A New Ethical Player In Town: SiiZU

Some big news on the ethical fashion front, there’s a new player on the field, one that’s giving some of the big names out there a run for their money.

But first, the elephant in the room.

Oh wait, that’s me in the room. >< (See what I did there?) In case you missed it on IG, my husband and I bought a house! Well, a townhouse. (Portland real estate prices be cray bish.) We’d been renting for two years since moving to Portland and were eager to put down roots in a neighborhood, as well as invest in some property. We are very thankful to be in the heart of town, close to work and school, and our friends.

Guess what was near the forefront of my mind while house-hunting? Where I would take my blog photos of course! I’m new to this whole, non-background biz, so don’t mind the unpotted plant and the semi un-staged setting. It will be a work in progress for sure.

Let’s get to the good stuff. SiiZU. Have you heard of them? I learned of them from a few of my favorite ethical blogger ladies (Leah and Alden) and the more I’ve learned about this company, the more I like it. But what I really like is this sweater. It’s 100% merino wool which means it’s soft and warm. It’s a thicker weight than most of my other sweaters which makes it warm enough to wear without a coat on some days. (Is anybody else getting tired of their winter coats yet?)

It’s a little bit hard to see in my photos, but this sweater has a side split that gives the garment a lovely swing factor, and makes it easy to layer the cropped length over other items.

SiiZU’s mission is to make ‘eco fashion’ affordable for all. Sustainability is at the core of their values. They only work with 100% natural fabrics that are sustainably grown: merino wool, Mongolian cashmere, Chinese silk, Japanese tencel, and Japanese linen. To help reduce the company’s carbon footprint they often work with factories near the fabric source to minimize transportation output (like flying). I imagine this helps keep the cost down too.

While environmental considerations are important, it’s the people that are always at the top of my personal ethics list. The folks at SiiZU tell me they have personally visited each of the factories they work with and have talked to the workers to ensure that they are being paid fairly. Further, on their Instagram page they hinted at an upward trend among Chinese factories. They contend that a growing economy is changing the way workers get paid, for the better. This perhaps explains why many fast fashion outlets have moved their manufacturing to Vietnam, Indonesia and Turkey, countries where people are still getting paid very low wages. Basically, Chinese labor is getting too “expensive” for fast fashion.

[ merino sweater, c/o SiiZU (size Medium) | linen shirt | cropped flares (love these!) | booties ]

I’d love to hear what you think of SiiZU. Are you on the quest for a new source of ethically-made clothing? I really like the modern designs that SiiZU offers, which I think can be harder to find in the ethical marketplace.

I hope you have a great weekend!

Cheers,
Andrea