*This blog contains affiliate links
Kids are notorious for growing at an alarming rate, my two being absolutely no exception, which means that their clothes have a HUGE impact on our life not only through cost, style and practicality but also with the impact they have on the planet.
I KNOW that the best thing we can do is to use what we have until we can't use it any more but with quickly growing kids this isn't always an option.
I ALSO KNOW that secondhand is best but again, when it comes to kids unless you know the person you're getting it from this can leave you with clothes that are already worn to their limit and in this current economic climate I need to know that what I'm spending my hard earned cash on is going to last!
With this is mind we try to keep to a few simple rules:
Buy quality
Buy ethical
Buy eco friendly
If you want to skip straight to my recommendations click HERE otherwise we can delve into what I personally consider these things to be.
Quality
Buying quality sounds like a straight forward one but here's what I ask myself before we buy; What will last the longest for the purpose it's intended? It's all well and good taking a best dress and then using it as a play dress, a paint dress, a night dress, until eventually it becomes a wash cloth BUT that best dress will have to be replaced once it turns into a play dress SO if I want it to stay as a best dress I need to be sure it's not going to fray, bobble, shrink or come undone at the seams any time soon.
I'm sure you've heard the saying
"buy the best you can afford"
but this is a very different thing to
"the best that money can buy"
The best that money can buy I feel refers to the most expensive, top named brand and that isn't necessarily the best quality (a lesson that, as always has been learnt the hard way). Many named brands let their quality go downhill once they reach the top. "We have nothing to prove any more, people will buy us for our name so why try to continue to be the best?" OR they never were the best but they managed to get big so people ASSUME they are the best which is very rarely the case.
The best that YOU can AFFORD encompasses a whole lot more than just the cost. It's what can you afford to spend right now? Can you afford to have something that's going to break right away for the sake of a label? Can you afford to get a white rain coat when you know it's going to go out in the rain and mud? Can you afford to NOT have this item?
Here's a real life example. My daughter was nearly 1, its going into winter and she's now walking around. We don't have anything waterproof for her lower half. Can we afford to NOT get her overalls knowing that if we don't her other trousers will get wrecked? No, we can't NOT get them. So we bought a cheap all-in-one "waterproof" set. We quickly learnt we needed to ask ourselves "Can we afford to keep replacing these because the knees have holes in already and they aren't actually waterproof so that's another set of clothing that's now painting wear?" (The answer was no, we couldn't). So we upgraded. We spent what we COULD within our budget and got a pair of Puddle Buster trousers from a mid-brand that had great reviews and made do with the coat she already had underneath. AND THAT changed how we shopped going forward. I am now VERY cautious when buying from a new brand. I check reviews, I ask friends, I send messages to strangers on Instagram asking for their honest opinions (and usually they give very honest opinions so let this be a nudge not to be afraid to reach out when you see people tag a brand you like!).
Ethical
This is such a tricky thing to pin down and a bit of a testy topic. I like to think that everyone has an ethical umbrella and each persons umbrella covers different areas at different . This is what my umbrella covers:
Materials used
Packaging used
Working Conditions and Fair Pay
This is what my umbrella can cover at this moment in time. I do know that there are lots of other factors to consider in making sure clothing is truly ethical but I'm a firm believer in "Eco Overwhelm" and that we can't change everything alone. What we CAN do is focus on what is most important to us and trust that others will do the same so that together we can make changes to the fashion industry for the better.
For the children we always make sure that the materials used for their clothes are certified organic and are made from natural resources like cotton or linen. Bonus points if they are also recycled! It's really important to me that we use organic materials both for the planet and the kids health so I always look for the GOTs certified label or details on the companies website.
We also always try to look for plastic free packaging. With so many options available asides from plastic there really is no excuse for a company using plastic (unless it's a small business using what they have before switching to something more sustainable as I know has been the case for some businesses I've used in the past).
If you can't easily find information about the working conditions or pay that a business uses for their production chain it's a huge red flag for me. Most will have at the bare minimum a Modern Day Slavery statement at the bottom of their website but if they are claiming to be an ethical brand there should be a good amount of information about their supply chain, usually in its own section. If you're on social media #whomademyclothes? is a great tag to search to find transparent brands.
Eco Friendly
I've already talked a little about this under the ethical umbrella but a company being eco friendly is very important to me. I want to support companies that do more good than harm for the planet. I want to support brands that are trying to reduce their carbon footprint, plastic usage and waste in their supply chain. I want to support companies that give back to the communities they work within in this country or abroad. I want to shout about companies that plant trees, use recycled materials, clean the oceans, make nature reserves and promote second hand (because they know their clothes are going to last and last and last!)!
I want to know that despite the kids insistence on growing CONSTANTLEY that the numerous clothes we are having to buy won't be costing the planet.
