Updated August 3, 2021
If you’re a member of GirlSpring then chances are you identify as a feminist, which is great! What’s fun about that is wearing clothing that shows your passion for women’s liberation. But as a feminist, it’s majorly important to buy from clothing brands that don’t use exploited worker labor. How would you feel if you bought a shirt with the phrase, “This is what a feminist looks like” only to later discover that it came from a sweatshop that employed underpaid and overworked women? This isn’t a random example by the way, something like this already happened. Read more here:
Does this mean that you should avoid buying feminist apparel altogether, or more generally clothing from any brand? Of course not. It just means you should buy from brands that you know don’t use exploited worker labor. You should also try to expand that to all of your buying habits including the food you eat to ensure that you are always using your money wisely. That can also include doing necessary research to find out if you are buying from places that use exploited worker labor, which most people can agree is bad. So without further ado, here are the best places to buy feminist clothing that don’t use exploited worker labor.
GreenBox Shop
This clothing company is responsible for a design you might have seen before, the, “Why be racist, sexist, homophobic, or transphobic when you could just be quiet?” shirt is gaining popularity. The website describes the company as a social justice apparel company that is completely fair trade.
Check out their stuff here: https://greenboxshop.us/
Aurora Lady
This clothing company puts out clothing made by the same person, the woman who founded the company. Her work reflects her passion for social justice, and I’d highly recommend you check out her Etsy shop and her website’s shop. Even if you don’t want to buy any feminist clothing, you should check out her website for the incredible visuals alone.
Check out her website’s clothing store: http://www.auroralady.com/wearables/
Check out her Etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/AuroraLady
Feminist Apparel
This shop is actually pretty well known. It supposedly is 100% ethical and fair trade, and had a bunch of different clothing options to choose from.
Check their website out here: https://www.feministapparel.com/
Femininities
This brand emphasizes messages of intersectional feminism, which is awesome. One of their shirts talks about the wage gap in a way that is very interesting and depends upon the race of the person making the purchase. What that means is that when buying the shirt, you must pick your race which then changes the amount on the shirt. For example, the white/ asian options says, “You owe me 21 cents” while the black option says, “You owe me 36 cents.” Basically, it accounts for the way in which the wage gap is racial instead of just being about gender.
Check out their website here: http://www.femininitees.com/shop/
My Sister
The slogan for this brand is this, “feminists who are tired of exploitation”, and they do their best to donate to organizations aimed at helping women and girls around the world. Part of their earnings go to programs designed to give more opportunities to victims of sex trafficking, which is a very noble cause to support.
Check out their website here: https://www.mysister.org/collections/shop-all-clothing
Please note I found out about these brands from these articles:
http://culture.affinitymagazine.us/ethical-alternatives-to-mainstream-feminism-apparel-ft-greenboxshop-and-more/
https://eluxemagazine.com/fashion/feminist-fashion-brands/
