Ethical fashion: Start-up puts sustainability first

Zady.com, which will be launched on 27 August, claims to be the Whole Foods of clothes, describing itself as ‘the arbiter of authenticity-meets-taste for this generation of conscious consumers’. The fashion start-up sells ‘beautifully constructed goods’ personally vetted for sustainability by Zady’s founders. To meet their criteria, a product must be locally sourced, hand-made, use high-quality raw materials, environmentally conscious and made in the US.

Zady’s brand partners include Nashville denim designers Imogene + Willie and Los Angeles-based handbag designer Clare Vivier. Some 5% of every sale will go to Zady’s non-profit-making partner The Bootstrap Project, a kind of Fair Trade for craftwork that sells products made using traditional methods in an attempt to preserve endangered crafts and customs.

For more on how brands are aligning themselves with ethical and social movements, see our Brandstanding microtrend.