A webshop with a large selection of stylish sustainable and fair-trade women's and men's clothing, accessories and beauty products: that's Sophie Stone. Founders Anna Sophie Slingerland and Esther Steen have a mission: to make sustainable clothing shopping easy for everyone. Esther Steen explains what is wrong in the fashion world and shares tips on how to do things differently.
Sophie Stone: sustainable and fair fashion
In collaboration with Sophie Stone & Sustainable Fashion Gift Card
Of course, we have known it for some time: there is a lot wrong in the fashion industry. Making clothes is incredibly polluting for our planet and there is more trouble behind that cute dress or that fine winter coat. Child labour, labour exploitation, underpayment and poor working conditions: sadly, it all still occurs on a large scale. And instead of doing something about it, we just seem to buy more and more cheap clothes en masse. After fast fashion, there is now a new phenomenon: ultra fast fashion. Even more, even faster, even cheaper... In short, even more pollution and trouble. But meanwhile, a growing counter-movement of fashion brands and shops (and consumers) that want to do things differently is also emerging. Sophie Stone in Utrecht (also webshop) is one such shop. We sat down with Esther Steen, one of the founders.
Sustainable fashion is also fair fashion
‘With us, you can really shop carefree. All the brands we sell have been carefully checked by us. We only work with fashion brands that can prove that they produce sustainably and fairly. CO2 emissions and environmental pollution caused by the use of toxins in the production of materials really is a big problem in fashion. But working conditions also count at least as much for us. The idea that someone has to suffer for a garment we wear here is appalling.’
Sustainable fashion brands check
‘There are a number of reliable labels we look out for such as GOTS (biological substances) & Fair Wear (good employment practice standard). And if a fashion label has no certification, we personally check how things work at a brand. We demand this transparency, otherwise we won't include the clothes in our collection. A good example is the sustainable material bamboo. There is no proper hallmark for this yet. So before we sell bamboo socks from Swole Panda decided to sell, we looked into it. Where exactly is it produced, how do they ensure a 100% closed loop system so no toxic waste ends up in nature, is the factory independently audited, who are the people behind the brand and what is their background?
Greenwashing: don't fall for it!
There is a lot of greenwashing in the fashion world. This means that clothing companies appear sustainable, but in reality are not at all. You can read more about greenwashing in this article. Esther: ‘And unfortunately people still strafe into this. You see it with fast fashion brands flaunting their ‘green’ labels, which in reality are little green. Fast fashion brands then advertise the fact that sustainable materials have been used, but leave out the fact that the garment was put together by children in Bangladesh. The price often gives a lot away. Making clothes simply has a price. A garment that is too cheap is an indication that somewhere in the chain a fair price is not paid, to the detriment of other people or our planet.’
Every step counts, even in the world of fashion
At Sophie Stone you will find small emerging fashion labels from the Netherlands such as J LABEL, but equally the big established fighters such as ARMEDANGELS. You can shop for clothes made from beautiful sustainable materials such as tencel, organic cotton and hemp, but clothes made from non-sustainable residues and recycled PET are also embraced by Anna Sophie and Esther. Esther: ‘We encourage any kind of sustainability in fashion that aims to be better, cleaner, fairer and more sustainable. Hallmarks are important to us, but wasting fewer materials is also part of this. In the webshop, you can also search by these criteria. For example, you can filter by clothes from Europe, by vegan clothes or by clothes made of sustainable or recycled materials.’
Left: Esther and Anna Sophia of Sophie Stone. Right: Saskia of thegreenlist.nl fits sustainable clothing made from recycled materials.
Durable with panther print: it's possible at Sophie Stone!
Sophie Stone is a sustainable and fair webshop and fashion shop in a beautiful location in the heart of Utrecht (Steenweg 11). Their mission is that everyone can shop clothes carefree, that you don't have to think about under what conditions and how the clothes were made. With a wide collection of mainly European fashion brands, they try to make sustainable fashion accessible to everyone, whatever your style. Will you come and visit sometime? Anna Sophie and Esther would love that!
Want to know more or shop online? Check sophiestone.nl (With the code GREENLIST10, you get 10% discount on your first order. The discount also works in-store, if it reports at checkout).
More sustainable fashion tips from thegreenlist.nl
- Also see: 5 tips from Sophie Stone for finding sustainable summer clothing!
- Also see: whole family goes barefoot on Wildling Shoes.
- Also see: the cutest sustainable slippers and slippers.
- Also see: Less clothes, more yourself with a capsule wardrobe.
Photo credits: thegreenlist.nl.
