Honest By’s “transparent” green fashions leave nothing to hide
Going to the mall or outlet store to buy clothing is not the greenest thing one can do when the truth is known about what materials the clothing is made out of, as well as where and how it is made. Much of this clothing, even top line name brands, is often made in poorer locations such as rural China, Bangladesh, India, and other places where environmentally damaging dyes are used and clothing is sewn together by people working in sweat-shop and even slave labor conditions.
Finding companies that make environmentally friendly fashion products used to be difficult; but now more and more companies are producing such clothing that even is appeasing purchasers who are restricted by religious requirements of modesty and simplicity.
The call for more transparency in the production and marketing of clothing lines has resulted in one company going the extra mile to produce high quality fashions that are not only ecological friendly but produced by more ethical means. This company, known as Honest By, claims to be the first 100% transparent clothing company that ” traces the origins of the fabrics and trimmings used to make sure that all the elements are being produced in a responsible manner.”
This not only includes the fabrics and dyes from which the clothing is made, but even what type and how much energy is involved. The clothing labels also tell you whether any soil or air pollution is created from ground water or air contamination.
Operated by CEO Bruno Pieters, a Belgian fashion designer who previously worked as art director of Hugo Boss‘s avant guard line, Honest By’s policy is to “present the full picture of how its clothes are made including where the materials come from, how the products are manufactured, how much they cost to make, and how much they’re being marked up”. Even details about production factories and safety standards for workers is given by the company. This revelation is much more forthcoming than many other clothing companies that only divulge the country of origin of the clothing and the main fabrics used (cotton, polyester, rayon, etc).
Prices for the clothing produced by this company are not in many peoples’ budget, however. They start at 280 Euro or $325 USD. Although the company does divulge how much the materials cost and how much it cost to produce the clothing, this still leaves a bit of a gap between the full production costs and the final retail price. But there is some good news in that around 20% of company profits are given to charity.
In recent years, most clothing lines have been outsourced to aforementioned countries, where labor costs are much less than in Western countries such as the USA and UK. China has become one of the top fashion clothing producers; and as has been mentioned previously in Green Prophet, also produces chic pop fashion lines from plastics and other waste materials that would normally be thrown away.
While there may still be some issues regarding Honest By’s claim of full transparency in its clothing lines, at least Bruno Pieters and his company appear to be going in the right direction in its clothing – providing you can afford to pay the price that is.
More articles on green clothing issues:
Israel’s Maccabi Soccer Uniforms by Nike are Made From 13 Recycled Plastic Bottles
D Grade’s Hipster Trash Clothing is Made Cheap in China
Thinking About Buying Jeans as Gifts? Well, Think Again
Organic and Islamic – Muslims Showcase Ethical and Fair-Trade Fashion
Image of green fashion from Shutterstock
Author: Maurice Picow
Maurice Picow grew up in Oklahoma City, U.S.A., where he received a B.S. Degree in Business Administration. Following graduation, Maurice embarked on a career as a real estate broker before making the decision to move to Israel. After arriving in Israel, he came involved in the insurance agency business and later in the moving and international relocation fields. Maurice became interested in writing news and commentary articles in the late 1990’s, and now writes feature articles for the The Jerusalem Post as well as being a regular contributor to Green Prophet. He has also written a non-fiction study on Islam, a two volume adventure novel, and is completing a romance novel about a forbidden love affair. Writing topics of particular interest for Green Prophet are those dealing with global warming and climate change, as well as clean technology - particularly electric cars.
