This Clothing Brand Wants You to Count Carbs… And That’s a Good Thing

Launching today (happy Earth Day indeed), The Low Carb Collection is the gorgeous result of some serious deep-diving into a fundamental — and mega wasteful — part of the fashion business: manufacturing (reality check: it’s the third most polluting industry in the world). Reformation has always aimed to shift those statistics, so to be especially transparent about the resources used to produce each item of its clothing, the brand created a measurement system called Refscale that outlines exactly how much CO2, water and, down the road, other natural resources were used to bring them to life. Those numbers now appear on each product page to help inform customers of the environmental impact of their purchases, and the brand-new Low Carb Collection features pieces that rank the lowest of the low.

The dresses, tops, jumpsuits and matching sets in the line are just what you’d expect out of Reformation: flouncy ’70s-feeling styles with major attitude. Then of course, there’s the super-sustainable twists, like using LA-sourced fabrics including deadstock and Tencel, a handwash-safe fabric made of wood pulp, versus conventional cotton fabrics. “The Gwen Two Piece saves around 24 pounds of CO2 and 2,715 gallons of water compared with its cotton counterpart,” Reformation CEO Yael Aflalo told us in an email interview of the sexy criss-cross top and high-waisted pencil skirt combo. But that’s not even the line’s best performer: the flirty off-the-shoulder Mariana Dress saves 30 pounds of CO2 and 3,464 gallons of water… and don’t even get us started on the repurposed denim that saves 50% more H2O.

“I want people to know that living sustainably doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice your style or regular activities,” said Aflalo. “It’s about raising awareness around the simple ways and small steps that people can take to be an active participant in saving the planet,” like participating in Reformation’s #CarbChallenge campaign that asks people to post pictures with their fave yummy carb to highlight the gross one (carbon dioxide). Snapping a selfie with a bowl of spaghetti to promote a greener lifestyle may seem minescule in the scheme of things, but according to Aflalo, there’s no act too small when it comes to sustainability, “whether it be shopping locally, washing garments with cold water or donating and recycling old clothes and fabric. Awareness is the first (and hardest) step — from there, every little bit counts!” Bagels for breakfast, anyone?

What ways are you cutting your carbon footprint this Earth Month? Tell us which eco-conscious fashion brands are your fave in the comments below.

(Photos via Reformation)