When it comes to clothing, Pact clothing provides organic and affordable options. Here’s my honest review with pros and cons included. I also share an exclusive discount code with you to receive 15% off your first PACT purchase!

By: Tanya Clark

IN THIS POST

• Why sustainable clothing matters
• What is “fast fashion”?
• PACT Clothing review: T-shirt, maxi dress, jumpsuit
• Final verdict: pros + cons of PACT Clothing
• PACT Clothing discount: Get an exclusive 20% off!

Whether you’re a work-from-home warrior or your work consists of managing your family, getting dressed on the daily can actually impact your mental health. A Refinery 29 article called “A Case For Getting Dressed” claims that, “Even the act of getting dressed is directly tied to your mental health.”

To this point, Philip Eil, a writer for Vice wrote that getting dressed actually helped him during a low time in his life and that he “saw clothing as a kind of magic, whereby simply from wearing a certain combination of garments, [he] could get a tangible boost of confidence or energy.”

I reached out to my own therapist, Maya Lemberg, an Atlanta-based LPC (Licensed Professional Counselor), for perspective and she agrees that getting dressed definitely plays a role in how we feel. 

“I think for me, personally, the biggest benefit is feeling like I am going to work and that I still have the comfort and the stability of that routine and that there is also a differentiation between my home life and work life. It feels good to have that kind of division and it makes me feel uplifted to look in the mirror and see myself looking put together.”

Maya Lemberg, LPC

This set off a lightbulb in my mind: I made the decision for my own mental well-being to get dressed in clothing that not only made me feel good, but was also ethically and sustainably produced.

RELATED: 3 Organic Deodorants to Try Now and Tradlands clothing review.

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The argument for sustainable clothing

I don’t know about you, but not only does an item of clothing have to look good for me to want to buy it, but it also has to be classic, easily adaptable and sustainable.

The older I get, the less interested I am in fast fashion despite the low price tag. I mean, unethical, flimsy and short lived just aren’t what I’m considering a good investment at this time in my life.

RELATED: Check out my buying guide on how to shop for sustainable fashion.

What exactly is “fast fashion”?

Merriam-Webster defines it as “an approach to the design, creation, and marketing of clothing fashions that emphasizes making fashion trends quickly and cheaply available to consumers.”

It isn’t surprising that fast fashion became de rigueur when it comes to our clothing purchases. While many of us don’t want to support environmentally unsound industries, oftentimes price and convenience play a major role in determining where our wardrobe comes from.

It got me thinking: is it possible to wear clothes that are environmentally and ethically produced and, on top of that, affordable?

I was surprised to discover that the answer was a resounding YES!

RELATED: Interested in more sustainable ways to protect the planet? Check out our 13 plastic free beauty recs.

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PACT Organic Clothing review

Enter Pact, the leading brand in sustainable and ethical fashion. They describe themselves as being “practical, comfortable and easy because life isn’t always so.” I mean, talk about a tagline that resonates!

Pact is 100% organic, which means they don’t use any toxic dyes or chemicals and they use less water than other clothing manufacturers.

On top of that, they are “factory certified fairly traded” and guaranteed sustainable. This means that their cut and sew factories are “top tier in both social and environmental standards” and they are respectful to their employees and pay them what they deserve.

To be honest, this sounded a little too good to be true. Could I actually find some organic basics that looked awesome and casual, yet still put-together? Did such a wardrobe exist? Naturally, I had to order a few pieces to try for myself.

I window shopped their website for a couple of days before deciding on the Tank Jumpsuit, Market Maxi Dress (similar to the new maxi) and Lounge Tee. All of these items are their best-sellers with stellar reviews.

When my package arrived a few days later, I could hardly contain my excitement. Pajama pants begone! I was determined to look and feel better than I’d been feeling and looking for the last few days. And so I got to it.

SAVE: Use NEWKNEW15 for 15% off your first purchase!

Lounge Tee

I’m 5’7” and typically wear a small or medium depending on the brand. I got the Lounge Tee, which has an updated version here, in cinnamon, and paired it with black joggers, like the model on their website.

And let me tell you something.

The whole ensemble, while incredibly simple and unassuming, changed my entire mood. The 100% organic cotton fabric on both the top and bottoms felt like I was being wrapped in a cloud.

