In our new Ethical Brand Spotlight series, we highlight brands and stores offering items that are ethical as well as stylish, practical and affordable.
Synergy Organic Clothing is a new shop to me (I found it linked on Style Wise), but I am already enthralled by its potential to fill out my wardrobe. Synergy offers dresses, skirts, pants, tops, yoga wear, and outerwear made with organic cotton and low-impact dyes. (Did you know that textile dyeing and treatment causes 17-20% of industrial water pollution? Low-impact dyes help reduce that!)
All of Synergy’s garments are made under fair trade standards by a group of 150+ women in Nepal. Workers receive a living wage, can work from home, and are not exposed to any hazardous chemicals in the manufacturing process.
One great thing that Synergy offers that I haven’t seen on many ethical shopping websites is a plus size collection. With a wide variety of versatile, flattering styles, this collection fills a major hole in the ethical apparel landscape.
Synergy is a little more expensive than I usually go for everyday clothes (though let’s be real, I usually shop at Goodwill where nothing is more than $6). They offer a Sale section, but the discounts there are not as deep as I would have hoped. However, Synergy offers many timeless, versatile styles that could have a long life in your wardrobe, bringing the cost-per-wear to a very reasonable level.
Shown above:
- Helena Dress in Citron
- Maggie Pocket Skirt in Pebble
- Moto Jacket in Earth
- Melissa Tie Dress in Purple Orchid
- Breeze Tunic in Seafoam
I’m really grooving on the cute little outfit with the Maggie Pocket Skirt, but I would honestly wear any of these items, plus a whole bunch more that I didn’t even put into the post. Which one is your favorite?
Leah
Synergy gave me one of their dresses for participating in a fair trade fashion show. It’s surprisingly flattering even though it’s made of stretchy cotton that hugs my hips. I will make sure to feature it on my blog. I agree that stuff is up there in price, but it is good quality and looked good on everyone I saw wearing it at FloydFest.