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As the fashion movements of sustainability and size inclusivity have risen in parallel over the past five years, it only makes sense that we would see a growing overlap of women who enjoy fashion, want to do right by the planet, and also happen to be a size 14 or larger. With the fashion industry estimated to be responsible for 8 percent of global carbon emissions, climate concern is no longer confined to waifish hippies (PETA’s fat-shaming and specious weight loss claims notwithstanding).
According to a recent survey by the global consultancy firm Simon-Kucher & Partners, body positivity was the fourth-most important consideration for choosing more conscious fashion, after fair labor standards, sustainable materials and processes, and sending profits to charity—a third of all respondents marked it down as important.
But you wouldn’t know it from scrolling through the offerings from sustainable designers and the hottest direct-to-consumer brands, which rarely go up to XL, much less 3XL or 4XL.
“I’m trying to be more sustainable, and I feel like I should have as many clothing options that offer me that choice as any person who wears a straight size. Whenever I find clothing lines that are eco-friendly, zero-waste, or otherwise optimized for sustainability, I’m sized out,” says writer and host Ashley C. Ford. “And I’m a size 16/18. That’s not very big.”
In the past year or two, however, there’s been a flurry of activity. Spring 2018 saw the launch of the size-inclusive brand Poplinen and the minimalist plus-size brand And Comfort, which offers a capsule wardrobe in organic cotton and Tencel, plus a collection in extended sizing hit Reformation’s website. The artisan-made brand Symbology now offers its beautiful block-printed wrap dresses in 3X, and Elizabeth Suzann’s country-chic pieces go up to 4x.
And now girls who sweat it out for the fun of it (rather than just for weight loss) have even more incentive to hit the yoga studio in either Girlfriend Collective’s recycled polyester leggings in 6X, or plus-size model Candice Huffine’s new athletic brand, Day/Won, much of it using recycled polyester fabrics that have been printed in a waterless process.
“People were asking for it, so we listened,” says designer Mara Hoffman, who launched extended sizing in select styles—like a poofy-sleeved dress in tangerine-colored hemp and mint-green Tencel-linen-blend trousers—for spring 2018. “It was also important for us to ensure sustainable fashion was accessible to more women.”
Hackwith Design House, which creates dreamy-casual cotton, silk, and lyocell fashion, was one of the first sustainable brands to extend its sizing in 2015. “Our entire ethos is about women finding clothing that makes them feel comfortable and confident,” says Erin Husted, Hackwith’s director of operations. “Over 60 percent of women in the U.S. are in extended sizes, and it’s obvious to me we should be offering them.” She says 15 percent of their orders are in the plus-size category.
But, wait, why not more? Well, to start, women are constantly bombarded with the message that their “ideal” weight is only a little extra willpower away. If you believe that, investing in a forever piece at a sustainable, made-in-America price point (Hackwith’s dresses can get into the $300 range) can seem like a waste of money.
“I think that mindset is shifting,” Husted says. She points to women like comedian and author Lindy West and writer Roxane Gay, who’ve both (in their words) “come out” as fat. As in, this is the size I am and I’m not trying to change it. Still, according to a 2019 survey, women who fall in the plus-size category still tend to spend just 83 cents on the dollar compared to straight-size shoppers, and statistically have a lower income.
Luckily, secondhand fashion has become a sexy entry point for discerning consumers on a budget. Hackwith has Sustain Plus, and Eileen Fisher has Eileen Fisher Renew, both stocked with secondhand versions of their high-end products that have been cleaned, mended, and upcycled for double the sustainability at half the price.
Make no mistake, there are plenty of women above a size 12 who have some money to spend and aren’t afraid of color. For them, there’s Roopa by Roopa Pemmaraju, who is so committed to sustainability that she’ll take back her designs from clients if they get stained or ripped for overdyeing and repair. On her website, sizes range from XXS to XXL, and customers who fall outside of that framework are encouraged to email with their measurements. “I don’t call it plus sizing. I just call it custom sizing,” Pemmaraju says.
Roopa works exclusively with natural fabrics of silk, recycled cotton, and linen—she can’t and won’t add synthetic material to her creations to give them stretch, a common crutch for mass-market brands offering extended sizing. “Rayon and spandex and polyester, I don’t even like to hear those words, because it’s not something I believe in,” she says. “The future doesn’t lie in those fabrics. Silk helps your body flow. Whatever type and size you are, it gives you a good shape.”
Not only does it add to her ethical cred that all her colorful dresses, fluttering tops, and hand-embellished jackets are made under one roof at her zero-waste studio in Bangalore, India, it’s crucial for size inclusivity. “It can only be done when you have this system in place, all under one roof,” she says. “My master patternmaker has been with me since the time we started. Some of my customers come back each season, we have their specs ready in the studio. If you’re manufacturing elsewhere, it’s going to be a tedious process, because you have to stick to the sizing and put in a certain number of orders for that sizing.”
She has good company in Hackwith (made in their St. Paul, Minnesota, studio), Elizabeth Suzann (made in her Nashville studio), and Day/Won, which is made to order in Upstate New York by a woman-owned factory—Huffine not only wanted to support jobs in the United States, she needed to keep a close eye on the process as she developed the sizing.
“It’s a lot of work,” Huffine says. “If we want to bring in new silhouettes and fabrics, we do a whole new fit to make sure it’s working for all sizes.”
“Extending sizing” is actually a bit of a misnomer. It actually entails developing an entirely new collection. Straight sizes are usually based on a size 4, with inches being added or subtracted from there. “Pieces for extended sizing need separate fittings, patterns, and design changes,” Hoffman says.
“Only in the past year, our margins have loosened up to be close to the straight-size margins,” Husted says. It took Hackwith a couple years to find the right fit for models who were a size 2X, and there’s the additional cost of using more sustainable fabric in each piece, especially since inclusive designers don’t want to charge their plus-size clients more.
The Internet can sometimes be unkind to small brands and designers who they see as deliberately excluding plus-size ladies, but an email asking for what you want can go a long way—just give them some time to develop it for you. It is slow fashion, after all.
“The majority of the feedback we have received is celebratory and grateful,” Hoffman says. “We have also heard that people want more selection, and they want it to happen faster than we can deliver. Being an independently run company, more and faster is challenging for us. But this is our goal, and we’re making it happen at a pace that we can financially and with the resources that we have.”
“Everything about a small sustainable brand is overwhelming,” says Huffine. “It’s hard, but at the end of the day, what you’re providing the women of the world, it’s worth it to do. It seems like a lot at first, and then you get in your groove and it sorts itself out.”
So if you’re reading this, and you’re a designer or brand manager, don’t be scared. The market is ready for you. “We get really excited when we see other independent brands venturing into extended sizing,” Husted says. “The more independent brands like ours offering extended sizing, the more we’re all going to see growth.
“And the more bigger brands see, oh, we have no excuse!”
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