Girlfriend Collective

This brand is deeply involved in every step of this process from the fabric to the dye to the labor - they know the impact and make sure it is a positive one!

I am full blown OBSESSED with Girlfriend Collective. Not only is it the softest and most comfortable athletic apparel I have ever owned they are superheroes when it comes to their impact! The Girlfriend Collective brand believes in ethical manufacturing and recycled materials.

“We believe in being transparent, taking care of the people who make your clothes, and never putting our bottom line before what’s best for the planet.”

There is this slow but steady movement we all should support and that is brand transparency. This is when a brand is open and honest about how they make their products and why it costs this much. This is what I’ve learned about how Girlfriend Collective makes these amazing, comfortable, affordable, RECYCLED!!!!! Leggings.

Fabric

Girlfriend collective sources all their materials (aka used water bottles) from Taiwan also known as “Garbage Island."

Did you know that almost all synthetic fabrics, like polyester and nylon, are made from plastic? At Girlfriend collective they choose to derive their fabrics from recycled PET. Huh… why not all of it be recycled? (apparently because it takes longer...LAZY!)

Each pair of their Compressive leggings starts with 25 recycled post-consumer water bottles - impressive!

Girlfriend collective also combats the lost and forgotten fishing nets that accounts for 10% of the estimated 14 billion pounds of trash discarded in the ocean annually. They do so by turning it into ECONYL. This fiber is made from the old fishing nets and used to make Girlfriend Collective’s LITE leggings.

Dye

The dyeing process is often environmentally destructive and is extremely harmful to people and crops that depend on their water sources to survive.

GC goes above and beyond to make sure their impact is a positive one. Their SA80000 certified factories are dedicated to people rather than profits. They use eco-friendly dyes and chemicals, and take the time and effort to treat and ethically discarded their dye water. They even send their leftover dye mud to a pavement facility, where it’s transformed to be used for paving stones, making sidewalks better for the community.

Labor

An SA8000 certification guarantees a slew of really important stuff, including no forced or child labor, safe working conditions, and the right to unionize.

Girlfriend Collective starts pay at 125% of the local minimum wage. They provide both free catered lunch (and dinner for those who work the evening shifts) instead of just a lunchroom, and guided exercise breaks, because no one likes to stare at a desk all day. While healthcare is often deducted from wages, Girlfriend Collective decided to provide free health check ups every 6 months at the factory for every employee, as well as health insurance.

I am not exaggerating when I say that this is the softest most comfortable athletic apparel I have ever owned. Their fabric is softer and more stable than your standard single-jersey. This process requires time and precision, which means each of their knitting machines can only produce about 100 pairs-worth of fabric in a 24-hour period. Now that is slow fashion!!

Give them a try! I promise you wont forget it

xoxo