What makes these linen Dungarees ‘ethical’?

I really wanted to get to the bottom of the ethical dungaree phenomena so I met with Laurie from Isle of Shee, an independent designer based near Edinburgh, and chatted with her about her collection. And in light of the recent Stacey Dooley documentary aired recently on the BBC regarding the impact of fast fashion on the environment, I wanted to talk more about cotton – vs – linen.

“I feel like we understand what plastic does to the earth but I had no idea what cotton was capable of.” Stacey Dooley

Ali: Let’s talk about dungarees Laurie, they are popping up everywhere right now. Why is this?

Laurie: Well, they are super comfortable, the ultimate garment that provides you with the feeling of wearing loungewear whilst looking super stylish at the same time.

People are looking for comfort in their clothes and dungarees provide the comfort of an oversized look whilst not looking like your wearing clothing that is FIVE sizes too big. Dungarees are also providing a statement look, to stand out from the crowd and be seen, and doing it in comfort.

They are pretty retro, we all like a little nostalgia and dungarees do it. They take you back, possibly to your childhood days, maybe back to the 90s MC Hammer days? Anyone can wear them, absolutely anyone! Any shape or size, any gender, any age.

At Woodland Gathering we can work with specific measurements, we know sizes vary vastly. Maybe you have a long torso? Short legs? Wide calves? Whatever your shape or size we can make them to fit. This is the beauty of custom-made as opposed to ready made, the garment is made FOR you and only you.

The HOY dungarees from Isle of Shee have been thoughtfully designed for the modern woman, maintaining the classic look with a feminine touch. They are made using 100% Oeko-tex certified European linen.

Why Linen?

We love natural textiles, linen is comfortable, functional, durable and sustainable.

 Linen vs Cotton. … The production of linen requires less water and fares better in terms of water toxicity. As a result, the environmental impact of the linen (flax) dungarees is considered to be lower than that of the cotton dungarees you may have seen flooding the market.

Offering temperature regulating properties linen is lightweight and dries quickly making it your perfect travelling partner. Linen has a beautiful natural way of crumpling, so no need to worry about ironing. Linen clothing is unfussy, elegant and give a classic timeless look. You want clothing that you can wear anywhere, any time regardless of seasons or events, take a walk in the woods, a meeting at work or out for dinner with friends.

Isle of Shee is a slow-fashion, slow-growing brand, committed to taking time with decisions, considering design, environmental impact, longevity and versatility of garments.

So, what sets Isle of Shee apart from other dunger brands?

Well – apart from the obvious environmental benefits of linen …

It’s all in the details, the HOY dungarees look almost as good on the inside as the outside, there are lots of special finishing touches adding to their charm and elegance such as french seam finishing, linen binding featuring a beautiful picot edge, contrasting pockets to name a few. This means you can have ‘turn-ups’ without looking scruffy – no messy seams!

Although you can buy them off the shelf, they are made especially and specifically for YOU to fit YOU. We are a small brand, not looking to make maximum profits to pay for some CEO’s third holiday home. (although the occasional break for a cup of tea would be nice). We just want to bring you the best possible garment available whilst we live a happy life doing so. As a brand – Isle of Shee is committed to having a low environmental impact and we use durable paper bags for mailing your garment (they are very pretty).

All of our garments are hand-made in Scotland, at home, by people who love the process of creating especially for you.

So, if you love ethical dungarees and fashion that is honest, transparent and about YOU then visit the store https://www.isleofshee.co.uk/ today. We are happy to answer any questions you have about our garments, we are very proud of them. Lots of love, Laurie. x

read more about Oeko-tex and organic standards here https://www.oeko-tex.com/en/ot_press/

watch Stacey Dooley BBC1 Fashion’s Dirty Secrets