Fair Trade Apparel
We all know that economic justice goes beyond the coffee in our cup, and many Fair Traders want to know how to responsibly purchase their clothing. Unfortunately, the complexity of the apparel value chain (from growing cotton, to spinning it, to sewing products, to marketing them to consumers) makes it difficult to determine whether or not apparel items have been ethically sourced.
We’ve written a couple one-offs about this before, but we wanted to pull it all together so folks can make educated decisions about their choices as consumers. All of the companies listed below adhere to different fair trade rules and standards, from the Fair Trade Federation to Fair Trade USA. We’re not going to pass judgement on the different certification schemes here, but we will say that we have purchased products from many of these companies (listed alphabetically), for both personal and CRS use!
Background on Fair Trade Clothing
- Does Fair Trade Certification work for clothing?
- It’s more than just a shirt, it’s a just shirt.
- More deaths in Bangladesh: How do we respond?
- Students Standing in Solidarity with Garment Workers
- Villanova Student Shares Factory Experience
- Georgetown’s Alta Gracia Research Project
Clergy Shirts and Uniforms
Custom T-Shirts and Polos
Wardrobe Staples
Women
- Adria Mode
- Global Mamas
- Greenola Style
- Liz Alig
- Marketplace: Handwork of India
- Mata Traders
- Mehera Shaw
- Nativa
- People Tree
- SERRV
[…] Have a lot of clothes on your Christmas list this year and afraid that your purchases might support unjust labor, sweatshops and unfair wages? Shop worry free — and consult this list of fair trade-approved apparel makers! […]