If you’ve ever been on a Zoom call with me, there’s a 99% chance you’ve seen me wear my fave sweatsuit. (Here are the top and bottoms because I don’t gatekeep.) I love ‘em because they fit super well, they’re cute, and they’re comfy. But the actual best part is that I got them from a brand that actually cares about the environment and the negative impacts of fast fashion.

To get the 411 on my eco-friendly digs and the company they came from, I talked to Erin Houston (she/her), co-founder + CEO and Emily Kenney (she/her), co-founder + COO of wearwell.

What is wearwell? What inspired you to start the company?
Wearwell is the one-stop shop for sustainable and ethically made clothing, accessories, shoes, secondhand, home goods, and more. We started wearwell because it was too time-consuming to do the research to shop in a way that aligned our personal style with our values, even though we both had deep expertise in social impact. We believe building a sustainable wardrobe should be easy and fun, so we built wearwell to do something about it!

Fast fashion—and its negative effects—are rampant. How exactly is it harmful?
The materials the fashion industry uses can take 20 to 200 years to decompose, and with fast fashion, that clothing is made to last for only a few wears. Fast fashion encourages us to buy a lot of clothing, only to discard it quickly. An estimated 92 tons of clothing ends up in landfill every single year. Beyond the negative impact this has on the planet, you also have to consider the impact on people. The fast fashion business model produces a tremendous amount of clothing at high speed and low cost, and this affects the lives of garment workers who bear the brunt of these pressures, working long hours in often underpaid and unsafe conditions.

What does ethical production mean when it comes to clothes? Who does this benefit?
What’s often missing in sustainable fashion discussions is the human element—the people who make our clothes. For wearwell and the brands we source from, ethical production goes beyond environmental sustainability and also means that garment workers are paid fairly for their labor and have a safe workplace. More than 40M garment workers—85% of whom are women—around the world make the clothing we wear every day. Ethical production benefits these workers directly and addresses a serious labor rights issue. Everyone has the right to fair, dignified, and safe work that is free of abuse, harassment, and wage theft. At the end of the day, the fast fashion industry is long overdue for a change both in its unsustainable overproduction and how it treats its makers.

What are a few red flags we should look out for when trying new brands?
When a company uses the word “sustainable” but can’t elaborate on what they mean by it, that should set off your greenwashing alarm bells. Look for brands that get specific about what sustainability means to them, disclosing the materials they use, where they manufacture, who makes their clothing, any third-party certifications they have, and how they plan to continue improving their efforts. Also be wary of brands that market themselves as sustainable when they only have a few products or one collection that might fit the bill. If they aren’t prioritizing it across their entire production process, they’re likely just checking a box. We dig into the details of every brand we work with to understand how they define sustainability and ethics so you can feel confident that shopping with wearwell supports brands that are paying their workers fairly and using more environmentally sustainable processes across their supply chain.

What are some ways that consumers can shop more sustainably?
The best place to start is simply by being intentional. This means buying only when you need something new, mending and altering pieces whenever possible, and using what you already have. Shopping sustainably and ethically can be so overwhelming and it can be difficult to know where to begin. Pick just one area first—maybe you can commit to buying fabrics that aren’t made with virgin polyester or you’d like to prioritize fair wages. Whatever means most to you, start there and get to know the issues and solutions. Once you feel like you know how to shop with that one goal in mind, add another layer that ups the ante for your sustainable wardrobe.

Do you have anything else you’d like to add?
To learn more practical tips about shopping sustainability and the brands we believe in, check out our blog: The Source by wearwell. It’s chock full of guides, interviews, and breakdowns of the challenges facing the fashion industry.

Big thanks to Erin and Emily for those kicka*s tips. Really makes a girl feel good about lounging in (ethically made) sweats all week long.

Saying farewell to fast fashion (🤞),
Reina Sultan, associate editorial director