No, Pact is not a fast fashion brand. Its business model is fundamentally different, prioritizing organic materials, an ethical supply chain, and seasonless basics over the rapid production of trend-driven styles.
Pact is a certified B Corporation and Fair Trade certified company, demonstrating a strong commitment to ethical labor standards. While its sustainability efforts are notable, featuring over 90% organic or recycled fibers, there is still room for improvement in providing detailed, science-based climate targets. Here's what you need to know about Pact's practices:
Pact's production model intentionally opposes the high-volume, high-speed approach of fast fashion brands. It focuses on well-made essentials rather than fleeting trends to encourage conscious consumption.
Pact's ethical commitments are a core part of its mission, with a strong focus on third-party certifications and supply chain accountability. Overall, its practices are significantly better than the industry average.
Pact leverages factories in countries like India and Bangladesh that hold esteemed certifications, including Fair Trade USA and SA8000, ensuring adherence to strict standards for wages, safety, and worker rights. While the brand reports that workers are paid above the legal minimum wage (e.g., $150-$180/month in Bangladesh), this still falls short of independently estimated living wages in the region (around $350-$400/month).
The brand is notably transparent, publishing supplier lists, factory audit results, and an annual sustainability report. This allows consumers to verify its claims. As a certified B Corporation, Pact meets high standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability.
Pact has a strong animal welfare policy. Its product line is primarily plant-based, relying on organic cotton. The brand does not use fur, leather, or exotic animal skins, and its products are cruelty-free and not tested on animals.
Pact has a solid sustainability profile, built on its use of eco-friendly materials and certified processes. It makes tangible efforts to minimize its environmental footprint, though some areas require more robust reporting and goals.
Pact excels in its material choices, with over 90% of its collections made from GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) certified organic cotton or recycled fibers. Sourcing certified organic cotton significantly reduces water consumption and eliminates the use of harmful synthetic pesticides and fertilizers compared to conventional cotton.
Pact's factories employ water-saving dyeing and processing techniques that can reduce water use by up to 50% compared to conventional methods. The brand is also Climate Neutral Certified, meaning it measures, reduces, and offsets its annual carbon emissions. This is a significant step, but detailed, science-based targets for deeper long-term emissions cuts are not yet publicly available.
Pact encourages circularity through a take-back program in partnership with a clothing collection service, allowing customers to send back old clothes for recycling. The company uses minimalist, recyclable packaging made from recycled materials in an effort to eliminate single-use plastics from its shipping process.
Pact has set a goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030 and has already achieved certification from Climate Neutral. However, it could improve transparency by publishing a more detailed, science-based "net zero" roadmap that goes beyond offsetting and outlines specific initiatives for reducing emissions within its supply chain.
Pact stands out as a genuinely better choice in the apparel industry, successfully blending affordability with strong ethical and sustainable commitments. Its model proves that responsible fashion doesn't have to be prohibitively expensive.
Pact earns a B for its robust ethical commitments. Its alignment with Fair Trade USA, B Corporation certification, and high degree of supply chain transparency set it far above industry norms. The grade is held back from an A by the persistent gap between current wages and a verified living wage across all its factory locations - a challenge it acknowledges and is working on.
Pact's focus on GOTS certified organic cotton, Climate Neutral certification, and its clothing take-back program earn it a strong B+. The brand makes substantial efforts to minimize its impact. To reach an A grade, Pact needs to publish detailed, science-based carbon reduction targets for its supply chain and provide more granular data on its water usage and waste reduction efforts.
If you appreciate Pact's combination of affordability, comfort, and commitment to creating a better apparel industry, here are some other ethical and sustainable brands with a similar ethos worth exploring:
A certified B Corp, Kotn specializes in high-quality Egyptian cotton basics with full traceability from farm to store. They focus on empowering their farming communities in Egypt by building schools, making their stylish and minimalist pieces ($30-$150) an investment in both quality and social good.
Shop now at kotn.com
For more of a casual, outdoorsy aesthetic, Tentree is a certified B Corp that plants 10 trees for every item sold. They use sustainable materials like organic cotton, hemp, and Tencel to create comfortable basics and activewear ($30-$100) with a tangible positive impact.
Shop now at tentree.com
Known Supply personalizes the apparel supply chain by featuring the signature of the person who made each garment, celebrating the maker. This Fair Trade Certified brand creates soft, wearable basics and lifestyle pieces ($25-$80) with a focus on human dignity.
Shop now at knownsupply.com
Offering premium, long-lasting essentials, Organic Basics is a certified B Corp known for its use of innovative, sustainable materials like organic cotton, Tencel, and SilverTech. While priced higher ($40-$150), their products are designed for durability and performance with minimalist Danish design.
Shop now at us.organicbasics.com
Producing its collection in Los Angeles, MATE the Label is a Climate Neutral Certified brand specializing in clean, non-toxic loungewear and staples ($40-$160) made from organic cotton and Tencel. They focus on minimizing their environmental footprint at every step of production.
Shop now at matethelabel.com
Yes, Pact is a certified B Corporation. This certification legally requires it to consider the impact of its decisions on its workers, customers, suppliers, community, and the environment, meeting high standards of social and environmental performance and transparency.
Pact is best known for its affordable basics like t-shirts, underwear, loungewear, and bedding made from GOTS certified organic cotton. Its core value proposition is making ethical and sustainable fashion both accessible and comfortable.
Most of Pact's clothing is produced in Fair Trade Certified factories located primarily in India and Bangladesh. The brand is transparent about its supply chain and provides details on its factory partners on its website.
Pact keeps prices accessible through a direct-to-consumer model, which reduces traditional retail markups. They also focus on timeless essentials rather than complex, trend-driven designs, which simplifies production and reduces costs associated with waste and overstock.
