I’ve switched over to only buying clothes made in EU countries, if at all possible, a while ago. Today, as far as I know, is the first day of wearing only clothing made in the EU and it does feel like a small achievement. I’ll try and share some findings I made along the way for this community and welcome additional Ideas and inspiration. I’ll start from the top.
- Baseball cap by Armedangels (German company) made in Portugal
- Shirt by Eterna (German company) made in Romania (although Eterna can be tricky as they have manufacturing in China as well)
- T-shirt by Sanvt (German company) made in Portugal
- Trousers by Hansen Garments (Danish company) made in Italy (while pricy, this has become my new favourite option to replace the casual but sturdy type of trousers I used to buy from Carhartt. I also tried Meyer Herrenhosen, a German company, Made in Romania, which were fine but not exactly what I personally prefer)
- Belt from H&M (Swedish company) made in Sweden
- Underwear by Hanro (Austrian company) made in Bulgaria
- Socks from my local Kaufland (German company) made by Softsocks (Bulgarian company) in Bulgaria (although I also own several pairs of Treazy socks, which are made in Portugal and my daughter has come to absolutely love the colourful SOXN socks made in Germany)
- Shoes by Giesswein (Austrian company) [Edit: made in Austria this is a legacy item; Giesswein seems to have switched manufacturing to Asia recently, I therefore recommend Shoepassion also for more casual shoes, as these are still made in Europe, mostly Portugal] (for work I often wear Shoepassion shoes, made in Portugal, with different models made in other EU countries)
Some of these were fairly easy to find and available at major stores (H&M, Kaufland, online at Zalando) others were more obscure. Especially the more specific pieces like sturdy but good looking trousers took some searching. Surprisingly some pieces like the shoes or the shirt had been in my wardrobe for ages already without me paying attention to their “Made in” labels.
Generally some “responsible” brands like Armedangels have been amazing with their transparency, declaring where every piece is manufactured in their online shop. On the other side established brands like Eterna sent me a friendly response to my Email explaining that they themselves couldn’t say for sure which of their products is made where and recommended checking the label or EAN code.
Finally it’s obviously a bit more expensive to buy European. But then again workers in Portugal, Bulgaria or Austria have completely different working conditions than their peers in Bangladesh. Overall I will certainly try to continue buying EU made clothes whenever possible. I’d love to hear from other users who have gone on similar journeys or who might have different input.
I’ve switched to varusteleka eu made gear and sievi work boots 5 years ago. It was trivial to do, way cheaper in long run, and also I look totally badass. Buying exactly same things every year or two is such a satisfying slap to fast fashion!
the varusteleka stuff looks a lot like what you encounter in Stalker (the game) - you’re right, looks badass :-)
I actually happen to know a few stalker characters irl. And I maintain pripyachka.com now. And hang out with a dude who cares for Strugatskii’s apartment. One of them turns 100 today I think, that’s one of reasons I’m drunk now.
they did recently sponsor/contribute funds for the ongoing development of the game
Road To Vostok, which is very Stalker likeYou consider once a year not fast fashion? Whats is fast fashion then? Genuine question, i hate fashion and buying clothes and generally wear stuff until it’s not “ok” and/or mendable anymore.
I resupply once a year, it doesn’t mean I discard them. I’ve got to change clothes once in a while, something goes bad during the year (usually 1 shirt and dozen socks). I spend much time working in forest and on farm, training dogs. Things break.
Makes sense, i was just surprised thinking about it, thx for the insight