Founded in 2016, the main goal of U.S. activewear brand Girlfriend Collective was to create apparel that was not only beautiful and comfortable but was also ethically made with recycled materials. At present, a business line that includes a sustainable axis is not an option but a basic and essential response to demand. Emerging designers have the facility to build firms that take care of a friendly purpose and learn from those brands that have already come a long way. Girlfriend Collective is an activewear brand known for its sustainable efforts that feature fabrics made from recycled water bottles, fishing nets, and other plastic waste. Opting for transparency, the brand has a variety of performance leggings, tops, and sports bras in fresh color combinations. The brand uses recycled materials that are certified Standard 100 by OEKO-TEX®, which tests for over 100 harmful chemicals, as well as Bluesign certified, which works to eliminate harmful substances used in textiles at each step of the supply chain. The brand also uses recycled polyester that is certified Global Recycle Standard, as its popular leggings and bras are made from 79% RPET, and 21% elastane. It even reuses recycled fishing nets and other waste to make ECONYL® yarn. Girlfriend Collective has shown that it is possible to create collections only with garbage and under the premises of sustainability. With the idea that there is no material more environmentally friendly than that which already exists, they launched Cupro. A new line of T-shirts made with the cotton waste that this industry discards, and with which they manage to save more than 2500 liters of water for each garment. In addition, to compensate for the possible waste of water that may be caused by the production of the collection, the brand has pledged to donate 10% of the profits from the T-shirts to Charity Water. An organization dedicated to providing clean drinking water and cleaning to people in developing countries. As with all its collections, the brand is transparent about its manufacturing processes. The cupro material, which gives the collection its name, is made from cotton linter. A fiber that adheres to cotton seeds and is usually recycled or thrown away in landfills. This yarn comes from one of the brand's facilities in Japan, where it recycles all the waste produced by the plant that no one wanted to use. They thus create the most sustainable training shirts. "Made with a delicate fabric that ages like fine wine, becoming softer and paler as you wear it" says the website.
Ethically Made Activewear Girlfriend Collective's first goal is to be as transparent as possible. They have carefully chosen every part of the process, from the raw materials to the facilities and their partners. The Danish partners opened the Vietnam facility in 2005, bringing with them values that have made them last so long. The team visits the factories regularly and ensures employees are treated with respect and paid a fair and living wage. Girlfriend's SA8000® certified factory in Vietnam pays living wages, provides fair working hours and safe conditions, allows unionization, and does not use forced or child labor. With its core factory in Hanoi, Vietnam, the team visits the factory regularly. SA8000 is an international certification standard by the Social Accountability International that encourages companies to develop, maintain and implement socially acceptable practices in the workplace.