Skip to main content

Online Sustainable Shopping

It's important to know that we DO have eco-friendly shopping options and where we can find them. Sadly, most of them won't be found at the mall. So I did some investigating and checked out some sustainable online shops. Today I'll be looking at 2 stores:

Mountains of the Moon Eco-Fashion, Hemp, Organic Clothing and More
http://www.fullmoonfamily.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv

Variety/Availability: 6.5/10
- There are only a few designs in each category (being tops, skirts, etc) except for the tops, which have a somewhat decent selection. They claim you can get them in different fabrics, though I don't see any web options for that. They also have a small line of baby clothes. In terms of selection, it's no Wal-mart, but honestly that's probably a good thing. You can also find their lines at over 100 select retail stores through the U.S., Canada, Japan and the U.K
Cosmetic Appeal: 9/10
- Definitely some of the best-looking eco-clothes out there. Not just your plain boring old hemp t-shirts, the clothes are actually cut to be flattering. They mimic high fashion considerably well. They tend to stay only with solid colours though.
Pricing: 6.5/10
- Not cheap. Not horribly unreasonable either. Keeping in mind that organic materials often cost more to produce, this is because a lot of the work is being done by humans. So in essence, organic pricing actually reflects how much things should cost. Dresses ranges in the $68-78 range, tops from $24-68, bottoms
Eco-friendly: 8/10
- The clothes are made sweatshop-free in the USA. Additionally they are "Co-op America" approved and a member of Hemp Industries Association. Each design is available in a variety of colors and fabrics (all made from sustainable fabrics and colored with low-impact dyes). This seems to be a good effort to me.
Eco Fabrik
http://www.ecofabrik.com/

Variety/Availability: 6/10
- A very simple selection of basic casual wear. A dress, a skirt, a shawl, yoga pants and some basic tops. I do like that they have options for men though they are limited as well. I will say that in terms of comfortable clothing, they have all that you really need.
- Although they lack in a variety of styles, they do also have hats, towels, and a decent selection of cheap tote/gym bags. They also have more baby clothes than adult options.
- They are also available in Europe
Cosmetic Appeal: 8/10
- The clothes look nice enough. They look like normal clothes, unlike a lot of the hippie-wear boho hemp stuff I've seen in stores downtown. The website looks amazing. The pictures of the clothes they show sadly don't seem to be available for sale, something I found to be disappointing because they look quite majestic. All in all, there's nothing fancy here but what is available is cute enough given that they're comfort clothes.
Pricing: 9/10
- Very affordable with an average price of about $20. The bags go from $8.50 and up. Not bad for organic!
Eco-friendly: 9/10
- The main page boasts 3 organic seals of approval. They use organic cotton, and bamboo and hemp, the last 2 of which are even better sustainable options (see Big Green purse blogs)


The Big Green Purse! AKA The Sustainable Shopping Bible Pt. 3/4

Brief notes on how to go Green with your clothing choices, and some things you didn't know...

What most of us don't know:

  • Manufacturing nylon creates nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas at least 300x more potent than carbon dioxide
  • Dry cleaning relies on a toxic solvent ("Perc") to get the job done - which is known to cause headaches, nausea, and dizziness. It is also linked to reproductive problems. More info in the Big Green Purse

Cotton

  • One of the most pesticide-intensive crops in the world
  • Cotton seeds contain residues of tons of toxic chemicals, is fed to cattle and pressed into oils = we EAT the toxic residue!

Some eco-friendly clothing fabrics as alternatives to conventional cotton:

Hemp

  • Naturally resists pests so you don't need any pesticides!
  • Needs little bleaching
  • Needs 1/20 as much water to grow and process as cotton

Bamboo

  • Naturally resists pests and many bacteria
  • Antimicrobial

Linen

  • Much stronger than cotton = lasts longer
  • Generally uses far less pesticides than growing conventional cotton

Some eco friendly online clothing retailers:


css.php