Alright – let’s address the elephant in the room. Why call a Georgia-based company “Coldlander"?
(If that wasn’t on your mind, well hey! Just go back to shopping for natural fiber clothing…move along…nothing to see here…!)
The Story: I hate it when stuff breaks
Alright, the quick version: I used to live in Washington State and was an avid motorcyclist and skier. Doing that stuff, I became interested in outerwear design: I had buckles and zippers break on me, wanted modifications, etc., so I designed stuff that worked for me. I had more bad ideas than good ones, but the mass-produced stuff I bought kept breaking, and I realized their bad ideas actually got made. And sold. And I bought those things. Hmmm. One day in January, taking the motorcycle to work, I half-jokingly came up with the name “Coldlander.”
Seventeen years later, I circled back to these ideas. I started off hoping to make durable, reliable outerwear. I knew something about the need for sustainable clothing, but the reality of the apparel industry proved to have big problems I’d never expected.
Apparently, Fashion Doesn't Wear Well on the Environment
- The fashion industry (including outerwear) contributes from 2% to as much as 10% of the world’s carbon emissions.
Holy Toledo.
Cars? Yeah. Cows? Okay. But...pants? What?
But wait, there’s more.
- Polyfluoroalkyl substances (a.k.a. “PFAS” coatings for waterproofing) and microfibers, both of which come off of your clothing just from doing the laundry, get into the ecosystem and contribute to disease and other issues up and down the food chain.
- Even clothing made from natural fibers can be made using chemicals that are harmful to the environment.
- 100% sustainable fashion collections are certainly out there, BUT:
o Their products can be too expensive for the average American consumer;
o Many sustainable options focus on trendy items, but don’t necessarily meet the needs of everyday essentials for the office or a workplace where more durable apparel is needed.
To add insult to injury:
- Mislabeled products come up when you search “sustainable” or “organic” clothing that aren’t really sustainable OR organic, but they appear in search engine results anyway.
These are big problems with few viable solutions. Coldlander’s approach is different.
Coldlander's Approach
My goal is to find and offer affordable, green fashion and sustainable clothing already available through dropshipping manufacturers and list it on this site. That keeps things affordable for you. Alternatively, I’ll list apparel products that are made from mostly natural fibers so when they’re discarded, they won’t stay in landfills for the next six hundred years.
There are almost no garments for sale on Coldlander.com that are over 50% polyester or which contain PFAS. That’s right: no PFAS clothing. I just won’t sell them.
I seek out affordable, eco-friendly clothing for everyday wear, to include sustainable fashion brands with classic styles and the best natural fiber alternatives to synthetic clothing. Ideally, I want affordable ethical clothing brands as I work my way back to outerwear: durable, PFAS-free outerwear made from natural materials to meet my company’s ethos: versatile, durable, sustainable.
This is just the beginning. I believe Coldlander, like other small businesses, can create change that larger corporations won’t—unless someone leads the way. Real progress starts small, and we’re making it happen, one garment at a time.