Is Everlane an Ethical Clothing Brand?

It’s official. I’ve hit the unsubscribe button from my Everlane e-mails. I’ve come to the conclusion Everlane is not ethical enough. In the past few months Everlane has been in the news for union busting, copying designs from small businesses, & lay offs.

As a brand that claims to value “radical transparency,” I’m disappointed in how they have handled recent events. Today we’re exploring alternatives to Everlane, what this means for ethical fashion in general, & my experience working with the brand.

Everlane’s Union Busting Escalates

When Everlane’s union busting incident happened back in December, I kept thinking they were going to make positive changes to address the situation. After all they’re an ethical clothing brand…right?

I signed the petition and waited for them to right their wrong with action. However, Everlane did not. While they made a casual statement acknowledging they could do better their actions did not change. In fact the situation actually got worse.

According to VICE, Everlane recently laid off over 200 employees during the COVID-19 pandemic and of those employees it is estimated around 40 of them were the customer service employees who tried to unionize back in December.

My personal experience with Everlane.

In my four years of being an ethical fashion blogger, I’ve accepted Everlane’s offer to review products four times. I was not paid to promote their clothing, but simply did it as affiliate content for my blog. Through out the years I purchased a couple garments from them as well.

My Everlane product reviews were always honest, in my experience all the garments were well made. The clothing has lasted me years and held up well. I think the quality of a garment is something to consider when purchasing ethical and sustainable fashion.

However, as someone who truly believes in making a difference with my dollar, I feel much more comfortable supporting smaller ethical fashion brands that hold themselves to higher standards by paying their workers and valuing those through out their supply chain.

Is Everlane ethical? Not ethical enough.

While Everlane was never perfect, I always admired their efforts. I felt like they were truly striving toward radical transparency. They have their factories listed on their website, something most name brands don’t do. They have a break down of the cost making customers feel that they are being transparent.

Everlane even gives back through certain initiatives like 100% Human Collection. In the past year they even amped up their use of sustainable materials.

However, since launching in 2010 and hitting it big, Everlane never got any third party certifications such as B Corporation, Fair Trade Certified, etc.

Third party certifications are definitely not something ethical brands are required to have, but as a big name “ethical” brand that has the resources to get those certifications and be part of these larger movements, it does makes me wonder. We look at other major players in the ethical fashion industry such as Eileen Fisher, Allbirds, Krochet Kids which are all certified B Corporations.

Will I shop with Everlane again?

My current answer is no. I will not be shopping Everlane unless they make some “radical changes” to their business.

I think Everlane is probably a better choice than heading to the mall and picking out a fast fashion garment.

Everlane clothes are well made and budget friendly, but as a brand that claims value radical transparency there is a lot they could be doing better. I think they really let their customers down.

And for me, as someone who preaches about making a difference with your dollar, I can’t justify giving Everlane my money after how they have responded to recent events.

Will I work with Everlane again?

Again my current answer is no. As an ethical fashion blogger giving up Everlane means some financial losses. I made a decent affiliate commission from my Everlane product reviews and the guides I included them in.

However, my ethics are more important than money. And I don’t want to mislead my following by continuing to put my name behind Everlane and considering them an “ethical” brand. I do not plan to partner with them again unless they make some radical changes.

My previous product reviews will remain up because I’m only human and I genuinely thought they were striving towards radical transparency. So, I’m not going to try to cover up the fact that I worked with them. I will continue to wear the Everlane clothes I already own because I firmly believe in valuing what you have as part of sustainable living.

However, I will be removing Everlane from my ethical guides as I update them. Everlane is not the worst in the business, but I don’t think they’re transparent enough to consider ethical.

6 Ethical & Sustainable Alternatives to Everlane

A few alternative ethical clothing brands I suggest shopping instead of Everlane include the following. I think the brands below have similar price points and style, but hold themselves to a higher ethical standard.

I also have an entire guide dedicated to affordable ethical clothing, if you’re looking for more alternatives on a budget.

This post does contain affiliate links, The Honest Consumer may receive a commission if you decide to purchase.

ABLE’s Ethical Fashion

I think ABLE clothes share the minimal style of Everlane and has a similar price point. ABLE demonstrates transparency by releasing wages and their garment workers and comparing them to living situations in the area. ABLE offers similar items such as jeans, basics, dresses, and more.

Fair Indigo Organic Cotton Clothing

Fair Indigo specializes in fair trade clothing. Again, I think the minimalistic style is similar to the style of Everlane. Fair Indigo uses organic materials to craft high quality garments crafted to last.

Fair Indigo also gives back to The Fair Indigo Foundation, a non-profit organization with the mission to improve educational opportunities for children in the Peruvian communities where their cotton is grown, alpacas are herded, and products are made.

KNOWN SUPPLY Fair Trade Fashion

KNOWN SUPPLY is humanizing the apparel industry through collaborative partnerships which encourage, educate, and empower businesses to take part in social impact. I think their price points are more accessible and similar to Everlane’s.

For Days Circular Fashion

For Days cares deeply about creating a good clothing with high quality, sustainable materials.

This sustainable clothing brand works with GOTS materials, recycled materials that meet the Global Recycling Standards, and Cradle to Cradle certified dyes.

For Days also features a lot of minimalist style basics for men & women similar to Everlane and has a similar price point.

tentree’s Affordable Eco-friendly Fashion

tentree makes Earth-First essentials using sustainable materials such as TENCEL, recycled polyester, organic cotton, and hemp. tentree’s clothing made with TENCEL includes jumpsuits, joggers, hats, skirts, t-shirts, and more.

tentree’s sustainable clothing for men and women similar to Everlane.

GOEX Fair Trade Basics

GOEX is a sustainable basics brand that works in the US and Haiti guaranteeing workers a living wage and crafting basics with fair trade practices.

GOEX’s basics are made with recycled plastic bottles turned into recycled polyester, USA grown cotton, and more.

GOEX carries sustainable clothing for men, women, and kids.

What does this mean for ethical fashion in general?

Everlane is one of the larger and more affordable “ethical” brands which means a lot of new conscious consumers begin their ethical closet with Everlane.

What’s unfortunate is that some of these customers might feel misled or betrayed and give up on shopping ethical all together.

I know I feel betrayed by Everlane, but I’m grateful for my relationships with other ethical brands and am looking forward to directing people toward more the the alternatives above.

Don’t give up on ethical shopping just because of one bad egg! To discover more ethical brands consider checking out our Ethical & Sustainable Brand Directory. 

For more tips & tricks on ethical fashion be sure to follow The Honest Consumer on social media.