This local brand is making sustainable, ethical clothing a lot more accessible

Have you heard of Candid Clothing?

Not only does it have super affordable clothes (less than P1,000!), Candid Clothing  subscribes to ethical and sustainable practices.

Founder Samantha Dizon grew up with a seamstress grandmother in the garments capital of the Philippines, Taytay, Rizal, allowing her to witness just how difficult the conditions were for garment workers. 

Witness: Garment workers would usually only get paid P5 to P15 per clothing piece without benefits. They were required to work 12-16 hours a day.

Vowing to do differently with Candid Clothing, the 25-year-old entrepreneur ensures proper compensation for her team of six garment workers by paying them an estimate of P16,000 a month each. They all have benefits, are given literacy training, and enjoy a flexible working schedule.

To make her brand a lot more ethical, Samantha rescues rejected rolls of fabric and turns them into fashionable pieces, limiting the brand's environmental footprint.

"There's a lot of resources already available, which is why we don't see the need to import pa or to bring in new fabric for our collection. There's so much that we can already use now," she said, adding the practice makes their pieces "cost competitive with fast fashion brands."

The Economics graduate from Ateneo de Manila believes "sustainable fashion is doable. It's not supposed to be inaccessible to common people," which is why Candid Clothing pieces are all below P1,000.

But that's not all. She believes in "collaboration over competition," so she opened her social enterprise for manufacturing, for people who also want to start their own sustainable fashion brands.

There are now businesses under their wing, selling streetwear, children's wear, and plus size, making sustainable clothing more accessible to different kinds of people.

Samantha told GMA News Online that the average worth of inventory their clients who manufacture start with P15,000 to P30,000 worth.

The young entrepreneur said she makes sure that she maintains a proper balance between "social" and "enterprise" by "giving the same importance to your social impact and profitability."

Samantha is not only making ripple effects through partnerships, she also does workshops for aspirants who want to start their own sustainable apparel business.

Candid Clothing is a participant of of BPI Sinag, BPI Foundation's annual business competition that support local social enterprises, they will also give cash grants to its Top 10 social enterprise awardees. — LA, GMA News

Check out their website.