Why Brands Matter
If you come into the shop to consign this spring, you may notice we have a new “Accepted Brands List” that we consult while sorting through your items. If it feels like we’ve gotten pickier about what we’ll accept, we have! We’re not just being snooty, we have reasons for being highly selective on what brands we will accept into the shop. Before we begin let’s take a look at some sobering impacts of fashion on the planet.
The equivalent of one garbage truck full of clothes is burned or dumped in a landfill every second (UNEP, 2018)
Approximately 60% of all materials used by the fashion industry are made from plastic (UNEP, 2019)
500,000 tons of microfibers are released into the ocean each year from washing clothes — the equivalent of 50 billion plastic bottles (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2017)
The fashion industry is responsible for 8-10% of humanity’s carbon emissions – more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined (UNEP, 2018). If the fashion sector continues on its current trajectory, that share of the carbon budget could jump to 26% by 2050 (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2017)
Some 93 billion cubic metres of water – enough to meet the needs of five million people – is used by the fashion industry annually, contributing significantly to water scarcity in some regions (UNCTAD, 2020)
Around 20% of industrial wastewater pollution worldwide originates from the fashion industry (WRI, 2017)
More facts and sources on Business Insider
As stated above, most clothing today is made from some version of plastic. This becomes microplastics through the process of being washed in the washing machine, which then finds its way into the ecosystems we all recreate in and rely on to survive. Microplastics have been showing up in alarming places, including our bodies. Quality outdoor brands know this and many have taken steps to ensure that their products hold up to many years of use. Some brands, like Patagonia and Picture Organic Clothing have gone so far as to use up to 100% recycled plastic in their products which means less fossil fuels being consumed.
Picture Organic Clothing. Picture details the impacts of their apparel production and the alternative ways they manufacture to reduce their impact.
As lovers of the outdoors, we take these facts into consideration when choosing which brands and products to bring into our store. In house brands for stores like Target or Walmart may appear to be made of the same materials and to the same standards as more expensive brands like Patagonia or Mountain Hardwear, but the big differences comes down to their commitment to longevity in their clothing and the thought process behind how they make their products.
Patagonia Worn Wear. Patagonia is well known for gear that lasts a long time and is very repairable. Through their Worn Wear website you can trade in your old gear for credit towards another gently used piece.
Being committed to sustainability also means taking care of the people behind creating these items. One downside about cheap brands that is hidden from plain sight is how they treat their workers at home and abroad. Ethical brands go out of their way to make sure that their entire production line from source to consumer is treating the people involved with dignity, respect and fair wages. This is no easy task. The vast majority of textile manufacturing is done in countries with lax laws and regulations for their workers and exploitation is rampant. According to the Times of India: “Garment factories in countries like Bangladesh, Cambodia, and India have been repeatedly implicated in cases of modern slavery. Workers, predominantly women, often face poor working conditions, including cramped spaces, exposure to harmful chemicals, and physical abuse.” The fact that some brands have done the hard work of finding good connections in these departments says a lot about their commitment to creating a solid product.
Brands that stand behind their product and offer warranties are brands we like to support. All the better if they are willing to repair their items. There are currently only a handful of manufacturers willing to repair their products, but they include: Arc’Teryx, Patagonia, Cotopaxi, Danner, Osprey, Deuter, Stio and Filson. Though we do offer in house repair at Colchuck Consignment, knowing that these brands are equipped to fix their product says a lot about how important sustainability is to them. It also tells us that the way they construct their products is repair friendly. Fast fashion brands intend for items to be worn a few times and then tossed out as trends change, rather than standing up to the test of time.
Fjallraven details how to care for your products on their website. They have been PFC free since 2009.
Now that we’ve covered some of the backend of why we take certain brands, we must also consider their performance. While it can feel like the higher price tag on a lot of outdoor items is based purely on their brand recognition, in many cases the more money you spend, the more durable and higher performing the item. This is especially true when it comes to waterproofing. Quality outdoor brands offer different tiers of garment to cater to different price points. The higher up this ladder you go, the better the overall product will be when it comes to harsh weather and hard use. These top of the line items are typically tested by adventure athletes the world over who put them through grueling conditions and need them to hold up under intense circumstances. This kind of product testing is simply not happening with brands that you find in big box stores. As new regulations are put in place banning PFAS and other harmful materials usually found in waterproof clothing, we look forward to seeing how brands innovate to make their products more earth friendly, while still performing well in harsh conditions.
Brands like Filson who not only stand behind their products with lifetime warranties, but also repair services for their items, get two thumbs up from us!
When you shop at Colchuck Consignment you can be sure that we’ve done our due diligence to sift through the mountains of products coming in our doors and are selecting items which meet our rigorous criteria. Though we make room for many price points in any given segment of our inventory, we still make sure that every item is as functional as possible and weed out items which may be close to failure. Though it’s impossible to know how long a used item will last, we do our best to put products on the shelves and racks that we believe will be useful for our customers for a long time to come.
