Launch You'll Love: Zady.com Wants You to Think Before You Shop

It’s easy to get lost in "fast fashion," where we jump on every trend that passes through and settle for cheap, poorly made clothes as a result. In this day and age, where speed and efficiency (regardless of quality) are sought after, two entrepreneurs, Soraya Darabi and Maxine Bedat (pictured, inset), are looking to do the complete opposite with Zady.com, a shopping and lifestyle site that embodies the burgeoning movement of socially conscious consumers who want timeless, quality products.

“In the same way that Whole Foods discovered great sustainable foods, we wanted to create a fashion destination with beautiful, sustainably made products,” Bedat told InStyle.com. “When we turned to our own closets, it was a big mystery behind the doors. We were hearing about disasters in factories around the world [like the April collapse of a factory in Bangladesh, which killed over 1,000 people], and it made us uncomfortable.” And so Darabi and Bedat have dedicated themselves to finding brands that have integrity and offer clothes made by people who are treated fairly. Every product featured comes with a robust brand story and behind-the-scenes images or footage (Tennessee denim brand imogene + willie images are featured above).

When it comes down to it, Darabi and Bedat want to shop and preserve clothes like their grandparents did—keeping clothing nice and mending it when it's torn, a mentality that’s been lost on this generation, they say. (The sentiment is echoed in the brand's name Zady, which is Yiddish for "grandfather" and an Arabic girl's name for prosperity.) “We want people to look at fashion differently. We hope that the clothing people wear will resonate and resound of consciousness that they’ll have for the rest of their lives,” Darabi said. Read up on each brand, shop globally on the “Origins” virtual map, and pick up quality pieces, priced between $15 and $600, on Zady.com. Five percent of all proceeds go to The Bootstrap Project, a non-profit that supports artisans around the world. Plus, check out all the launches we love.

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