Conscious Consumerism: An Intro Series - Part 5 Sustainable Directory

Welcome back to the Conscious Consumerism intro series!

We're a little late with this one, but today we present to you:

Conscious Consumerism, Part 5 – Sustainable Directory

by Lore and Lotus Founder, Jackie Brink

Throughout this series we've introduced the sate of the world, mentioned some areas for concern, brought up a few steps and solutions, and I've occasionally mentioned some sustainable or slow fashion brands you can buy from when you need to buy something new. Today, I'm going to share with you my personal directory of sustainable and slow fashion shops for all manner of products, and I will be letting you know what I buy (when I buy) and from where!

First you might need to know, I'm a plus size, curvy girl. I wear US standard 14/16 at the moment, and I can say honestly that is hard enough looking for good quality, well-fitting clothes in the usual fast fashion industry. It can be daunting in itself, but sustainable movements can appear to make this search a little more difficult. Now, that is not necessarily a bad thing, as I am trying very hard to decrease the amount of clothes or anything I purchase now that I've started down this whole minimalist/sustainable/zero waste lifestyle! I am not an expert in any of those fields, but I am learning.

To be honest, I was a hardcore shopaholic, and I still get the urge to buy 'new', but when that urge hits me now, I try to only spend at companies who are either slow fashion, small-batch, sustainable and/or ethical. Or I thrift!

Embracing this new lifestyle has been a completely different experience for me, as I've got a house FULL of stuff. I may never be totally minimalist, (I guess I'm a Maximal minimal?), and I have Marie Kondo'd my place, more than once, but I just really love what I have collected over the years. And I haven't quite gotten over the urges of capitalist conditioning, but at least I can put money (and vote) into better brands who are working to make the world a better place when I do succumb!

Note: these are not Ads or Affiliate Links, I do not get a cent from referring these to you, I just really like these brands! 

Note: This List will be updated frequently!  

 

Without Further Ado: Here's my Sustainable Directory:

Personal Directory

Here's what I've bought since I committed to only Sustainable / Slow Fashion over a year ago:

FASHION

  • Everlane - Ethical, Transparent Fashion
    • XL fits me well
    • Cotton V-Neck T-Shirt in Pink & Japanese Go-Weave Wrap Dress Blue - Great for closet basics

Everlane V-Neck Tshit Pink  Everlane Go Weave Wrap Dress Blue

  • Pact - Sustainable Organic Cotton
    • XL fits me well
    • Pocket Leggings (Seasonal Color Sold Out) & Wrap Dress (Seasonal Color Sold Out) - Excellent cotton basics, like Old Navy, but Sustainable

 Pact-Clothing-Pocket-Leggings-Black  Pact-Clothing-Wrap Dress

  • Sseko Designs - Ethical, Fair Trade & Support Women's Educations
    • Size 2 fits me well
    • Shift Dress in Plume (Sold Out, similar shown) &  Blazer in Secret Garden - I LOVE the shift dress, so comfy (and it has pockets), and I got tons of compliments when I wear the Blazer.

Sseko Designs Shift Dress  Sseko Designs Blazer in Secret Garden

  • Symbology Clothing - Ethical Fair Trade Fashion
    • I had to order 2xl and 3xl - sizes run small - fits like a regular brands XL (barely)
    • Cherry Blossom Black Wrap Dress & Geometric Print Shirt Dress (runs even smaller than the Wrap Dress) - Love the materials and the way their made.

