Is Loud Bodies Ethical + Sustainable?

Loud Bodies is known for its beautiful, fairytale-eque dresses and inclusive size range. But is it sustainable? Here’s what you should know.

Note: This post is part of my Sustainable or Not? series that explores brands’ sustainability claims. Since Loud Bodies is a smaller brand, this post will be shorter since there will be fewer claims to unpack, and since small businesses automatically have a smaller environmental impact. Check out the other posts in this series for more breakdowns!

Loud Bodies’ Sustainability + Ethics

Environmental Measures

Loud Bodies uses mainly natural and sustainable fabrics like linen, organic cotton, EcoVero, and TENCEL.

Some products do use conventional cotton and viscose, however, which are considered more resource-intensive fabrics. There is a lot of misinformation surrounding cotton’s sustainability (or lack thereof), but conventional cotton often involves pesticides and is linked to poor labor conditions. Viscose is made from wood pulp, and its production often involves toxic chemicals.

The brand reduces waste by saving all fabric scraps with the intention of turning them into pillows for animal shelters, which is pretty cool.

Once sold, the pieces are wrapped in recycled paper and shipped in recycled poly bags. Each shipment is carbon offset through DHL. 

They approach sustainability pretty holistically, especially for a small brand, which is great to see. One improvement would be making the products more circular, such as implementing a take-back or repair program.

Labor Ethics

Loud Bodies is based in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. The pieces are sewn by two seamstresses who are paid twice the living wage.

Patricia handles everything else in the business, so I will assume that she treats herself and pays herself fairly (though I’m sure running a business can be brutal).

Ethics-wise, Loud Bodies is pretty transparent and fair. I’d just like to learn more about the supply chain and where the fabrics are made. 

Screenshot of the Loud Bodies About page

Social Responsibility

As mentioned, Loud Bodies does create pillows from fabric scraps and donates them to animal shelters.

Since their pieces are pricier, Loud Bodies does gift a few pieces each month to those who can’t afford them otherwise. You can also buy a “fairy godmother” gift card to help fund the program.

They also just came out with a more affordable line, with pieces around the $100 range. While this isn’t the conventional definition of “affordable,” it is 2-3 times less expensive than most of their other pieces. We also have to keep in mind that these pieces are made with more conscious materials by fairly-paid workers (so it’s not right to compare this to fast fashion prices).

Overall, it’s good to see a brand doing their best to make their pricing and products more accessible. In fact, the founder states: “I think that one of the most important pillars of running a sustainable and ethical business is not hoarding resources, nor wealth, but redistributing them; first and foremost with the people who make it possible for said business to run, so our employees and then further.”

Inclusivity

One of Loud Bodies’ core missions is size inclusivity, with their size range going from XXS-10XL.

They also employ a diverse group of models, in terms of ethnicity, size, and disability.

While they don’t seem to specifically make adaptive clothing for disabled people, they do make custom pieces at no extra cost. 

Animal Welfare

Loud Bodies does not use any animal products in their pieces.

The Bottom Line

Overall, Loud Bodies embodies the values of the sustainability movement, and I’d recommend it as a brand. I don’t have an affiliate link for them, but you can shop them over on the Loud Bodies website.

If you wish to support this series, you’re always welcome to buy me a virtual coffee. 

Let us know what you thought of the clothing if you’ve ever purchased Loud Bodies, and feel free to suggest other brands for this series!

Learn more about sustainable fashion in these posts:

Sustainable or Greenwashing? How to Evaluate Fashion Brands
Common Misconceptions About Sustainable Fashion