3 U.S. apparel companies lead with green, ethical practices
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Fashion
In fashion, the trend of going green and implementing more environmentally friendly initiatives has grown significantly in recent years. This effort for the industry has not gone unnoticed. Three U.S. green businesses based in New York, Arizona and Wisconsin were recently recognized for their ethical apparel with the “People & Planet Award” from Green America.
After a month-long online voting period, the three U.S. apparel businesses won the award due to their strides in ethical apparel. The winners lists include: Themis and Thread of Hector, NY; Fed by Threads of Tuscon, AZ; and Fair Indigo of Madison, WI. Due to their efforts in these areas, the three companies were recognized with this prestigious award for making a difference. “Choosing clothing made ethically and with consideration to the environment is one of the best ways to support social and ecological responsibility in your day-to-day life--by literally wearing it on your sleeve,” Green America’s executive co-director Fran Teplitz said in a statement. Each prize winner was awarded 5,000 dollars as part of recognition.
Themis and Thread, Fed by Threads, and Fair Indigo all receive environmental award
The three fashion companies each have their own way of contributing to the community. Themis and Thread creates their clothing in a way that has no effect on the environment, economy, or humanity. The line offers customizable options including recycled materials and organic cotton. The New York-based company also exclusive uses materials made in America. With the prize money, the company plans to purchase vintage and American-made sewing equipment for their business as well as continue towards using alternative energy. “We will expand our current projects with recycled paper hang tags, posters and packaging, and our natural non-toxic dye method,” said Jesse Beardslee, founder of Themis and Thread.
Fed by Threads is the first American-made “Supply Chain Aware”, organic clothing company that creates custom print apparel. The company also only carries certified responsibly manufactured products. Through each garment purchase, the business is also able to provide emergency meals. For the future, the company will use a portion of their funds to “jumpstart our pilot program to donate organic Fed by Threads hoodies to kids battling cancer in America,” said co-founder and CEO of the company, Alok Appadurai. “It’s all about love.”
Lastly, Fair Indigo makes its garments with organic Peruvian pima cotton. The company also only uses Oeko-tex certified dyes. Prioritizing fair pay, its business employees are treated with a high regard and respect in their work environment. The company plans to continue to make an impact on the environment. “We strongly believe the best way we can contribute to a cleaner, greener apparel industry is to grow the market for fairly traded and earth-friendly clothing, which supports organic farmers and small-scale humane production,” Robert Behnke, co-founder and president of Fair Indigo, said in a statement.
All three businesses were determined by public nominations as well as by a panel of judges including Gigi Abbadie, Aveda; Justin Conway, Calvert Foundation; Tess O'Brien, Clean Power Perks, Jennifer Snyder, Clif Bar; Erlene Howard, Collective Resource, Inc., Dale Luckwitz, Naturepedic; Jonathan Reinbold, Organic Valley; Martin Wolf, Seventh Generation; and Andrew Korfhage and Fran Teplitz, both of Green America. Founded in 1982, Green America is known as the nation’s leading green economy organization. The company provides economic strategies for business to improve our social and environmental communities. While these three U.S. companies have been awarded with the “People & Planet Award” for now, with this growing trend it’ll be interesting to see who will this title next year.
Photo Source: Fed by Threads / Fair Indigo