dork gang headquarters of the wise money crew try to shop responsibly. I’ll be writing updates on my journey into the world of reselling and secondhand buying. I also collaborated with my sister to gather some of her tips on buying and selling on Craigslist, which will be featured in another upcoming post. Let’s first cover some online shops that bring ethical global fashion right to you!

In an audit of the websites I hoard on a spreadsheet (what, did you think this dorkiness was only skin deep?), I found a great many slow fashion sites I visit regularly. So yeah, I mentally patted myself on the back, but then I thought: I have to organize these by theme (again, dork runs deep). Here I will feature highlights, starting with “global fashions”.  What can I say, I love the bold prints and interesting silhouettes that contrast the frumpy potato I usually look like.

Our first stop is Fab India, which advocates and practices inclusive capitalism. Their work preserves the craft and technique of India’s many highly skilled artisans, provides artisans with sustainable employment, and brings customers exquisitely worked pieces at reasonable prices. Check out this

Dawn Yanagihara, who now designs for Nike, co-founded Kiriko in 2012 with Katsu Tanaka. They started with a small selection of personal accessories repurposed from Japanese salvaged vintage textile. After several high profile collaborations, products now include apparel, homewares and vintage fabric for all you home crafters (including aspirational crafters like me!) Check out this

Mola Sasa features handmade items by 60 women from a co-op in northern Colombia, as well as exquisite one-of-a-kind vintage pieces. The namesake is molas, a decorative apparel fabric made by the kuna (or guna) women in Panama and Colombia. Check out this

Oliberté, founded in 2009, already has an impressive résumé. Their factory in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, became the first ever Fair Trade Certified footwear manufacturing factory in 2013. Firm believers of trade, not aid, Oliberté is not about subsidizing inferior goods. They are so confident in the quality of the workmanship, in fact, every product comes with its own lifetime warranty. Check out this

That’s it now, and here’s something from my inbox for y’all

Shop here and so long. See you next week, squirrel friends!