Comment by teekert | Hacker News Reader

Comment by teekert | Hacker News Reader

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Absolutely, I've been on a quest to find fair trade and responsible clothing since I watched this show (sorry in Dutch): [0]. It's pretty clearly aimed at fashionable youth which I'm not but I still found it utterly confronting. The conditions that the workers live in (I say live but it's often just sleep and the rest is work) are crazy. They are sleeping above formalin baths. swimming in chemicals that slowly cause burn wounds, they live near rivers that are bright blue from dyes. Cotton fields take all water in an area away from humans who need it more.

Luckily there are alternatives, in the Netherlands I found [1] (apologies, also in Dutch), and there are many more of such companies. The crazy thing is that it's really not that expensive and they even make the clothing high quality so I have to shop less (I hate shopping). (Ok, so I never really was the target for fast fashion.) I'm open to other suggestions for responsible (quality) clothing.

[0]: https://www.npo3.nl/genaaid/VPWON_1295027

[1]: https://skotfashion.com/nl/our-story/

There are plenty of second hand stores (kringloop) in NL and I have been buying everything except underwear (socks,underpants,undershirts) there. I have to admit, it takes time : you will have to frequent the shops at least weekly/bi-weekly because the supply is not 'on-demand', you'll have to help your luck a bit.

I now own previously unworn Armini jeans, previously unworn Drykorn's, Scotch & Soda etc. About € 5 each. Actually I am dressed better than ever before.

Pro-tip : don't buy used shoes.

Also, vinted.com

I have a very nice pair of Prada dress shoes that I bought second hand. They had been used but are in perfect condition. What is wrong with buying used shoes that are in good condition?

It depends, but if worn too much, the shoes 'mold' to the (previous) owner.

And you will feel this primarily in your knees very soon.

My Pradas are very much for being seen in on formal occasions! Walking any distance is not much fun, they weren't designed for that. And they are made of such stiff leather that I don't think they will ever be moulded to my feet. :-)

That's awesome! I'm working for https://fairbee.com , a Dutch startup that's trying to get more attention to these kinds of brands, there's a bunch of (Dutch and international) companies trying to do better :)

Thanks for the NPO tip: definitely going to watch it :)

Great, I'll definitely have a look next time I need something. Is there also some kind of label for these ethical clothes? I'm ok with trusting small shops and I understand it might cost them money (perhaps better spend otherwise) to get a label and labels aren't everything, but still...

Edit: Are there also brands specifically aiming at quality? So that denim pants just last a lot longer for example? Paying more feels even better if I'm really buying quality. The Skot polo I bought seems to be really good fabric and well made, they also touted that, that really adds a lot to the whole value proposition, for me.

Another edit: This is also a nice initiative which could perhaps be leveraged more, specifically by ethical companies: [0]

[0]: https://returns.homerr.com/

We use Good On You for the bigger brands, they do audits based on a couple criteria. There are a bunch of different certificates some of which are a bit of a farce, seeing through the green washing can be pretty hard.

If you'd like to have a longer conversation about this, feel free to contact me at arjan [at] fairbee.com

I have 3 skot polos too, their under shirts are great as well. Build quality is def something we try to look at, the kuyichi pants i have for instance feel way more robustly built than g-star pants for instance.

We're also looking at different ways to ship, especially the last mile, trying to use electric cargo bikes instead of vans, and bundling packages across other shops as well via izipack for instance.

edit: one thing about the quality we're running into is it's hard to get across online how different the hoodies we have (from Athrty for example) look from the hoodies you'd buy at H&M for instance. As soon as you have them in your hands you can tell the difference, but on pictures that's way less apparent.

I have a large number of under shirts as well, I actually give them as gifts sometimes, I like them so much (nice feel + deep v-neck is super nice), never came across something like that in normal stores (but again, I hate spending too much time in fashion stores :p).

yeah they're super nice, the only downside is they look super weird if you end up taking off your sweater :D

https://heroandvillainstyle.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/H...

Haha, kind of, but tighter fitting

You can use https://www.projectcece.nl/ to search for sustainable items and https://goodonyou.eco/ to check if your favorite brand is actually sustainable. Additionally of course you should buy second hand through thriftshops or something like https://www.vinted.com/.

I just checked the skotfashion.com shirts.. I wouldn't call a € 99 per shirt price "not that expensive"

I would pay €25-40 if a shirt is really good...

I have a polo for 49 eur and the under shirts were 6 for 60 eur last weeks (now back to 30 for 2). For things that last years it's ok for me. Ok, it's certainly not cheap.

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