Our Favorite Ethical Sneakers For Every Day Wear

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Why Buy Ethical?

There are hundreds of thousands, probably millions of clothing brands. What’s the point of buying from an ethically made one versus one that’s familiar? Well there are a lot of reasons. For now, I’ll list 3 big ones:

1. You’re guaranteeing what you buy wasn’t made with slave labor.

Isn’t that reason enough? “Slave labor” may seem harsh, but that is actually what the majority of garment workers are subjected to according to fast fashion principles. Workers are paid below a livable wage, in unsafe conditions with no health or liability insurance. Their shifts are often longer than 10 hours without breaks.

And they’re paid per garment not per hour. This policy incentivizes too fast of a working pace which results in poorly made products, accidents and injuries.

Most harrowing is the disregard for worker safety. The 2013 collapse of Rana Plaza – a Bangladeshi complex housing 5 garment factories – caused over 1000 deaths. Despite the devastation this caused to countless people, virtually no one was fairly compensated. And factory regulations remain ignored.

Rana Plaza Clothing Manufacturer Factory Bangladesh Collapse — Image courtesy of labourbehindthelabel.net

Unfortunately, Rana Plaza is the rule not the exception. There are many factory collapses, shutdowns and accidents whose impacts on garment workers are disregarded. It’s the product of fast fashion’s ideology of profits over people.

As conscious consumers, we have a choice to end this inhumane cycle by buying better. Buying from ethical brands means we’re voting for the fashion landscape we want to prevail. We have the privilege to choose who aligns with our values. We owe it to everyone who doesn’t to buy ethical.

No cheap fabrics, tacky designs, slave labor or disregard for the environment involved.

2. You’re supporting a smaller brand to encourage its growth.

Let’s be honest, the majority of brands we’re exposed to don’t need any more support. Firstly, they’re usually fast fashion companies that can afford an outrageous amount of advertising. Secondly, we don’t want to support them because their values don’t align with ours.

In contract, supporting an ethical brand takes a little more effort since you have to actively seek it out. Ethically made brands are usually much smaller than fast fashion giants. They can’t afford the endless marketing and social media output and celebrity campaigns.

Instead, they rely on their purpose to advertise themselves. They’re looking for conscious consumers like you to support their brand so they may grow. Maybe not to the gluttonous size of a fast fashion brand, but to a level that puts their clothes in front of more people like you.

Once again, every purchase we make is a vote for the kind of world we want to live in. By supporting a smaller brand, we’re voting for the good guys to win!

Need help finding ethical brands? Check out our Brand Directory! Each brand has a short description explaining its product selection and/or values. Happy shopping!

3. You have more options to express your individual style.

My favorite feature of an ethical brand is its individuality. Because they are made ethically and sustainably, their product range is much smaller so we benefit from shopping strictly their specialty items.

This also means you have a lot of smaller sites to choose from rather than one website with thousands of cheap items. With ethical brands, you can truly find something for everyone since each site is distinguished by its own niche.

They do a favor for our personal style by offering thousands of options to express it!

The Sneakers

Our goal at Style Files is to introduce you to brands worth supporting. We hope by showing you the options of what you can buy, your fashion range is widened.

We want to help you find the right piece for your wardrobe. Not the next flash deal or “trendy” shoe. The right piece for your wardrobe.

The below sneakers are all neutral and intended for everyday wear. They’re perfect for errands or as a surprise accent to your look!