Sustainable fashion is rising in popularity, and for good reason: the fashion industry is one of the world’s greatest sources of pollution. In years past, the phrase ‘sustainable fashion’ might have conjured up images of rough and shapeless tunics, but no more! With Past Life the Collective, you can be sustainable and fashionable. No compromise necessary.
{Sustainable Fashion with Past Life the Collective}
Disclaimer: A pair of the Siera Striped pants was provided to me at no cost for editorial consideration. All opinions are my own. Interview with Past Life founder Berkley Bering was conducted via email in July 2021. Responses have been lightly edited for clarity.
Editor’s note: As of August 31, 2021, Past Life the Collective has ceased business operations.
While the focus in sustainable clothing has typically been on using recycled fibres or low-waste production processes, Past Life the Collective does something completely unique: they use deadstock fabric. Large fashion houses purchase fabric, make their clothes, and then typically burn or throw out any leftover textiles. This excess material is called deadstock, and Past Life the Collective uses exclusively deadstock fabrics to make their clothing.
Other sustainable and equitable initiatives in place at Past Life:
- Additional fabric made from organic cotton and natural dyes
- No zippers (since they can’t be recycled); all closures are done with buttons
- For every 2 trees harvested to make buttons, Past Life plants 3
- Compostable packaging
- Hang tags are made using fabric scraps
- Education of customers on sustainable washing practices
- Percentage of profits donated to various charities each quarter
- Local manufacturing by Clothery Studio and Manus Fabrics
- Workers paid living wage & registered apprenticeships available to train new clothiers
- Take-back program (more details below!)
The Siera Striped Pant
I was lucky enough be sent a pair of Past Life’s Siera Striped Pant (on sale for $60 USD) to check out, and loved how easy they were to style. The striped fabric and oversized button closures are adorable, and the elasticized high waistband helps achieve the perfect fit. A wide-leg, slightly cropped silhouette keeps the look fresh and makes it easy to dress the pants up or down depending on your shoes. Fabulous vintage conductor vibes!
*Note: PLC is a Colorado-based company. While they do ship to Canada, you will have to pay any duties or taxes. Make sure to factor that into your mental budget when shopping!
10 Questions with Berkley Bering, Founder of Past Life
1. You mention on your site that the idea for Past Life came to you while meditating. Why did you choose a clothing brand as your way of helping the environment and reducing impact?
Clothing is something that people will always consume. So if we can educate our consumers to dress/shop responsibly, it’s likely that it will trickle into other parts of their lives and into their community too.
2. What sets Past Life apart from other sustainable clothing brands?
Our radical transparency and that we put people/our planet before profit. Yes, we’re a clothing brand, but we are so much more than that.
3. A percentage of profits from Past Life are donated to charities and other organizations. What are some of the causes you’ve been able to support, and why did you choose those specific organizations?
The beauty of owning a small brand is being able to give back to causes and charities that are needed and relevant at the time. Like when there was a mass shooting in my hometown, Boulder, and we were immediately able to give a percentage of sales to Moms Demand Action.
Editor’s Note: Additional donations include Protect Our Winters, The James Beard Foundation, Girl Be Heard
4. Why did you decide to use deadstock material for your clothing?
The main reason is because other brands decided to “trash” fabric and just put it to waste. I love that we’re a resourceful brand and can turn someone’s trash into our treasure.
5. What design and production challenges does the use of deadstock create?
This is such a great question. There are so many challenges! With deadstock, the width of each fabric roll varies so when going to cut out the patterns it is very tricky. The production process is much more tedious because of this. Also, there are more fabric flaws with deadstock like small holes or random dye etc. Overall, deadstock can be super hard to work with- but we think it’s worth it!
6. Using deadstock means small batch, of course. Roughly how many of each clothing item are you able to make, typically?
Between 8- 250. 250 is on the higher end. In our first collection we made 8 dresses in a certain fabric. So thereare some people out there that only share the same item with 7 others. Pretty cool.
7. Your sizing currently extends to XXL/18, which is a great start! Do you have plans to expand the range further? If not, why?
We are working on expanding to size 20 right now, which isn’t much but it is still another size. It will be easier to expand size ranges as our audience grows. We are still a very small brand trying to find our ride or die community!
8. One of the things I love about Past Life is your “cost breakdown” receipt for each item (pictured above). Why was it important for you to give customers these details?
Thank you! We do it so that consumers learn the cost of an item and how much ethical labor really costs. We also do it because few brands are doing it, which will help customers demand more transparency from other places they shop.
9. You have a take-back program and are working towards Cradle to Cradle certification. Can you expand on how those programs work and why they’re important?
Once a person is done with their PLC item (hopefully got a few years of use out of it) they can ship it back to us and we will repurpose it or recycle it for them and then they will get a credit to keep shopping with us. We want to avoid landfills and keep being creative / resourceful.
10. What’s the best thing someone can do to reduce the ecological impact of their clothing? (Aside from buy Past Life pieces, of course!)
Wear what you already have. Reinvent your closet by naturally dying pieces or switching the buttons on pants! Also, participate in a clothing swap or start one with your friends!