The sustainable fashion scene still seems to me a very small niche market in the US, an indie infatuation and still struggling greatly to become more mainstream, which I doubt will really happen. Still, the various creative efforts many companies are making are appreciated and, as always, I remind you that the “ethical” or “sustainable” is not in the product, but in the consumer.

Here are some of my recent discoveries in the world of sustainable and ethical fashion.

Green Shirts

Photo: green-shirts.com

Green shirts was founded in Germany in 2012 and since then, the company has been at the forefront of the sustainable fashion movement. They believe that transparency creates trust, which they think is the main difference from the conventional fashion industry. By using GOTS certified prints and textiles, green energy and an eco-social bank as financial partner, this company takes sustainability to the next level:

“We think that it is important to demonstrate a sustainable lifestyle not only through our products but also within our company. As a result, we depend only on green energy as a power source and cooperate with green partners in the IT- and financial- sector.  Furthermore, as a young eco fashion label we focus on innovative designs, sustainable fashion, fair wages and social engagement”.

Photo: green-shirts.com

Redesigning America with Hemp

The uber indie street wear label Superego has made a few small collections with more sustainable fabrics and now they are pushing for the comeback of hemp, a once widely used fiber that advocates deem as a more sustainable source of textile fibers. You can support their Kickstarter campaign here. The purpose of the campaign is to dedicate more resources to product development and marketing.

Purse for the People

Another small startup, New Moon Clothing, aims to create a handbag line that customers can design themselves or use crowdsourcing to find original designs. The company is launching an Indiegogo campaign on October13th at 2 pm EST, for more information, click here.

 Alora jewelry

Alora is a brand of handcrafted jewelry based in Canada. The pieces are made from recycled brass and recycled glass (fair trade from Ghana, the designer’s home country), every piece you buy comes with a meaning card that inspires women to love themselves and send a positive message.

Note: none of these companies have paid or otherwise compensated the editors for these mentions. If you are an independent fashion label, feel free to contact us to be featured.