Shop our Eco Friendly Clothes

At New Factory, Friend we strive to present our customers with the option of eco-friendly fabrics such as organic cottons, hemp blends, and recycled or upcycled fabrics. We make our clothes right here in San Francisco and are proud be members of SF Made, a non-profit organization promoting manufacturing in SF. Being a green fashion label has always been an important part of our company, as is being a socially responsible manufacturer. We make all of our clothes in the SF Bay Area, mostly in the south of Market area in San Francisco. Being Made in the USA is so important and we are proud to keep manufacturing jobs in our local community. Socially responsible fashion has been made easier by the sheer fact that so many more organic fabrics are accessible to small designers like ourselves. At the textile shows, what is offered now as opposed to 5-6 years ago is encouraging. Small American designers have so many more organic fabrics to choose from: organic cottons, organic cotton/hemp blends. I have even found silk/hemp blends.

Doing a bit of research, there aren’t many women’s clothing made in the USA anymore. Here in SF, I still see many small companies manufacturing locally, and New Factory, Friend is proud to be a part of that community. Using eco-friendly fabrics is so important to us. We source from a local fabric manufacturer who designs many new organic cotton styles each season as well as recycled polyesters, hemp blends, soy blends, bamboo, and organic cotton/hemp blends. We are now in the process of trying to integrate hemp into our upcoming season. Hemp and hemp blends can be tricky because they seem a bit rough, but we have a few styles we are sampling that I’m sure will make it into our Fall season. Organic cottons are easier to work with, dye so well, and are so much better for the environment than conventional cottons. I am hoping eco-friendly fashion will permeate more into mainstream fashion in the coming years.

We were brainstorming at our studio a few weeks ago about a new way to promote eco-friendly clothing for women: slow fashion came to mind, as well as green fashion, sustainable fashion for women. But what we really came away with was not that we needed a catchy phrase, but a change in how we view our closets and how often we need to fill them. Slow fashion is a movement in which you choose a few choice pieces a season (or a year), hopefully an eco-friendly choice, made with eco friendly fabrics and made in the USA. We are trying to fulfill at least some of those needs at our site: The organic white shirt, the upcycled wrap top, the amazing surplus Rayon we found at a going out of business sale. I wear my organic cotton wraps on a weekly basis and love how they feel against my skin. I love how I’ve made some good decisions in this company going on the path of slow fashion with eco friendly fabrics instead of fast fashion with the cheapest fall apart fabric which would probably get destroyed in your dryer the second time around. We really need to change how much junk clothes we buy are really question why we are buying clothes we know we won’t be wearing in a few months. We should invest our dollars into our communities and farmers who go against the grain and grow cotton organically. I’ve read it’s tougher to grow and the restrictions are many, but it’s our planet we are investing in. So wearing eco friendly clothes reaches much farther than just supporting local business, American workers, keeping money in the USA, it addresses waste in our society, pollution in foreign factories, and pesticides that are killing birds and helpful insects. And most importantly, we feel good about a small change we we ourselves do for our planet.

Why is Made in the USA so important these days? I remember seeing commercials as a kid for US Cotton and Made in the USA t-shirts. This was in the 1980’s and I didn’t understand how damaging it would be for Americans 30 years later as we have hardly any more companies making clothing in the United States. I worked with a woman who said San Francisco had a thriving garment manufacturing section of town where sewers made a living wage and there was always plenty of work. Today, SF garment manufacturing jobs are a fraction of what they used to be, but I am also proud to say that of these manufacturers, most are compliant with the law and abide by rules (unlike, ahem… Los Angeles). I see many designers in these small factories, and many of are the same mind as New Factory, Friend. They have responsible companies who want to support our local community with jobs and many also use organic fabrics, sustainable fabrics and have an eco-friendly mindset. I will name these socially responsible fashion labels because we are part of the same community and we all support each other: Saffron Rare Threads is a great company that has been manufacturing in the USA for more than 8 years. The two wonderful women who run Curator- another SF eco friendly company who manufacturing in San Francisco and try to run a green business as much as they are able. Betabrand also come to mind as a company who manufactures in SF and they source eco friendly fabrics as well.

Thank you for visiting the website and perusing our eco friendly clothing. We are striving to be a certified SF Green Business. We would also like to be one of the best choices that shoppers go to for sustainable fashion for women. We do have a small studio in the Mission District in SF, so anytime you come into the city - or live in the city, please email and make an appointment to come visit us and see what we have in our studio shop. We are right next to Stable Cafe, one of the best places to get an amazing salad in the city.

Kind regards,
Max
Founder of New Factory, Friend