Pact Organic Clothing: Is Pact ethical?

Yes, I think Pact Clothing is ethical. But they can do much better when it comes to transparency.

Their clothes are known for being made of super soft organic cotton. They have a small collection and they are also on Amazon. Not all their clothes are 100% organic cotton so look at the product details before buying.

About Pact

Pact is a relatively young brand but from the get-go, has primarily focused on sustainability and Fair-trade Certified organic cotton.

What is Pact’s mission?

To build Earth’s Favourite™ clothing company. This is a bit tongue-in-cheek as ‘Earth’s Favourite’ is actually a trade-mark.

On a more serious note, they want to do better, to be better and to inspire change for people and the planet.  That’s more like it.

What do Pact Apparel sell? Is it good quality?

Pact has a small collection of womens’, mens’ and kids’ clothes. They have also branched out into towels and bedding. Their designs are simple and timeless. The best part about Pact? They are pretty affordable for a sustainable brand.

Pact clothes are of reasonably good quality and is definitely value-for-money.

My favorite sustainable Pact buys on Amazon

This Pact organic cotton tank top with built-in shelf bra is a popular buy and has a 4.5 star rating on Amazon.

Check out this pair of Pact Stretch Long Leggings in Charcoal Heather, made of 92% fair trade and GOTS certified organic cotton.

The Pact Organic Cotton Wrap Dress comes in black and resort stripe (pictured)

* Pact’s clothes offering on Amazon is pretty sad. I’m hoping they will add more stock to their Amazon Store soon.

What is Pact doing to be sustainable?

Environmental impact

  • Pact only uses organic cotton instead of traditionally-grown cotton. Their fabric is also free of toxic dyes, pesticides and chemicals. Unfortunately, many of their offerings are still a blend of organic cotton and synthetic material – which means your clothes will not biodegrade but will be filling up landfills after you throw them away.
  • Give back wear forward campaign – Pact has partnered with Give Back Box to set up this campaign. You can donate your used clothing of any brand that is still in reasonably good condition for free. They work with 5 charities. but you can’t choose which charity your clothes go to. Instead, they are sent to the closest charity destination to minimize shipping distance.
  • Pact uses 100% recycled paper envelopes and biodegradable plastic to package their clothes.
  • Pacts allows us to pay for carbon offset shipping.

Labor conditions

  • Most of their products are made in Fair Trade Certified factories. They also promise that even though some of their products are not made in fair trade certified factories because of local country unions and laws, all their products are manufactured in safe facilities and always sweatshop-free and childlabor-free.
  • They also partner with Chetna Organic – a sustainable, organic cotton farming cooperative in India – to source 74% of their organic cotton.
  • Pact also recently donated $25,000 to the Whole Planet Foundation Poverty is Unnecessary Project.

Animal welfare

Pact doesn’t use fur, leather, down or exotic animal skin. It uses wool.

Transparency

This is where Pact can do better. I think Pact is a pretty ethical company but they don’t give enough information about their processes. I’ve had to dig into their blog archives for some of the info I’ve written here. Even their fabric type and certifications are hidden under the ‘Care’ tab.

And on Amazon, their clothes descriptions are really sad, there is hardly any useful information.

 What certifications do Pact have?

  • Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTs) certification for their organic cotton.
  • Fair Trade Certified organic cotton and some of their clothes are made in Fair-Trade certified factories.

Anything else you should know about Pact?

Most clothing brands don’t manufacture in the U.S due to cost factors. Pact manufactures their clothing in India for economical and environmental reasons. As most of their organic cotton is sourced from India, it made sense for them to manufacture their clothes in the country as well. Even though India is one of the countries flagged for being at high risk of labor abuse, Pact promises that the factories their clothes is made in is sweatshop-free and child-labor-free.

Pact is not a fast fashion brand. In fact, they are the epitome of slow fashion. They have a small clothes collection of simple, timeless designs.

To wrap up

Pact is a brand worth supporting. They are on the right track with only using organic cotton, working with Fair Trade Certified factories, and keeping their supply chain simple with a small collection of simple, timeless clothes that can be worn for years without going out of style. They are also one of the most affordable ethical brands out there. Their only downfall is their lack of transparency – they should tell us a lot more about what is happening behind the scenes.

Check out the Pact Store on Amazon.

If you haven’t already, make sure you read my simple guide on sustainable fashion to make choosing the right clothes easier.

Sharon James
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5 thoughts on “Pact Organic Clothing: Is Pact ethical?”

  1. Pingback: Best ethical clothes brands on Amazon

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  4. I think the garments are being run through some kind of toxic chemical. I ordered some clothes that had a strong chlorine smell that persisted after 2 days of rinsing and 5 washings.

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