Eco Fashion Brand is Upcycling Over 100,000 Sweaters Every Year - Slow Fashion

In this video, we meet Julia Grieve, the founder of preloved, which is a Toronto-based eco-fashion brand that creates clothing using second-hand vintage wool sweaters, rolls of deadstock fabric, and other sustainably sourced materials.

Preloved was founded in 1995 and has been upcycling and reusing an average of 100,000 sweaters each year. These secondhand sweaters are usually destined for the landfill, but preloved buys them from rag house clothing sorters and deconstructs them into fabric they can use to design new sweaters.

In addition to sourcing sustainable materials for all of their clothes, the brand has also made a conscious decision to manufacture their clothing in Canada instead of outsourcing the work overseas. Their clothes are made by people who are paid a good wage and who have a positive and safe working environment.

Mat and I were impressed with the incredible work that preloved does to design and create clothing with minimal impact on the environment, and without exploiting it's workers.

We wrote a blog post with tips about how to create an ethical wardrobe here:

You can also check out the incredible clothing line made by preloved here:

Thanks for watching!

Mat & Danielle

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Music & Song Credits:
All music in this video was composed, performed, and recorded by Mat of Exploring Alternatives.

[michelleisplanning]

I want to hug that women. She's truly making a difference!

[monsta]

I made a challenge since the new years to not but anything new except underwear and food unless it's second handed. To my surprise it isn't even hard. It is extremely easy in fact. All I have to do is to be open to the idea I might need to repaint a drawer or sew a line on a pair of pants from time to time. Though I still haven't found myself needing to do that yet, 6 months in.

[zuzannahelena]

I wish there were more brands like this one! Great job Preloved, hopefully others will follow

[Onegirlonesuitcase]

I have had this idea of setting a goal to make 50% (or maybe 70%) of my clothes myself and this video really spark that idea again, maybe I should try it:)

[kellyclark]

Amazing video highlighting an amazing company. LOVE Preloved and all the good they do. Their clothes also fit THE BEST.

[kathyhurrle]

Very interesting! We need to slow down fashion. I'm from the US and when I was a kid stores would put away clothes after the season was over and put them back out the next year. If you didn't mind waiting you get an outfit for a better price the second year than you could the first year it was available. I'm just thankful I've learned what my personal style is and for the capsule wardrobe. I no longer look at shopping as therapy and never will again.

[lorethehobbit]

So good! I hope when i’m older I can work at a company like this, one that is really trying to make a difference.

[francineinsogna]

i absolutely love and adore what your company is doing!!!! this is only the second company ive seen pop up on youtube about this and it is incredibly inspiring!! thank you guys for what you do! and thank you to anyone doing similar things at home!!

[gwynt]

I wear my clothes for 20 years or more and repair the ones that have tears and rips. Also I repurpose my clothes eg. I cut T-shirts at the sleeves and add a skirt to the top making another top or dress and the bottom which is usually stained I make into T-shirt yarn and crocheting them into bath mats which are washable and reusable.

[RachelSchell]

OMG! I could sort clothes all day! My dream job. I love what she's doing here!

[sunnypumkin]

I have follies you guys since you started here on YouTube! Now 96+ thousand followers! KUDOS!! LOVE EVERY VIDEO!

[MyGreenCloset]

Thank you for sharing this story! Preloved is such an inspiring brand!

[skyrocketenglishclass]

What an awsome woman. I've stopped buying excess clothes because of the impact this industry has on the planet. Now I'll only buy something to replace an item that has worn out. I've never felt happier or more confident about my wardrobe.

[aubryhall]

This is really amazing, what a great thing you're doing!

[Emergency_Confetti]

If this would be available in my country, I'd definitely buy these clothes! Amazing.

[noniek]

Thank you so much for showing that this is happening. Also for the Earthship house video!! Fashion is a difficult thing to step out of so it is just so great that someone is finding a very real solution !!

[AnnaHerman]

I like Eco Fashion videos when they tell you whats Eco About the clothes. Good job.

[russwelday]

Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.

[arckocsog]

It's a great idea, I mostly buy used clothes. I don't really like the final result, though, it too hippiish for me. But I'm sure many do, which is great.

[jessamygoddard]

What an amazing lady and business! Take care xxx