Finding fashionable clothes that are Fair Trade isn’t as difficult as it used to be. We’ve rounded up 4 Fair Trade clothing brands that are dedicated to selling Fair Trade clothing that considers the communities behind the products and the impact on our our environment.

1. Avatar

Avatar is based in Santa Cruz, California. The company’s mission is to “design and create fun, fashionable, high-quality goods in a manner that is socially, environmentally, and economically responsible.” The company works with a Fair Trade factory in Kathmandu, Nepal. The products Avatar makes are made in a healthy and safe environment, and the people who make the products are “paid an above average wage.” The company sells women and men’s clothing, as well as accessories.

This $44 dress comes in three colors. It’s perfect for a late spring dinner out on the patio.

2. prAna

prAna was founded in 1992 and its headquarters is in Carlsbad, California. prAna is dedicated to selling apparel and accessories that are made using fewer toxins and chemicals than traditional pieces. The company also strives to consider the use of energy, water, and chemicals used in manufacturing. The company’s clothes are made with “organic cotton, natural fibers, and recycled materials.” prAna also helped “pioneer” Fair Trade Certified apparel. The company sells men and women’s clothing.

I’m a fan of the company’s Juniper Pant. Priced at $89, this would be a great piece for an early spring yoga class.

3. Maggie’s Organics

Maggie’s Organics also was founded in 1992. The company is totally dedicated to doing business that’s completely Fair Trade. Since the company’s start, it has worked to ensure it has “direct contracts with each of its producers,” and the company also supports “small family mills and worker-owned cooperatives.” Learn all about the company’s dedication to Fair Trade clothing, click here. Maggie’s sells women, men, and kid’s clothing. It also sells wholesale.

This organic skirt comes in four colors — two of which would look great in late March (the green and purple). Also: The price is right. This skirt is only $35.

4. Marigold

Marigold works with a women’s co-op that has 200 women. The co-op resides in Mumbai, India. The company is dedicated to using sustainable practices and continues to uphold top Fair Trade standards. Marigold also uses organic fabrics and sells women, men, and kid’s clothing, as well as “home and gift,” and yoga items.

This beautiful, purple (or blue) tunic is a great piece for an overcast April day. Pull it on and have a coffee. Priced at $48.

Related on EcoSalon

Sole Food: Fair Trade Espadrilles by Alice & Whittles Support Sustainability

Understanding Fair Trade Certification for Fashion

Sustainable and Fair Trade Coffee: What to Look for In Every Sip

Resources

Fair Trade USA

A Guide to Buying Sustainable, Fair-Trade and Cruelty-Free Clothing, One Green Planet

Image: Marigold Fair Trade Facebook photo, Nov. 28, 2014

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What exactly does Fair Trade fashion mean?

Fair Trade is a term that is often loftily thrown around, just like its compatriots “sustainable”, “eco” and “green”, causing several of us to have no concrete understanding of what the term entails. When it comes to Fair Trade fashion, we may have a fragmented understanding of the fair wages and working conditions that the certified garments were made in – but how is the certification acquired and what does it mean in reality? We’ve investigated to find out, so read on!

There are several different types of Fair Trade certification processes in existence -part of which makes understanding the viability and significance of the certification confusing. However, all Fair Trade certifications are created on the same base-line principles. To receive certification a product must meet all of the criteria, which is the case of a fashion item must:

• Be made from a material grown and processed under Fair Trade conditions, meaning that the farmers receive fair prices and credit for their crop.
• Be manufactured by factory workers or artisans working under satisfactory, safe conditions and receiving fair wages. Forced child and slave labor are strictly prohibited.
• Be purchased by the retail label as directly as possible from the makers, cutting out the middle men. Most often the designers or design team of the fashion label will work directly with the artisans to convey their designs to the weavers, knitters, sewers and embellishers.
• Be created in a setting that fosters transparency and accountability throughout the textile and garment supply chain.
• Be created by communities of farmers, artisans and/or factory workers whose economic independence, social infrastructure and business organization skills are consequentially developed.
• Be manufactured in an environmentally friendly way, most favorably with organic certification of the raw materials (e.g. cotton, silk, wool, rayon, etc.) used, and with strict prohibition of harmful agrochemicals and GMOs.

These points are carefully inspected by the Fair Trade organization, which carries out routine check ups to maintain worker safety and health and ensure fair wages and prices to workers and farmers. This in turn helps the communities where various fashion items are made (which often are in third-world, developing countries or underprivileged communities) to improve standards and help establish sustainable local economies to develop local health care, education and social services. People Tree (a committed and certified Fair Trade fashion label) has beautifully outlined the benefits of Fair Trade on their blog.

The benefits of developing Fair Trade certified products and markets are immense, especially in developing countries where many fashion items are produced. The fragmented and often far from transparent supply chain of the fashion industry can often make Fair Trade certification difficult for garments and accessories, but can be trusted if the company provides specific information, down to the person who made your particular item, on the clothing tag, website or in-store.

If a fashion brand claims to be selling Fair Trade certified items, you can do your research, looking them up online to see if the information they provide backs up this claim. There are several online stores selling crafts that adhere to Fair Trade principals, and can be found through the Fair Trade USA website, which also points out Good & Fair Clothing, HAE Now, prAna, and Tompkins Point Apparel as Fair Trade fashion producers. Although based in the UK, The Fairtrade Foundation’s shopping guide also provides a list of brands and retailers providing us with Fair Trade fashion. To see more Fair Trade fashion options become available, contact your favorite label to educate them on the matter and inform them of how you and several others are more likely to invest in their products if they source Fair Trade certified ones.

Related on EcoSalon

New York Fashion Week’s Fair Trade Runway Show

Fair Trade USA Launches New Garment and Textile Certification

Sole Food: Fairtrade Espadrilles by Alice & Whittles Support Sustainability

Image: People Tree

The post Understanding Fair Trade Certification for Fashion appeared first on EcoSalon.