Carlie Ballard, Courtney Sanders and Kelly Elkin are the founders of Well Made Clothes. The online marketplace selling clothing that looks good and is good.
The company was started due to a shared frustration in the lack of information and accessibility to local ethical fashion, and now houses some of my favourite Australian and New Zealand brands including Kuwaii, Vege Threads, Kowtow and Limb, to name a few.
The Well Made Clothes website makes it super easy to shop ethically too. You can simply pick from certain values, be it local manufacture, transparent supply chain, vegan or fair trade to find the perfect garment that aligns with your values. Couldn’t be easier.
Not only is it a one stop shop for the best of ethical fashion, but Well Made Clothes also publish lots of great articles on the ecological and social effects that the fashion industry is having on our world.
An absolute must visit website if you are working towards building a more ethical wardrobe.
Below I speak to co-owner Kelly Elkin on the importance of ethical fashion, ways to shop better, and what inspires the Well Made Clothes team.
(All images provided by Well Made Clothes)
Tell us a little bit about yourselves and how Well Made Clothes came about.
We started Well Made Clothes from our shared frustration with the lack of information and accessibility of ethically inclined fashion. Carlie Ballard and I have a background in ethical supply chains, design and advocacy and Courtney Sanders has a background in journalism, together we had a the ideal skill set to start a business like Well Made Clothes.
Well Made Clothes has a strong focus on sustainable and ethical fashion. Can you explain to us why this is such an important aspect of your business?
The fashion industry is the second most polluting industry in the world, it is also responsible for countless human rights violations and mass exploitation, Well Made Clothes was founded to raise awareness to this and also give consumers the opportunity to shop by their values. We know there are women out there who, like us, want to shop by their values, but we also know it’s really hard to know where to start – great ethical fashion is spread in tiny little pockets across the Internet. So Well Made Clothes tries to unite all of these things under one roof, to make it easy for people just like us to make informed shopping decisions.
What are some of your favourite ethical Australian brands and why?
It’s difficult to pick favourites! Each brand on our site we select because we admire their commitment to be a socially and environmentally aware business. We love brands like Vege Threads for their commitment to organic fabrics, we love Denimsmith for their passion for local, certified production and Levi’s commitment to sustainable technology. There are many ways in which brands can apply ethics into their label.
What are 3 tips you would give someone who wants to build a more ethical wardrobe?
Before buying anything ask yourself if you truly need it?
Is it versatile, long lasting and compatible with what I already own?
Who made it? Where and how?
What are 5 wardrobe essentials which you would recommend to invest in that will stand the test of time?
This will really vary depending on your style, we recommend our shoppers to stick to the classics in basic colours that can easily be paired with seasonal highlights. We like to stick to this principle – https://wellmadeclothes.com.au/articles/how-cultivating-the-5-piece-french-wardrobe-will-make-you-a-sustainable-shopper/
Tell us about some of the people who inspire you and why?
We are very inspired by our team, our friends and the broader ethical fashion community. We get to collaborate with so many strong inspiring women working in this space such as Clare Press, Sigrid McCarthy (ECA and Intent Journal), Kristy Barber from Kuwaii and many more! Looking overseas Viv Westwood, Emma Watson and Katherine Hamnett are all doing incredible things in the space too.
What are the top 3 resources you turn to for inspiration?
The brands we stock constantly inspire us, current events ( we have a very politically aware office! 🙂 ) and the desire to improve our industry.
Anything else?
Always think about your impact, understand where your clothes come from and make conscious decisions!
I hope you liked today’s post. I’d love to know what you think of the Well Made Clothes website and their ‘values shopping system’ in the comments below.