They were so airy and light and made me feel like I could hang out and homeschool the kids, do some arts and crafts, and run out to the market for some much-needed toilet paper if I needed to.

The Lounge Tee was so cool because of the way it draped on my body. A good t-shirt is surprisingly hard to find, but this particular top essentially ended my search for the perfect tee. It could also be dressed up with jeans and some simple jewelry to wear to brunch with the girls. Here’s my guide on shopping for sustainable jewelry.

Although I love this shirt a lot, I will say that the color kind of faded after the first wash. The cinnamon color was like a cross between a vibrant coral and a burnt sienna but after one cycle in the wash, the color kind of got muted. It’s not such a bad thing—in fact, the shirt just looks more worn in that vintage cool way. 

Pocket Maxi Dress

The next thing I tried on was the Maxi Dress (the exact style is sold out, but this one is close!). To be honest, maxi dresses that run straight up and down don’t really do it for me. I’m not a large person by any means but depending on what I’m wearing, I can look more hip-y than I am and these types of dresses tend to accentuate that part of my body.

Having said all of that, I was so pleasantly surprised that I actually loved the way this dress looked and felt on me.

Based on the reviews, I sized down to an XS for a more fitted look and I’m glad I did. This dress felt…dare I say it…sexy. There are two slits on each side that aren’t too high but show enough of the leg to be provocative.

RELATED: Your nontoxic personal care starter kit guide, featuring better beauty we trust.

But my favorite part about the Maxi Dress is actually the hip area! I took a closer look at what made this dress fit better than most maxi dresses I’ve tried. What I found was that they took careful consideration of how the dress was constructed. The hip area actually slightly comes out to account for the natural curves of a woman’s body so when the dress is on, it falls exactly how it’s supposed to instead of feeling taut in that area.

I feel like it was thoughtfully designed and that makes the dress a new favorite in my rotation. It would look cute with slip-on sneakers and a baseball cap for a farmers market run or picnic. It would even look great with flat sandals and oversized sunglasses for a casual daytime date with the hubs.

Again, though, after one wash cycle, I was disappointed to see the color fade slightly. Thankfully, there wasn’t much shrinkage but in the case of color loss, it made the black less black, but not quite charcoal so the dress just suddenly looked much older than it actually was.

Tank Jumpsuit

Finally, we’ve come to the Tank Jumpsuit. Allow me to start by saying I never met a jumpsuit I didn’t like. It’s a one-and-done outfit that can be dressed up or down with the right shoes and accessories. Which is why it breaks my heart to say that this was my least favorite of the pieces I ordered.

For starters, I ordered it in Sugar (no longer available), which looked to be an ivory color on the website but unfortunately, in real life, it looked more like a yellowed cream color. It sadly did not go well with my skin tone.

Again, the 100% organic cotton fabric was certainly a textural dream, but nothing about the way it fit flattered any part of my body. That said, it could still definitely pass as loungewear at home, as long as the mailbox was the farthest distance I’d go while wearing it.

RELATED: Should you try the MightyFix sustainable subscription service? YES!

The waistline felt awkward and uncomfortable and the length of the leg was in-between too long to be capris and too short to be pants. Such a shame! I wanted to love this one but maybe it will be a better fit for you!

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Final verdict on PACT Clothing

Overall, I was pretty happy with my Pact experience. As far as daily basics go, they are ahead of the game when it comes to sustainability and affordability.

However, there’s always room for improvement. Let’s talk overall pros and cons. I wasn’t happy that the colors faded so quickly and that the fit of the jumpsuit was just completely off. But I did love that they had a lot of options to choose from, including bundles of socks and undies along with men’s and kids’ apparel.

I am hopeful, though, that as they bring more awareness into the fashion industry, their quality will certainly improve. I feel that as the world continues to evolve and shoppers pay closer attention to what they wear and how their clothing purchases impact the world around them, retailers will be keener on making more conscientious and ethical decisions surrounding their products.

Reassessing what we have in our closet and choosing companies that value the importance of sustainability takes a little bit of legwork, but shopping at Pact is a great place to start!

Don’t forget! Save by using code NEWKNEW15 for 15% off your first purchase!