Prana: Sustainable & Affordable Fair Trade Clothing For World Travellers

affordable-fair-trade-clothing

I never positioned myself as a person who was overly concerned about sustainability. 

I know that sounds bad – but at its core, I understand what sustainable means from a work perspective. Since my full-time gig evolves working with teachers and parents of children with special needs, sustainable for me means; creating goals for a child that will teach them the skills, that over time, they will be able to master and not require constant assistance from an adult.

However, when society starts talking about sustainability with regards to the environment, food, or clothing – affordable fair trade clothing to be specific.  

I get lost with what that means, what is required, or what that process might look like.

That is until I had a very powerful and deep conversation with the Brand, Engagement & Partnerships representative from prAna at a recent Travel Blogger Exchange conference called TBEX. He told me about how all the chemicals used in textile processing (emissions, dyes, all-weather treatments, etc) and how they end up in the environment. 

That opened my eyes.

prAna’s mission is to inspire healthy, active, and free-spirited living by creating versatile, stylish, and sustainable clothing and accessories that you can wear during every activity, every adventure, every day – From yoga to climbers to world travelers.

affordable fair trade clothing
“This is f@@king beautiful” – Gordana’s rather honest and unfiltered reaction after zipping up her coat

Affordable Fair Trade Clothing

Ethical Clothing. Organic Clothing.

prAna is Fair Trade Certified™

We all heard about jobs like manufacturing clothing or gathering coffee beans have been done in poor working conditions for incredibly low wages for large companies then sell those products to us for incredibly high prices.

Fair Trade Certified™ is the way to improve this moving forward. Each time you purchase a Fair Trade Certified™ product, you directly support farmers and factory workers, helping them bridge the gap between living wage and minimum wage.

This is really important for me. I try to choose the coffee shops I drink coffee in, based on this philosophy. 

Why not choose my clothing the same way?

affordable fair trade clothing
Gordana is wearing the prAna Diva Bomber Jacket and Kayla Jeans

Sustainable Fashion

Environmentally Friendly Clothing

I’m not going to get into the entire, multi-layer process of making clothes from plant fibre to clothes hanger but according to Dr. Clara Vuletich (Designer + Sustainability Strategist) – “Apparel and footwear industries currently account for 8 % of global greenhouse gas emissions, nearly as much as that of the whole European Union, according to a recent industry report, Measuring Fashion ”You can read more about the Clothing and Textile Manufacturing’s Environmental Impact and How To Shop More Ethically Here.

But, in order to minimize the impact on the environment from the production of its clothing, prAna only makes bluesign®-approved products. bluesign® according to their mission statement; helps to keep the oceans and skies free from harmful chemicals by managing harmful substances at the very beginning of the process with the highest standards of chemical usage.

I confess I was completely clueless about what goes on behind the scenes when it came to the production of clothing.

fair trade clothing
In this picture, I’m wearing the prAna Axiom Jeans and the prAna Smith Full-Zip Sweater – its a staple outfit in my wardrobe)

Ethical Shopping

The clothes are good for me and good for the environment.

Maybe it’s because I work with children professionally or maybe it’s just the inner child in me but there is something absolutely liberating about wanting to run through the streets or through a field with nothing on.

This prAna clothing is the next best thing and probably keeps me from getting arrested for indecent exposure.

I kid, I kid.

ethical clothing
In this picture, I’m wearing the prAna Men’s Bronson Jacket

prAna was started in a garage in Carlsbad, California back in 1992. At that time yoga and climbing gear left a lot to be desired, so Beaver and Pam Theodosakis decided to create their own stylish and sustainably made clothes. They sewed the first pieces themselves, labelled them with tags made from homemade recycled paper, and shipped their orders in fruit boxes from local grocery stores.

Today, prAna is still based in Carlsbad – Their commitment to sustainability, community, and doing right still inspires and pushes them to find innovative ways to do good things in a good way.

Well. My conscience feels clean! 

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