FITNESS. FASHION. FOOD.
Sustainable: The New Way of Wearing Athleisure
By Giada Bocca 10 April 2018
Photo: Courtesy of Wix
Almost every day now, sustainable fashion is topic of discussion. From new, more eco-friendly materials, to a more careful production and attention to the environment, brands and customers are increasingly aware of the existent issues.
Many don’t know this, but running leggings, sports bra, and every other sportswear that is on the market, are usually made from a mixture of synthetic fibres that can have detrimental effects on the environment.
It is easy to find everyday clothes that are sustainable and ethical, but what about sustainable athleisure?
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Here are two online stores – for both men and women – that care about the environment and want to make a difference:
Starseeds’ mission is to have a ‘Slow Fashion’ brand at the top of the ethical clothing movement. They want to make more conscious choices and inspire others to do the same.
“It was all inspired by a shared love – obsession really – of yoga. We wanted to create a brand that we have always wished existed but could never find,” said Natalia Zawada, Head Designer and Founder of Startseeds.
With their Natural Bamboo collection, they offer different designs for both men and women: tank-tops, t-shirts, and bra tops are what you expect the perfect item to go to the gym to be.
Starseeds’ prices vary from £30 to £55 for tops, and £50 to £62 for leggings and shorts.
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Girlfriend Collective – launched by Quang and Ellie Dinh in 2016 – wants to make women’s workout apparel with recycled, post-consumer materials.
Their mission is to ‘to find a community of people who cared about where their clothes come from as much as how they look’.
According to the more than 100K followers on Instagram and the success they keep having, they made it!
“I like to think of myself as an environmentally conscious individual. I try my best to buy sustainable and ethical products – I even use eco-friendly make-up! – and when I found this brand I was so happy,” says Darcy Porter, 27, adding that she goes to the gym three times per week after she finishes work and that she has always wanted to find products like Girlfriend Collective’s to go to the gym.
The simple, coloured items – powder blue, apricot, blush – are only a few, and the classic leggings + tank duo, make the brand one of the most successful in the market.
Girlfriend Collective’s main fabrication is made from 79% recycled water bottles, which are ‘crushed into billions of minuscule chips and then washed until they’re sparkling clean’, as said on their website.
“The dyes we use are eco-friendly, which is a challenge,” Quang explained to Vogue. “A lot of athletic brands like to use really dark blacks and true reds, and those colours require the worst chemicals.
“There’s a reason for everything. When you see really dark black leggings, it’s a sign of a non-eco-friendly dye. We’d rather work with the colours we can make with certified eco-friendly dyes, even if that means we can’t try a neon colour because it isn’t a great dye to use.”
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Photo: Courtesy of Wix
