Does an expensive price mean it was made ethically?

No. Price reflects brand, margin and materials at least as much as labour conditions, and plenty of expensive clothing is made in the same factories as cheap clothing.

Is buying second-hand better than buying sustainably?

Almost always. The lowest-impact garment is one that already exists, which is also the argument for wearing more of what you own.

How can I tell whether a clothing brand is actually ethical and sustainable?

The short answer

Look for specifics rather than adjectives: named factories, a published wage standard, material composition, and third-party certification you can verify. A brand that can't tell you where something was made usually knows and would rather not say.

Specifics beat adjectives

“Conscious”, “responsible” and “eco” are unregulated words that anyone may print. What can’t be faked easily is detail: which factory, which country, what the wage standard is, what the fabric is actually made of. A brand that publishes those has usually done the work; one that publishes only adjectives usually hasn’t.

Four things worth checking

Named suppliers. A published factory list is the single strongest signal.
A wage standard. “Legal minimum wage” isn’t the same as a living wage, and the brands doing the harder thing say which they mean.
Material composition. Vague fabric labelling tends to travel with vague everything else.
Third-party certification. Verify it independently rather than trusting a logo on a page — certifications get displayed long after they lapse.

Watch what is being counted

A brand may report emissions for its offices and not its factories, or on one product line and not the range. The scope of a claim matters more than the number attached to it.

The most sustainable thing is usually already in your closet

No new garment beats one you already own for impact, which is why buying less and wearing more of what you’ve does more than switching brands. Should I buy this is the test that reduces the number of these decisions you’ve to make at all.

What is the best way to donate clothes you no longer wear?
Give wearable clothes to a local charity shop, shelter or refuge that has said it wants them, and send worn-out textiles to a dedicated recycler rather than the bin. Call ahead: most charities are short of specific things and overwhelmed by everything else.
How do I decide which clothes to keep and which to let go?
Keep what you've worn in the last year, what fits the life you've now, and what pairs with at least three other things you own. Everything else goes in a maybe box with a date on it — if you haven't opened it by then, you didn't miss it.
What can I do with clothes I no longer wear?
Sell what is current and in good condition, give wearable pieces to a charity that has said it wants them, alter what nearly works, and send the genuinely worn out to textile recycling. Almost nothing needs to go in the bin.

All FAQs