Are you ready to make the transition in buying fair trade fashion? Look no further! Here is the only 3-Step Guide to Buying Fair Trade Fashion you’ll need to get started!
Learn How to Spot Fair Trade Fashion Brands
When you Google the words “how to buy fair trade clothing” the first 5 results you pull up have to do with clothing brands.
“Here Are Your 35 Best Sustainable Fashion Brands!”
“Top 10 Best Affordable Brands for an Ethical Closet!”
And so on.
But few and far between are the resources out there explicitly telling you how to buy fair trade! Where is the guide explaining how to get started? The one that teaches you how to identify what a fair trade fashion company even looks like?
We’ve got it right here. :)
Here is your guide to buying fair trade fashion!
Your 3-Step Guide to Buying Fair Trade Fashion
Fairly-trading, in fashion, is all about ensuring an ethical and environmentally-friendly supply chain. Why is that?
By taking a slow and sustainable approach, both consumers and manufacturers are promised that everyone involved in the purchase of any one fashion piece, including Mother Nature, has been treated fairly and with respect.
Responsible spending starts with responsible manufacturing. Your purchase is powerful.
To ensure you know where your dollar is being spent, let’s take a look at our 3-Step Guide to Buying Fair Trade Fashion:
1. Research Your Clothing Brands
The reason brands come up so much in your search results for fairly-traded fashion is because that is the first place you have to look.
Research your clothing brand.
Look for these components in their manufacturing and labour practices:
- Fair Workers Compensation (as well as safe working conditions)
- Using High Quality Materials (for long-lasting usability)
- Environmentally Friendly & Ethically Sustainable Manufacturing (carbon footprint anyone?)
The more transparent a company is with their production process, the safer you should be able to feel in knowing what kinds of manufacturing and labour processes you are supporting in the making of your clothing.
TIP: If we’re keeping tabs, there should be an added bonus for any and all companies able to make the following promises in their production lines:
· Cruelty free
· Artisan made
· Carbon neutral shipping
Pokoloko just so happens to deliver on all of these fair trade promises!
2. Buy Local
Local vendors often stock local brands, making this approach one of the surest ways to shop fair trade. Most often, local brands want to work with local suppliers. Therefore, the question “Where was this made?” becomes quite simple to answer.
As always, the simpler the better.
Of course, the purpose of sourcing local is also to ensure that community is a part of the equation. Therefore…
3. Buy from Brands that Connect You to the Maker
Poko Co-Founder Jess:
"Our Ecuadorian artisans Hector and Estella have a great quality of life. With the opportunities provided to them via the success of their fair trade business, this young couple is able to get proper medical attention for their family, their children are able to go to school, Estella is able to work a little less so she has more time to cook proper meals for her family and staff, etc."
Poko Co-Founder Case:
"By means of our fair trade relationship, Hector and Estella are able to provide for their family’s social and economic needs self-sustainably."
Pokoloko is a Fair Trade Fashion Brand
Pokoloko is a great example of a fair trade brand uniquely offering community at a global level. By frequently highlighting the artisans who manufacture our clothing, just shy of visiting rural Ecuadorian mountain regions, or small Turkish villages yourself, we connect you with our makers as directly as possible!
How Your Fair Trade Shopping is Changing the World
One of the biggest concerns with fair trade shopping is its accessibility. Until now, most ethical vendors did not have access, themselves, to an economy of scale. But we know that supply will always meet demand.
This is where YOU come in.
The more consumers who switch to buying from fair trade sellers will result in a larger demand for fairly traded goods & fashion.
Therefore, value-driven consumers like you really do hold all the power.
It’s expensive to make clothes sustainably right now because there isn’t enough demand for it. By inspiring a fair-trade mentality, ethical manufacturing can transition to a large-scale model.
This is important because economies of scale provide lower manufacturing costs. A significant increase in expenditure means fairly traded fashion can be sold at a reduced price.
So the more you buy fairly traded fashion, the more accessible it becomes for others to do so, as well!
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