Moving away from disposable fashion - John Lewis / M&S

tain

Looking to slowly start moving away from buying clothes from cheap retailers, both for ethical reasons but also in the hope you get better value from the higher quality. 

Has there been any reliable review of mid-level retailers/fashion beans to see if the higher cost of their clothes is justified by not having to replace the clothes 4+ times a year? 

badmemory

Just be aware that not all cheaper items are made unethically & not all very expensive items are made ethically or even expensively.  One in particular lives on its old reputation where everything was sourced in the UK.

Sea_Shell

I've not found that clothes from "cheap" retailers are necessarily "throwaway".

I've had some items for years.  Worn and washed many many times.

Emmia

I've got primark tshirts which are close to a decade old, they're perfect on their own or for layering under knitwear in the winter, and long enough - which is better than many places

M&S quality is better than it was a few years ago. If you want to be really ethical though, I'd take up haunting your local charity shops, or Vinted.

Got myself a lovely gingham summer dress in a local charity shop earlier - which was "new" with tags.

annabanana82

I find basics from M&S, Next etc aren't that much better than Primark these days from a quality perspective. There may be a difference within the supply chains which may influence purchasing choices. 

GAP was always very good quality and washed very well, the sales were excellent and offered great value. 

There is a growing market for more ethically sourced clothing, I rather like Lucy and Yak but they might be marmite with their clothes ranges

ET22

Hi, just to say that charity shops are the most ethical option in order to recycle the clothes. If I buy an item like a coat or pair of boots, I would usually buy brands, such as Timberland or Jaeger, to make sure they do last for years. It makes much more sense but you do need a good few hundred quid up front to do it. 

jon81uk

If you want better ethics then you are probably looking at places like Community Clothing where it is very much part of their brand and many items are made in the UK. But thats £25 a t-shirt.

If you want quality that will last its very variable. I've had £3.99 H&M t-shirts look terrible after one wash and £2.50 Primark ones last years.

Fillyourboots

I’ve bought clothes from Uniqlo for a few years now, the t-shirts and shirts are decent quality and stand up to plenty of washes. 

joho

Another vote for Uniqlo t-shirts and cardigans, though I can't tell you much about their ethics.

Pollycat

tain said:

Looking to slowly start moving away from buying clothes from cheap retailers, both for ethical reasons but also in the hope you get better value from the higher quality. 

Has there been any reliable review of mid-level retailers/fashion beans to see if the higher cost of their clothes is justified by not having to replace the clothes 4+ times a year? 

What do you class as 'cheap retailers'?

I've bought TU and George jersey items (dresses, tunics) and the quality stands up to Monsoon, Next and M&S.

I buy most of my clothes from charity shops.
That way, I get good quality clothes at a very reasonable price, help a charity and pass on the items when I've finished with them. I also get to wear stuff that's not been on shop racks in their dozens.

Some of the brands I've bought is Aigle, Planet, Crombie, Dr Martens.
I recently bought a dress from a French brand for £3.50 that is on their website at 175 euros.

TattySaver12

There is an app called Good On You - Ethical Fashion which might help you figure out which companies are ethical.

Quality may be harder - I know some companies who have taken a dive in quality and their solution was to remove customer reviews from products.

I’ve had some nice T-shirts from The Wildlife Trust, RSPB, Chris Packham and Rapanui.  All of these companies allow you to post back your clothing when it’s life if done and it will be recycled.