Sus Out a Brand With Me

Detective skills optional

“Hello - you have inspired me,” my friend texted me. She is a loyal reader to this newsletter, loves finding tried and true beauty and fashion, and was looking for a work tote that wasn’t harming the environment. I like getting her advice on where to find staple items, occasionally challenging choices with receipts of their poor ethics or environmental standards. For what it’s worth, she is very switched on, a clever curator, and attuned to a brand’s mission and aesthetics — though it still proves to be a bit frustrating when it comes to unveiling their actions and attitudes where it matters.

She dropped a few screenshots and a link to Freja NYC’s site that she found recommended through a Reddit thread. “Can this get the Ryann lens please?”

The Ryann lens. While it felt like such a kind compliment, a nod to something I truly care about (ethical fashion, and on a smaller scale, recommendations lol), it brought up an important aspect of my own add-to-cart process that I’ve made habitual but isn’t inherently intuitive. As sustainability jumped onto the scene in fashion, the parasites in the industry quickly organized to use as many greenwashing tactics as possible to trick you into thinking your purchases at their stores were mindfully done.

It’s not your fault that it feels like a full-blown investigation to get to the bottom of a brand!!! That said, if it’s too difficult to figure out what makes them sustainable, then they likely are not in the least. But have no fear — below, a crash course in my typical process of getting to know a brand’s true colors, and exactly what you need to make your closet as honest as possible.

As an independent brand that is relatively new in the industry, there’s not a paper trail on some of my favorite resources that do an incredible breakdown on their brand ratings, so you do have to dig a bit deeper. I’ve written about them in my Resource Hub piece, but I typically gravitate to Good on You and Remake’s Fashion Transparency Index.

Either way, the easiest first step when looking at a shop is to head right to the material composition section of their product page. Key here to remember is the more blended the materials are, the harder it is to decompose (by hundreds of years, truthfully). It’s also where you need to look for the standard of material they are willing to put on our bodies — are they using 97-100% GOTS certified organic cotton, leather approved by the Leather Working Group, mulesing-free merino wool? Do they avoid real or acrylic fur, exotic skins, virgin polyester? Are water waste or chemical treatment acknowledged (this would likely be mentioned through an OEKO-Tex certification)? Are they B Corp Certified?

Occasionally, there are certifications that give a stamp of approval to whoever’s paying a pretty penny for them; in recent years, Higg Index as well as bluesign have caused controversy for their lack of oversight and accountability. Brands love a lil lip service to give them the appearance they need to swindle us! For the most part, certifications are a really important step… if you’re worried, you can always google “so and so certification controversy” and see if anything comes up.

I’d also be wary of recycled polyester/nylon/plastics as a demonstration of environmentally-conscious clothing. We cannot rest on our laurels when the stakes are this high for our health and the world’s vitality. It’s only half a step forward when plastic is still in the equation.

After looking at the materials page, I mosey on over to as many pages as they offer — blogs, sustainability, “our story/our mission/about us”, reports. With an independent label it’s much harder to find because they probably don’t have capacity to incorporate an extensive view of their operations, but the good ones definitely try if they can. Similar to the materials section, I’m looking for some key words and certifications, but this is also where you find out if they partner with any charities, pay their garment workers a living wage in factories that protect labor unions, use eco-friendly packaging, or if they have a recycling program. When it comes to production, are they dropping 4000+ styles per day, or sticking to a grueling eight season calendar, or focusing all efforts on slow, quality campaigns that are either made in small batches or made to order?

As a consumer, I want to feel as if I’m a part of their mission. As such, I’m expecting to google as few terms and jargon as possible. Understanding and practicing conscious consumption should not be set up like a meritocracy for the few eco-literate warriors. If their language is accessible, and they freely offer evidence to support how often they throw around “sustainable” this and “responsible” that, they’re on the right track to getting my dollar. However, if I get the slightest feeling that they don’t want me to know anything about their operations, the red flags go up.

Freja passes with flying colors. I was so pleased that my friend put me on to this brand and that I was able to use them as an example of what a star pupil looks like in fashion! They have truly gone above and beyond to raise the standards of the industry and do their part to creating a positive fashion system.

I hope this empowers you to engage with brands without any helplessness or confusion. If you have questions, or have a brand that you’d like to get a read on, absolutely drop them in the comments and let’s get cracking!

Happy shopping x

Ryann