Symbology_Clothing_Cherry_Wrap_Dress_Black  Symbology_Clothing_Geometric_ShirtDress_Navy

HOME

  • Reusable Ziplocs - I use a variety of these now, but one of my favorite brands is Stasher Bag Silicone based baggies
  • Bees Wax Wraps - Wraps for bread, leftovers, cheese, etc. My favorite brand is:  Bees Wrap 
  • Brita Water Filter - no more plastic bottles in the house, just cool filtered water
  • Reusable Water Bottle - any will do, I have several, but I mostly use my Yeti - RAMBLER 30 OZ TUMBLER - I use this literally everyday, I don't leave the house without it, and with ice it stays cool ALL DAY even here in Florida.
  • Safety Razor (metal) - I bought mine in Rose Gold, from Ecoroots. They sell a lot of really good zero waste products.
  • Shampoo Bars - I haven't used them yet, but I bought mine from Unwrapped Life.
  • Nut Milk Bags / Cheese cloths - We make our own Almond Milk since about a month ago, and we LOVE it. So good! Here's a good recipe: How to Make Almond Milk
  • Reusable Bamboo Cutlery Set & Straws - Also coming to the shop soon!
  • Bamboo Q-Tips
  • French Press - replaces paper coffee filters and those horrible pods! Makes for a great coffee ritual as well.
  • Reusable Make Up Remover Pads 
  • Bamboo Toothbrush 

 

 

Sustainable / Zero Waste

Here's Sustainable / Zero Waste Supplies I love:

  • Reusable Water Bottles:
    • Earthlust - Stainless steel, eco-friendly water bottles
    • Que - Collapsible reusable water bottles
    • Soma - Sustainable, B-Corp glass water bottles
    • S’well - Sustainable Stainless Steel water bottle
    • Welly - Renewable insulated bamboo bottles
    • Yeti - Stainless Steel bottles
    • Yuhme - Sustainable water bottles made of sugarcane
  • Reusable Coffee Mugs:
    • Joco - Plastic-Free Glass Travel Mug
    • Stojo - Collapsible Silicone Coffee Mug
    • Keepcup - US made Reusable Cups
    • Pottery For the Planet - Original reusable ceramic coffee mug
    • W&P Design - Fun, Portable Ceramic & BPA free plastic mugs, cups, bowls and more

 

 

 

Fashion

 

 

PLUS GIRL

Here's Slow or Sustainable/Ethical Fashion for the Plus Girl:

  • Amour Vert -  Sustainable, Made in USA (some items, with stretch, XL is a good fit for US 16), but seriously, try anything in their Modal, it is so incredibly soft!)
  • Everlane - Radically Transparent (XL fits well if it has stretch!)
  • Girlfriend Collective - Eco-Friendly, Recycled Material Athletic Wear (up to size 6XL!)
  • Osei Duro - Sustainable "Experiment" and African Made (Sizes up to xxlarge) I haven't tried them yet, but I love the indigenous prints and cuts of their dresses!
  • Pact - Sustainable, Organic Cotton (XL = US 14/16)
  • Sseko Designs - Ethical, Fair Trade & Support Women's Educations (Size 2 is great XL+ fit)
  • Reformation - (Extended Sizes section offers XL-3XL sizing)
  • Tonle - Zero Waste, Fair Trade (XL = US 16/18)
  • Universal Standard - (all inclusive sizing)

 

 

EVERY GIRL

Here's Slow or Sustainable/Ethical Fashion for the Every Girl (under size 14/16):

  • Amour Vert -  Sustainable, Made in USA
  • Buddha Wear - Aussie/Bali Brand for Sustainable Clothing, with a 'Wear Fair’ policy
  • Encircled - Versatile, Minimalist Clothing Ethically Made
  • Everlane - Radically Transparent, every day wear
  • Osei Duro - Sustainable "Experiment" and African Made
  • Pact - Sustainable, Organic Cotton
  • Reformation - Stunning Sustainable Clothing
  • Sukkhacitta - Handmade in Bali (Sustainable, Ethical)
  • Sundays Designs - Miami Made-to-order Linen Brand
  • Tonle - Zero Waste, Fair Trade
  • Yireh - "Socially conscious & ethically made" - I am in love with their new collection of wrap dresses, but I haven't tried them yet, mostly because they only go to size L.

 

More To Come!

 

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