With all that considered here are a selection of my favorite brands that tick all the boxes!
Little Green Radicals
Little Green Radicals was founded in 2005 and ever since then they've been making clothes the right way. They pay more to their farmers for the cotton they use in their clothing, they use recycled materials, everything is GOTs certified, their packaging materials are compostable, they even use left over fabric to stuff the soft toys they make!
Their clothes are built to last and grow with children. Many of their trousers are reversible or have reinforced knee patches. We have pairs of shorts that have adjustable waistlines meaning they will last us years! Calliope is still wearing her size 3-4 coat from 3 years ago with no signs of wear or tear (except for a small hot chocolate stain on the soft lining inside).
Something that makes them really unique is how inclusive they are. Having just released an adaptive range for children with different needs such as feeding tube access, dropped arm sleeve and poppers making changing easy for older children up to 134cm. You can take a look at this range HERE.
They are also part of Super Looper, a company that takes your preloved clothes from specific brand in exchange for vouchers to buy new. The clothes you give to Super Looper is then classified by how worn it is and rented out to other families!
The style is timeless and designs are repeated and recycled year after year meaning if you want to get siblings a matching outfit to one you got 4 years ago you will almost certainly be able to find something similar.
I really cannot rave about them enough and if you have any questions feel free to send me a message or leave a comment below!
You can buy Little Green Radicals direct HERE
Hues
Capsule wardrobes for kids can be a tricky thing to create (or any capsule for that matter!) but a capsule wardrobe without bright, colorful basics wouldn't be a capsule wardrobe at all in my opinion!
Hues is a new brand that specialise in a small collection of bright basics. Their range consists gender neutral shorts, t-shirts, jumpers and jogging bottoms in 4 colours: red, orange, green and blue.
That's it!
The clothes are made in the UK and consist of 75% organic cotton and 25% recycled brushed cotton fleece making them super soft and great against young skin.
I've asked Hues if they have any plans to add more colors to the collection but right now they're doing perfectly with a mix of simplicity and high quality.
Update!: Hues have confirmed that they do have more colours in the pipeline! They are a "young" brand so I'm excited to see what they have planned for the future!
You can shop Hues HERE For 15% off you can use my code reaching_for_rainbows15
*If you were a fan of BeeBooBuzz this is a great alternative to fill the basics hole they left behind!
Toby Tiger
Toby Tiger are such a fun brand for children! Their bright style and bold applique clothing are so appealing to both adults and children alike. They have a bricks and mortar store based in Brighton which means they also offer a range of gifts alongside the clothes. The clothing they sell is 100% GOTs organic cotton and the real unique selling point of this brand though
They also have a basics range that perfectly compliments the prints and appliques on offer.
This is another brand that are members of Super Looper which is a testament to the quality of these lovely clothes!
You can shop Toby Tiger HERE and code REACHING_FOR_RAINBOWS will give you a discount!
Duns Sweden
Duns are a Scandi Brand and they are our favourite of the popular scandi brands available in the UK. Scandi brands are what they say on the tin, brands from scandinavia. They are often known for their bright, edgy and out of the box designs.
They use 100% Organic Cotton and are sustainably made in India.
They are known particularly for their radish design which we are big fans of, particularly the zip up suits that go all the way up to age 12-13 before heading into adult sizes making them a great inclusive brand. for anyone who loves to show their bright and colourful personality!
Duns are available at a wide range of suppliers in the UK and worldwide.
Frugi
Frugi are Calliopes go to in her wardrobe. They are another brand with beautiful prints and appliques. If you prefer to stick to less bright clothing hey also often have collaborations with National Trust which are much more mellow.
Again this is a brand that uses GOTS certified cotton for their clothing but they also have a few extra certifications that make them stand apart! They also use in conversion cotton and have a soil association certificate. You can find out more HERE
On top of this they use recycled polyester for their outerwear, swimwear and accessories using 100% post consumer plastic and saving it from going into landfill and our oceans!
As if this isn't enough they are also the FIRST brand to have childrens clothing recycled back into clothes! We all know about H&M (and other brands) offering "recycling" schemes that have been exposed as being Greenwashing lies but Frugi actually DO turn their clothes back into clothes.
You can find out more HERE
Frugi have become more gender orientated in recent years but that is my only real complaint right now. I prefer to keep as much gender neutral as we can so that Calliopes clothing can be passed on to Lauchlan.
And those are my favourites! It was really hard narrowing it down to 5 because there are so many great brands doing amazing things for slow fashion and to keep clothing as low waste as possible. But like I said, everyone has their own opinion and standard of what is and isn't ethical, sustainable or eco friendly and these are just my opinions.
I'm curious to know what is most important to you when buying clothing? Do the same things that motivate me also motivate you into making a purchase? Did I miss any hidden gems in the ethical kids clothing movement? Leave a comment and let me know!
Comments