I spent the whole month of May in L.A. this year and to say I was impressed with the abundance of sustainable/ethical/local brands based in the City of Angels is an understatement. While I was aware of the bigger, well-known companies like Reformation, I was time and time again pleasantly surprised with how many ethical options there were.
While taking advantage of the fact I was a local for a month, I would occasionally window shop to check out some of the brands I hadn't heard of so I could feel the fabrics and ask the questions, who made the clothes, where the factories were and whatnot. But I decided to also take advantage of the fact that a lot of these companies were producing their pieces right there in L.A. I reached out to as many companies as I could, including the company that makes our ODC Sustainable is Sexy tees, and got a lot of positive feedback. Not only were companies willing to answer any questions I had but a lot were open to having me visit their headquarters and/or manufacturing warehouses. Transparency at its finest.
To start, I headed to Groceries Apparel to see where exactly our tees are made and the production process from start to finish. They couldn't have been more open about the entire process which was incredibly important for me, in order to relay all the info to you guys, our customers! I met with the Co-founder of the company and his lead sales rep who told me all about the fabrics they use, where most of their materials are farmed, where their fabrics are dyed, how long they had been in this factory, what future design plans they have, and much much more. I was surprised with how much information they were sharing, especially since growing up I've been used to most companies withholding all this information. We are the buyers and we should be in the know about where everything is made and who all is making it. Why does it have to be so secretive? Groceries Apparel doesn't think so. Below are pictures of their staple tees and the factory where everything is sewn, cut, and sampled.
Groceries Apparel
Made in L.A.
Pattern making, cutting...
Sewing and bagging away to be dyed at their nearby dye factory!
Next up, I got to meet with the talented visionary behind the L.A. apparel company, EVERYBODY.WORLD. Iris, co-founder of the company previously worked at American Apparel and took everything she learned from working there to create her own line of simple basics, ethically made in L.A. Iris was kind enough to invite me to her L.A. headquarters to talk about the company and how they came about.
Iris Alonzo
Co-Founder of EVERYBODY.WORLD
Differing from Groceries, Iris talked about her love of recycled cotton, a newer innovation they're working with to use the discarded fluff that gets wasted when you spin cotton buds into yarn. Oftentimes, this fluff is thrown away. Iris figured it's worth a shot using this as fabric, and therefore a lot of their tees and future products will be made with the "recycled" form of cotton, closing the production loop even further. The funny thing is, there isn't any right or wrong way. While Groceries focuses on organic fabrics, EVERYBODY.WORLD specializes in this recycled material and puts organics lower on their list of priorities. What I started to realize after talking with both companies is that everyone is doing what they can to be better and do better. While some smaller companies can't always afford organic cotton (a lot of the bigger corporations like H&M are buying all the organic materials which drives up costs exponentially), there's always a way to try and be better which is what EVERYBODY.WORLD is after. After recycled cotton, treating their workers well and working with their community is high up on their list of non-negotiables. A lot of their designs have been made through collaborations with people in their community.
Prakash'a Perfect Sweatpants
Prakash Gokalchand is a 76-year-old spiritualist and chess enthusiast with classic, unassuming style.
The fact that they're collaborating with people in their community to find out what exactly matters to them and what they'd like to see in their ideal pieces of clothing is incredibly inspiring. Talk about giving back to their community!
Some more of our L.A. favorites!
L.A. Style
Below find some of my favorite sustainable pieces I wore throughout my L.A. trip... My Groceries Apparel tee, Levi's jacket I wore to the Eat.Drink.Vegan festival (reusable cutlery from Joseph.Joseph in tow for all the samples!) and the white blouse I found at the Venice Beach flea held on the weekend. Perfectly paired with my friend's gifted vintage Calvin Kleins!
