Why we love HELPSY:
HELPSY is a curated fashion site where you can shop by item, designer or HELPSY quality: a list of 13 different ethical categories including cruelty free, eco-friendly materials and fair wage.If you’re a fashion junkie but also want to make sure your clothes are responsibly sourced and produced, this is the site for you! Everything in the collection is 100 percent ethical and the designers of each and every piece are dedicated to ushering positive social impact into the fashion industry. HELPSY makes it possible to not only shop current styles and designers, but to make sure that every purchase you make is igniting social change. While they don’t discourage purchasing typical eco-friendly fashion–you know, those items made from recycled hemp, bamboo, and organic cotton– they want you to know that ethical designs can be just as edgy and trend savvy as those you see on the runway.
The mission:
HELPSY’s mission is to remove the idea of “crunchy lifestyles and yoga pants [that] come to mind when you think of ethical fashion.” The company argues that a product is ethical if it successfully falls under four or more of the following categories: non-disposable and well-made, eco-friendly materials, eco-friendly design techniques, fair trade and fair wage, handmade, profits go to philanthropy, recycled, cruelty-free, locally produced, locally sourced materials, upcycled, vintage or secondhand, or made in small quantities.
The founder’s story:
Founded in March 2013 by Rachel Kibbe, an Ohio native and NYC transplant, HELPSY was a labor of love. Kibbe, a former student of Parsons School of Design and an Alexander Wang and Jack Spade apprentice, felt that it was necessary to create a platform that encouraged positive social change in the fashion industry. HELPSY proves that ethical consumerism and fashion can be mutually exclusive and that “a more ethical industry doesn’t have to sacrifice visual appeal.” Kibbe hopes that the more people who start buying ethical garments, the quicker the fashion industry will respond and adapt to this demand. By committing to buying eco-friendly clothing, she hopes that the “fast-fashion”–cheap clothes made by mass market chains often with questionable worker conditions and unsavory environmental practices– will die out and be replaced by more conscious production.
Products we love:
Nomad Tribe ICA Green Tank Top, Cotton with Hand Woven Alpaca Wool Pocket $32 USD
HELPSY qualities: fair trade, cruelty-free, made in small quantities, handmade, non-disposable and well made, local material sourcing.
Passion Lillie Ava Gardner Dress $76 USD
HELPSY qualities: cruelty-free, eco-friendly design production, fair trade/wage, made in small quantities, non-disposable and well made.
1964 Threads Frida Khalo Selfie Tee, Made in the USA $39 USD
HELPSY qualities: cruelty-free, made in small quantities, local production (NYC), non-disposable and well-made.
About the Writer
Feature photo via Spades and Silk