Style Conscious, the forward-thinking fashion brands putting the environment and sustainability at the core of their business, enabling us to make more eco-conscious decisions about the clothes we wear. We think these guys below are doing great things and we hope you enjoy reading their stories.

 

Zanna van Dijk & Natalie Glaze

Stay Wild Swimwear

Created by two bloggers, Zanna Van Dijk and Natalie Glaze, Stay Wild is helping fight the scourge of plastic in our oceans with their eco-friendly swimwear. The swimwear is all made from a genius little thing called ECONYL®, a yarn crafted from regenerated fishing nets collected from the ocean as well as other scrap materials, which is turned into high-quality fabric that can be used to make premium swimwear. Although they’re tackling an issue that affects the whole planet, we love that it’s a London brand through and through – the factory is based in north London and at every stage of the process they work with London-based start-ups and sustainability leaders. What’s more, the factory is a social enterprise that brings women from disadvantaged backgrounds in and trains them in clothing production, developing their skills to a high standard and improving their job prospects for the future. Good for the planet, good for London, and looks good on you: we love Stay Wild.

staywildswim.com

James Pickard

Doc Coton

London has become a hot bed of sustainable fashion brands and Peckham’s Doc Cotton is one of our favourites. With a range of colourful patterned garments, each one is made bespoke in Peckham to there is no surplus inventory and no overproduction, eliminating waste. All clothes are made with organic cotton and are printed digitally which dramatically reduces the amount of water, energy and chemicals used. Our favourite part though is Doc Cotton’s #LovedClothesLast policy where customers can return their used Doc Cotton clothes in return for a 20% discount off their next order. These garments will then be re-used or upcycled in an environmentally friendly way and customers will be notified about the destination of their old garments.

doccotton.com

Andrew Lethbridge

IDEN Denim

IDEN is a denim brand founded by Andrew Lethbridge that is committed to making jeans in a far more sustainable fashion. Traditionally denim takes a huge amount of resources, water and chemicals to produce but IDEN uses techniques such as eco-friendly washing, sustainable trims, recycled leather patches and a small supply chain to vastly reduce the environmental impact of production.

idendenim.com

Sophie Slater and Sarah Beckett

Birdsong

It’s estimated that 60 million women worldwide – aged 18-35 and working in the garment industry – make less than minimum wage. These women are making the clothes we see on the high street everyday, and are hidden in the fashion supply chain. London company Birdsong, founded by Sophie Slater and Sarah Beckett in 2014, is aiming to do things differently however – they work with skilled women makers in the UK that face barriers to employment, and pay them a fair wage. Sophie and Sarah offer an inspiring alternative model for how the fashion industry can work, a protest against the practices of the global chains and its abuses.

birdsong.london

Love Not Landfill

Fashion is the second most polluting industry in the world, so the overconsumption of clothes that are worn only a few times before being discarded is a big problem. The #LoveNotLandfill campaign, run by ReLondon, addresses the issue by specifically appealing to young Londoners, providing info about clothes swaps, buying second hand and how to sell and fix your old clothes. It also has clothing banks, sprayed by female street artist Bambi, placed around London to encourage younger fashionistas to think about the life of their clothes once they’re done with them. By putting used clothes in the clothing banks, consumers can ensure that wearable clothes are sold on to people who need them and pieces are turned into something useful, which helps to keep fabrics (especially man-made ones that take years to break down) stay out of landfill.

lovenotlandfill.org

Anna Foster

E.L.V. Denim

Apparently, it takes around 4 – 10,000 litres of water to create your average pair of jeans – YIKES. A simple solution would be to buy more second-hand vintage jeans but if that’s not really your thing then meet Anna Foster of East London Vintage (E.L.V.) who’s here to solve your sustainable denim dilemma. Each pair of jeans is made from two old pairs that have been stitched together to make a fresh new pair in a completely new style. Plus no two pairs are ever the same, so you’ll be the only one wearing your unique pair. For even greater customisation there’s even a fitting service available so you can get a pair made to fit you perfectly.

elvdenim.com

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