Everlane wants you to know your clothes: "Know your factories, know your costs and always ask why" - that's the San Francisco-based clothing company's motto. Everlane decided to create clothing basics that are not only beautiful and of high quality but that are also produced with "radical transparency" and sold at affordable prices.
Everlane invests a lot of time in finding the best garment factories around the world - with many of them being the same ones that produce designer clothing - and stay in close contact with them to ensure proper working conditions and safety of the workers. I know, I know, many companies claim such "relationships of integrity" with their factories but Everlane actually shows proof: On their website you can have a closer look at the factory that produced the very T-Shirt you are about to buy - its location and owner, its employees and interior, what it specializes in and how Everlane found it. Pretty cool, right?
Now this is where Everlane becomes even more special: Very contrary to high-end designer brands, Everlane actually reveals the true cost of their garments - and shows you just how much they marked up their prices for own profit. By only operating online, the store eliminates unnecessary markups that happen when a garment moves from retailer to retailer. In other words: You are buying almost directly from the manufacturer.
Everlane is also very approachable and relatable. You can basically email them any question you have about the garment or the business and they respond to you as soon as possible (which is fast, I tried it!). And they even encourage you to do so. I'd like to think it's not only because they want to make a profit from you (I'm sure that's a big part of it, of course), but also because they want to change the way you think about your clothes and their production. If we all start to ask more questions about the production process and chain of our favorite retailers, the fashion industry will soon not be able to exploit their workers, the environment and, ultimately, us any longer.
And that's why I encourage all of you to check out Everlane.
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