The difference between mini mioche and fast fashion brands
Let's take a moment to explain the difference between what mini mioche produces and what fast fashion brands produce (and why our garments do cost more).
Fast fashion brand's churn out hundreds of millions of garments every year, introducing hundreds of new styles every week. They do so using synthetic materials like polyester, nylon, and acrylic, because these materials are significantly less expensive than sustainable materials.
Unfortunately, synthetics, being made from fossil fuels, are a significant contributor to climate change. Fossil fuels account for nearly 75% of greenhouse gas emissions and 90% of carbon dioxide emissions. Additionally, synthetic fibres shed microplastics, which are tremendously damaging to the environment. Half a million tonnes of microplastics end up in the ocean every year.
From a labor practices standpoint, fast fashion brands are also generally struggling. While certainly lots are trying to improve, the reality of the situation is that they are active participants in practices like unsafe working conditions and what we would consider inhumane hours expectations.
As a brand, we know that our clothes do cost more than fast fashion alternatives. We manufacture using sustainable materials - certified organics and recycled exclusively - designed to reduce impact. We also ensure our clothes last for years and years so that families can pass them along from kid to kid and reduce the per use wear significantly. We have a resale marketplace available to our customers so that they can sell the garments at the end of their usefulness to the family. We work only with factories that pay their employees fair wages and safe working conditions. (The majority of what we sell is made right here in Toronto.) We additionally commit 1% of our sales to climate initiatives and ensure our own business is Climate Neutral Certified.
We go the extra mile and hope other companies will do the same because it will truly take a lot of us doing this to start to reverse the damaging impact of fast fashion on our planet. So, yes, our products most definitely do come at a higher short term cost. But if you look at them with a longer lens, the cost per usage is highly competitive with fast fashion, particularly if you resell the product when it's done for you. And the cost of fast fashion to our kids' future is sadly a lot bigger.
We are super grateful for every person who's able to join our mission to reduce the climate impact of kids clothes. Given how much clothing kids go through, you can imagine that every family really does have an impact.
Have any feedback for us or ideas on how we can become even more planet-positive? We'd love to chat! Please send us a note.
sustainable 🍃 ethical 🤝 no 💩
✨ just the best kids clothes for the planet.
Since 2008, we've made the softest, the snuggest, the coziest, the coolest baby, toddler, and kids clothes on (and for) the planet, created ethically at factories that pay employees a living wage, with sustainable materials that don't leave our planet worse off than we found it. We believe in passing it on, and our stuff is built to be beautifully outgrown, resold, and reworn by kid after kid after kid. We make our best basics for their best future, and we're so happy you and your little minimalist are part of the famm.
