Organic Basics

Bralet, undies, t shirt and tote gifted by Organic Basics

Organic Basics is a brand that I discovered on Instagram (finally the algorithm does something of benefit) and it's a really cool, sassy organic brand specialising in, well, basics. Wardrobe mainstays such as 'the perfect white t shirt' (everyone wants one of those) activewear, undies, tote bags and even bamboo toothbrushes! They had me at the first line of their 'About' section; "The fashion industry is a dirty bastard" Correct! So how are they helping?

Putting sustainable thinking at the heart of everything they do, the brand is transparent, ethical and environmentally friendly (as well as a fashion brand can be.) Products are made to last - there isn't any fast fashion ideology here; the items you buy, with care, will last for years. Impact is reduced in every way - impact on the environment and on the people that make the products - via the website you can see inside the factories - and garment workers are paid a living wage for their skills. The website lists out for each factory how many hours per day the employees work and what their holiday entitlement is, as well as other benefits where applicable. The brand also uses GOTS certified organic cotton, grown on the coast of the Aegean sea and widely regarded as the softest cotton available. Read more on their sustainable practices here.

The items aren't cheap, but I think a lot about changing the mindset on 'fast fashion' has to do with accepting that something that costs a fiver probably isn't coming from a very good place. This is difficult and I am going to be honest, something I have struggled to overcome - I've always been a thrifty shopper so the idea of dropping a lot of dollar on, for example, a pair of pants isn't really in my mindset. But I am trying to change that. When I want to be thrifty, I try to buy second hand (depop and eBay are great for cheap fashion pieces which may otherwise end up in landfill) but when buying new, I am trying to be more concious. Bras start at around £36 and pants £30 for a two pack, but they're built to last. If you care for things, they do - I have just parted ways with a bra which I bought as part of the Sonia Rykiel x H&M collection back in 2010. it was quite expensive at the time, but has only just given up on me and become resigned to the rag bag. I took care of it, and it paid me back with 9 years solid use! I hope that my Organic Basics items will last as long, if not longer, than that.

Organic Basics have kindly given me a 10% discount code to share with you in case you would like to buy something - simply enter code <COUPONCODE> AMIEOB at checkout, and take a look at the full range here.

XO Amie