When I tell people I have my own sustainable fashion blog and have the opportunity to work with amazing small ethical brands, I always get asked what my favorite collaboration is. I could never give a real answer because each brand I’ve worked with is so unique and special in their own ways but after collaborating with EARTHLY: For the Planet I think I have to say this has been my favorite collaboration in my almost 3 years of blogging.
I came across EARTHLY: For the Planet’s Instagram this past summer and saw that they were looking for models for their collection and that they were based in Philadelphia. I was super excited because at the time I was getting ready to move to Philly for my freshman year of college. I reached out to them with my interest and was ready to work with them once I moved to the Philly area. Unfortunately, UPenn decided veryy last minute that they were no longer opening campus, meaning I would have to stay in Chicago for my first semester.
Being at home this semester has been particularly hard and lonely. All of my closest friends were able to move to their respective campuses which meant not only was I doing my first semester of college at home, but I was also doing it without having my normal support system. So, I’ve been trying to fill up most of my free time doing the things I love: working on new sewing diys, indulging in some Netflix, and lots of baking. Something I’ve realized I am so grateful for during this time is being part of a sustainable fashion community through Instagram. Even though I haven’t gotten to campus yet or met the people who may or may not be my best friends for the next four years, I have been able to keep making new connections with people and brands who share the same values of sustainability and social justice, and for that I am grateful.
Jordan, the founder of EARTHLY, reached back out to me last month to do a collaboration. I was super excited when she reached out because I had been keeping up with EARTHLY’s Instagram posts and had been planning to make a purchase eventually (I still do plan to make one soon). Jordan suggested that she could make me a piece using some of my own unwanted clothing. I sent her a few tops from my closet that I was looking to repurpose and gave her some general preferences for color and style. Her finished product truly blew me away. She turned my old pink cotton short sleeve top into a super trendy two-tone one-sleeve serger top (click the arrow below to see the before). I styled the piece with some gold hoops, thrifted high-waisted Levi’s, and some platform converse but it really has so much potential. It can definitely be dressed up or dressed down for whatever occasion.
Now let's get into the brand itself. Talking to Jordan, I learned that EARTHLY: For The Planet stemmed from her senior honor thesis at Penn State: “I wanted to create a brand that is inclusive of and accessible to people of all genders, ages, sexualities, races, abilities, sizes, and socioeconomic statuses, that also focused on saving the environment and minimizing waste.” Jordan explained that when the pandemic hit earlier this past year, she decided to pursue EARTHLY and make her vision come to life.
“I wanted a way to channel my love of the environment and my love for people into a way that I could actually make a difference, which is why EARTHLY: For The Planet was created.”
All of the fabrics Jordan uses to make her pieces are all secondhand. She started off creating her collections from her own unwanted items, however, her more recent collections have been made from clothing donations. Her decision to only use recycled materials and implement a closed loop process was purposeful, hoping to help eliminate waste and raise awareness about sustainability in the fashion world.
She starts her process looking for inspiration from sites such as Pinterest and Instagram in hopes to create trendy yet classic looks that can be worn and reworn plenty of times. She also bases her collections off of feedback from customers and social media followers on what they want to see. Her goal is that when people are done with the items, they can send them back to EARTHLY to be upcycled again. After each piece is carefully planned out, it takes a few more hours to cut fabric pieces, make accurate measurements, sew the piece, and clean up the edges.
All scraps during the process, no matter the size, are saved and the plan is to keep saving them as EARTHLY expands. Bigger scraps can be used to make entirely new items, medium scraps are used for items like scrunchies and bucket hats, and scraps like pockets, zippers, and belt loops can be used in several different ways. In the end, each item is packaged in eco-friendly packaging.
Additionally, EARTHLY donates a portion of each launch’s proceeds to environmental and social justice organizations as a part their mission to be diverse, inclusive, and sustainable:
“I don’t want EARTHLY: For The Planet to just be a brand that exhibits performative activism. I want it to be genuine and real, to actually benefit our audience and the community and planet around us. So far, we’ve made donations to the Lebanese Red Cross, the ACLU, California Wildfire Relief, and the Trevor Project. As a brand, we believe in human rights and environmental activism, with an emphasis on intersectionality, so supporting people and organizations that work for these things is extremely important to me. I want EARTHLY to be as transparent and honest as possible so people know that we’re serious about making a difference.”
I am so so glad I got the opportunity to work with EARTHLY: For The Planet and it is super inspiring to see someone just a few years older than me pursue their passion. Check out some of their items on their website linked here. I’ve listed a few of my favorite pieces below!
