Belvele launches ethical fashion marketplace

Ethical fashion is a strand that I'm becoming increasingly interested in, and it's great to see that Belvele have recently launched their ethical fashion marketplace. You may remember Monica Rojas from previous features on Political Style. She is the brains behind Amatoria Clothing, a brand which has presented in the West 18th Street fashion show for the past two years.

Monica is passionate about fashion with a cause, and Belvele's mission comes from her own frustrated attempts to shop more consciously after she learned about the fashion industry's horrific impact on the environment and workers. Belvele has a curated selection of garments for men and women by contemporary designers such as Emerson Fry, Esby, Elise Ballegeer and Miakoda. The carefully curated online boutique features garments that are responsibly sourced whilst maintaining a fresh, contemporary aesthetic. By supporting this cause, Belvele helps small businesses flourish whilst providing a range of ethical choices for consumers.

Emerson Fry

I spoke to Monica about her short term goals, what they hope to achieve and what drives her team.

Launching a business comes with endless unforeseen obstacles. Overcoming those obstacles is much easier when you have an incredible team, and a strong support system. We are proud to have launched the site, and our supporters are thrilled. 

We are headed to New York this month to search for exciting new designers who fit our vision of design, craftsmanship, and sustainability. We want to shine a spotlight on the people behind the clothes. Our customers care about the story behind the garment. It feels great when someone compliments your outfit. It means even more when you know it is a unique piece, made and designed by people who care about their impact on society and the environment. We especially look forward to finding sustainable menswear, which is a huge gap in the market right now.  

We will also be putting our social media interns to work, to engage with our conscious shoppers through some fun contests and giveaways. Stay tuned! 

Aside from the support of friends, family, and wonderful strangers, the most rewarding part of our journey so far has been bringing attention to the truth about the fashion industry. Just like everyone else on our team, most of our friends had no idea about all the awful things that occur to produce a $5 tee shirt. Many people have approached us, wanting to learn more and hoping to reduce their negative impact in simple ways.  

I recently moved to San Francisco, and one of the things I admire most about this city is their devotion to recycling. There are recycling and compost bins all around the city. They have made it easy for people to do the right thing, and so most people do. That is exactly what we want to do through Belvele. We want to make it easy for you to find ethical clothes that you want to wear.  

We want to reach those conscious shoppers who already care about Slow Fashion, and hopefully through them, we can spread this message to get more and more people on board. Consumers don't even realize how much power they have to change the world. Businesses depend on our money. If we decide we will no longer support products from unknown origins, they will have to fix their supply chains. We have to hold them accountable.  

I am fortunate to have some inspiring and talented ladies on my team, who believe in Belvele's mission. Many articles have been written about the pros and cons of our generation. One of my favorite pros is that we, Millennials, want to feel like we are part of something. We don't want to just spend our lives working for a meaningless cause. We want to work for a purpose. Our purpose is to use our effort and talent to change the second worst industry in the world. It's a huge undertaking, and we realize that we probably won't be able to completely transform this enormous monster. But every person we reach who changes the way they think about their clothes makes a difference, and that fuels us to keep at it. 

Esby

Check out Belvele today!