A question we get asked often revolves around “the high prices of sustainable fashion”. Our response: it all depends on your lifestyle, budget and creativity.

When it comes to sustainable fashion, prices for products made by brands that have both mother nature and our people in mind (fair-trade and ethically made) do tend to be higher but there’s a good reasoning behind this.
1) These brands are supporting fair-labor. This means they are paying the hands that make each product above fair wages while also providing them with employee benefits and humane working conditions. Practices fast fashion brands like Forever 21, Zara, H&M and others are not known for. Click here to read an article we wrote about why fast fashion is not ethical.

2) They use earth-friendly, natural and nontoxic materials that most of the times are higher in quality or have a more detailed and lengthy production processes. This increases the cost of each piece made.

But when it comes to earth-conscious fashion, these are the most responsible options:

-Use what you already have
-Buy second hand. This is the stepping outside the box part. Erase the idea from your mind that used clothes are trash. It is estimated that the average consumer throws away 70lbs of clothing every year. This is clothing that can be reused, repaired, gifted, donated or sold. Supporting second hand fashion is honestly one of the most sustainable actions we can take to reduce this unnecessary waste. We wrote an entire piece on on this: “Buying second hand clothes is the most sustainable way to do fashion.”

Here, we give you two eco-friendly looks that are similar, yet have completely different prices.

Look #1: Every time we go to GoodWill to donate clothes, we also choose to support them by buying used clothes or used books. This entire second hand look cost Valeria less than $20. The vegan shoes were $4 and the jumpsuit was $2. (The belt was a gift from Salve Bolivia- a second hand store in Bolivia.)

Once we get home after a second-hand-shopping experience, we wash the clothers with nontoxic products, and clean their energy by burning sustainably-sourced copal or dried lavender from our garden. We use the smoke they release to create circles around the clothes while we set our intention. Good as new!

Look #2: This is a similar look but supports a fair-trade and sustainable brand that is redesigning the fashion industry: Etica Denim. They use 90% less water, 63% less energy, and 70% less chemicals than industry standards. Plus, their labels are made of plantable seed paper! The price is a little higher but its values and mission are aligned with what we want to support in our world. Sandals are second hand. Outfit price $185.

See? Earth-loving options for every lifestyle and budget!