With more and more people wanting to cut out fast fashion, brands have had to step up their game and take the initiative to create more sustainable clothing. Madewell has promised to do better for the planet and people with the Do Well Shop. This new section of their website consists of jeans, tops, outerwear, dresses, swim, shoes and accessories, as well as reusable essentials. The Do Well Project works with organizations that make the world a better place. Every piece of clothing in the Do Well Shop comes with a custom tag informing you that it is a “Do Well” item and includes their slogan, “better for the planet, better for its people”.
FAIR TRADE
Madewell’s website states that their goal concerning fair trade is that by 2025 90% of their denim will be Fair Trade certified. Currently, 29% of their collection is Fair Trade. Madewell partnered with Fair Trade USA, helping them use safer and more sustainable factories.
According to the Madewell website, for each certified product, they pay a Premium that goes to a Community Development Fund run by the workers. The factories used by Madewell offer equal pay, better benefits, safe and eco-friendly production, and the workers in the factory get to vote on how to spend the extra money from the Premium Madewell pays them.
REPAIR, REUSE, RECYCLE
Madewell’s goal with this initiative is to create programs to help your jeans last longer than ever and to keep denim out of landfills. Although their jeans are made to last, if life happens and you get a rip in your favourite pair of jeans, you can bring them into the nearest Madewell where they will patch and mend your jeans for you. If you’re just not feeling your Madewell jeans anymore, they encourage you to resell them so they can find a new, happy home.
Their stores also have a “used” section where you can purchase a pair of pre-owned jeans. You can also take your old jeans into Madewell to get recycled into housing insulation for communities in need. According to Madewell, customers have donated over 800,000 pairs of jeans to their program, warming more than 1,000 homes (and keeping more than 415 tons of denim out of landfills).
MADEWELL’S MATERIALS
Madewell’s main material goal is that by 2025, 100% of the key fibers used in their materials will be sustainably sourced and free of non-recycled plastics. Currently, 60% of their spring collection is sustainably sourced or made of materials from their Do Well project. Madewell uses recycled cotton, BCI (Better Cotton Initiative) cotton, responsible wood pulp made from sustainably sourced trees and recycled plastics to produce their clothing.
CURRENT OPERATIONS
Madewell’s goals for their operations include by 2025, 100% of their packaging will be sustainably sourced and free on non-recycled plastics as well as being carbon neutral by 2030. The company currently offers online receipts to save trees, giving out boxed water to customers instead of plastic bottles, and uses LED lighting in stores to use less electricity.
Madewell also helps balance out their paper usage at their headquarters by partnering with FlexPrint and Trees for the Future to plant over 240 trees (so far). To keep their samples out of landfills, Madewell donates them to Cotton’s Blue Jeans Go Green program, Good360, and FabScrap.
PARTNERSHIPS AND CAUSES
Madewell is partnering with Girls Inc. to host Girls Who Create events which give girls the opportunity to meet professionals within the art, writing, and creative industries. This year they have planted over 15,000 trees in partnership with the National Forest Foundation. With every sale within the Love to All collection, Madewell donated 50% to the Human Rights Campaign to support the safety, equality, and freedom of people within the LGBTQ community.
Madewell is changing the standards of the fashion industry, one initiative at a time. Whether you’re looking for some quality jeans or looking to find local creatives featured in the Hometown Hero Hub, Madewell is ready for you.
SHAYNA NICOLAY
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