Sustainable fashion brands can be alienating and inaccessible, not gonna lie. Many people do not push forward with their plans to maintain an eco-friendly wardrobe because, to be honest, sustainable clothing has become synonymous with expensive apparel. The good news is, after some Internet sleuthing, I’ve found some sustainable fashion brands in the Philippines that offer affordable environment-friendly pieces.
Lazy Fare & Lucy in the Sky
We used to see their stalls in Glorietta and Trinoma when malling was still a thing. Of course, what drew me in all the time was the name of the store. I think there was Penny Lane, too. I’ve just come to learn, however, that it’s a sustainable fashion brand; all their pieces are made with reclaimed, resourced, or overstock fabrics. Nothing lazy about their efforts, if you ask me.
Candid Clothing
Candid Clothing offers pieces made with factory surplus fabric. But aside from that, it also prides itself on being a fair company to its workers. They claim to provide ‘training opportunities, fair pay and flexible work schedules.’ While they don’t share reports about these efforts nor is there a way to verify these claims, I think that recognizing the need to practice sustainability not only in the production stage but also in the operations and systems itself is already a good first step.
Craftcha
Craftcha takes flour sacks to the next level. This sustainable fashion brand turns katsa into not just wearable but, dare I say, stylish pieces. If that’s not your cup of tea, though, you can perhaps pick up their pieces made from old jeans, Hinabi, and scrap clothing instead.
Re Clothing
Re Clothing is the sustainable fashion brand from this list that I most relate to because it mainly uses items from ukay-ukay (though it also has clothing made with deadstock fabric under its Loaf sub-brand). It breathes new life to secondhand pieces through embroidery.
Sunki
Sunki offers the most comprehensive explanation of its brand’s sustainability efforts amongst all those I’ve encountered. It’s also the one that I see tries to ensure each level in its production and supply chain is thoughtful. It uses organic linen for the products, cassava plastic for packaging, and works with a non-profit that hires and pays seamstresses six times more than the average garment worker in the Philippines. It’s a fairly new sustainable brand, but if it makes good on its promises, I see a sunny future for Sunki.
