Fabletics is not upfront with its sustainability or ethical practices. In fact, they run customers around in circles before offering even more vague answers. When you search for information online about Fabletics sustainability and Fabletics ethical practices, you get about 75,000 hits — that’s pretty crazy, considering that when you search “Fabletics” you’ll get about a four million hits. So what’s going on here?

I jumped down this black hole about sustainability and ethical practices after my brother and I had a conversation about Nike child labor and sweatshops. I was horrified. Now, I own only one pair of shoes by Nike, but I adore them. I won’t be getting rid of them, but I probably won’t be buying a brand new replacement pair.

So while I felt comfortable with my lack of financial support for Nike, I realized that what I could do was look at the companies and brands that I regularly purchase from. I’ve been a subscriber to Fabletics for nearly two years now, and most of my workout gear is from them (I work out nearly every day whether I’m doing aerial or CrossFit). I love Fabletics. Kate Hudson and her crew of celebrity designers sell the brand so well.

Is Fabletics Sustainable and Do They Have Ethical Practices?

I searched the Fabletics website for sustainability and ethical practices. They have one page that focuses on the environment. While that’s kinda good, if you read through the page, you’ll discover that it seems like just a general nod to the fact that climate change is bad, and we can do better by the environment. Okay….

While I think the environment is so important, what I wanted to see was clear cut information about their efforts to value their people from the first person who chooses the material to the person who assembles the product to the person who sells the product to the person who finally purchases the product, but no, none of that was present.

Fabletics encourages fast fashion with monthly updates for your athletic wear. Their pricing is attractive.

But where is the information on their ethical practices? Do they treat their employees well? Where do they get their materials for the clothing? Do they use sweat shops? What about child labor? Are they able to sell athletic wear at such prices because they’re capitalizing on slave labor?

I had questions.

Once upon a time, I worked for lawyers. One thing that I learned from them is that you need to create a paper trail. So while I would have *maybe* gotten more answers faster by just calling Fabletics, I chose to use their chat feature.

So yes, the truth is that there has been information out in the world about Nike, Reebok, Converse, and so many other brands for a long time. But this stuff is uncomfortable, and it’s a LOT easier to ignore that the brands I admire might treat people poorly. Letting myself feel the injustice and ugliness was very uncomfortable because it made me realize I don’t want to support companies that don’t value people (beyond their purchasing customers).

I still don’t quite understand why Fabletics keeps their manufacturing process secret. Does anyone else find that SHADY AF????

Yes, so I took this chat to Instagram first because I know that many people within my communities have subscriptions to Fabletics, and I know that many of my friends and followers CARE about people from that stranger who works in the factor to assemble Fabletics products to the Fabletics employee who works in one of their few brick and mortar stores. The response by my friends had me continuing my questioning of Fabletics.

I’m not an individual with a lot of power. I don’t have celebrity power behind me. I don’t even have that many followers. But after I started asking Fabletics about their ethical practices and sustainability, I know of 2 people who chose to end their subscriptions.

It’s not much, but dollars add up.

My momma always said I was stubborn. And so I exercised that character trait with Fabletics…I wasn’t going to forget to check with them. Guys, I wrote it into my planner so I would follow-up.

Can I just point out again HOW weird it was that Fabletics asked me to reach out to them for the results of my question about their ethical practices and sustainability? Like, come on, no. As a company, it is Fabletics’ responsibility to reach out to me with the results for my inquiry.

When I checked in on the results of my question about the Fabletics manufacturing process, they had nothing for me. Meanwhile, I’d been researching other athletic wear companies, and Wodbottom, a recommendation from another friend, responded to my inquiry about their manufacturing process within an hour! They told me what companies they partnered with (StarTee Apparel and Bella/Canvas) and that the factories they use in China and Columbia are inspected for safe working conditions and fair wages. It was easy to check in on these companies.

From the information that I was able to find about Wodbottom, their manufacturing process and their mission of helping women in domestic abuse situations, I am comfortable supporting this company, and I look forward to buying from them!

Anyway, Fabletics finally sent me an email about the results of my inquiry. Please note that this email did not allow me to email them back with more questions — if I had more questions, I had to go back to the chat… seriously yo?

As you can see, this email barely gave me ANY information about Fabletics manufacturing process, nor did it give information about Fabletics ethical practices. Woof, this was DISAPPOINTING. And guys, it’s silly, but I cried because I was so disappointed.

I was so disappointed that this glossy company didn’t seem to care about the people that makes this glossy company actually possible. I cried because Fabletics surely has the budget to pay fair wages to even the factory workers. I cried because Kate Hudson and Demi Lovato talk about caring about people…and they’re the faces of Fabletics, a place that says their ethical practices are a “trade secret.” Excuse me, what?

Truthfully, I do hate making phone calls, and to end your subscription with Fabletics, you have to call. I spoke with a nice man in the Philippines, and within five minutes, my subscription was canceled.

Fabletics, I won’t be back until you care about your people from the inside out.

In talking to others about the disappointing ethical practices of large companies, I found out that some people responded to this information by getting rid of all of their clothing by certain brands. I get it. I do. That was one of my first impulses too.

How To Become an Ethical Shopper

Instead, I’ll be keeping my Fabletics, my Nike, my Reebok, etc…and every time I wear them, I’ll remember that I want to make different choices and support brands that care about the world and people in more than just word. From now on, I’ll be voting with my dollar in a new way. Before I drop money, especially a lot of money, on a product, I’ll be researching the company’s ethical practices, sustainability, and commitment to the environment.

It seems like a lot of work, but I’m not alone in this. Many resources exist to help consumers make smarter decisions such as Goodonyou.eco, Ethical Consumer, and The Good Trade. You can also identify the places you tend to shop and methodically check their processes.

Also, if you’d like to add a podcast to your lineup, check out Eco Go Go. The host, Elyse, breaks down the vocabulary for becoming more eco-conscious, and her 30-minute episodes offer information and small tips for slowly making lifestyle changes to support our communities and therefore world.

Some athletic companies that I’ll be checking out and supporting in the future with my purchases will be Pact, PrAna, Wodbottom,and others.

Also, I know it’s SO EASY to become overwhelmed in the face of this information. For a long time, I didn’t feel like it was financially possible for me to care about ethical and sustainable practices. I now know that’s not true.

Choose one thing that is important to you, whether it’s ethical practices, US employee treatment, sustainability, or the environment, and try to use that value as a way to measure your purchasing decisions. Once that becomes an easy habit, add a new value factor for your purchasing decisions.