While many running brands are planning to move towards sustainability to lessen their environmental impact on the planet, one particular up-and-coming brand was built on it. Meet Fox & Robin – a B Corp. certified activewear brand that’s dedicated to ethical transparency and mitigating its effect on Earth’s ecosystems. 

Inspired by the story of Robin Hood, Fox & Robin was founded on the idea of standing up for what is right and for those without a voice. The activewear and running apparel brand holds itself to its mission by remaining transparent about every aspect of its journey, including disclosing its factory conditions to its customers.

“Ignorance is not bliss in the fashion industry,” says CEO Tommy Flaim.

Stories about unethical working conditions have become a frequent topic in the news, making it increasingly clear that many fashion brands are in the dark when it comes to the working conditions of the garment factories they use around the globe. Harsh labor conditions, unlivable wages and exploitation are commonplace and often get overlooked as brands focus on pushing out a large number of new products each season. In effort to break the standard, Fox & Robin now discloses its factory workers’ wages to its customers in order to promote fair labor and accountability. 

The brand does this by interacting directly with its factories to ensure its products are not made using unethical labor and includes hiring third-party auditors to work on the ground to keep sites in check. 

Although the company’s founders Flaim and John Henry Neuberger are fully aware of the treatment and compensation workers receive while sewing their products, the pair admit that there is still more work to be done to ensure garment workers are treated humanely. 

Part of the brand’s commitment to both its workers and the planet involves a slow-fashion model. You won’t find Fox & Robin pushing out a multitude of new styles each season, as the brand has chosen not to operate on a seasonal calendar. Instead, it chooses to focus on product quality by using sustainably sourced materials such as bamboo and recycled nylon. 

However, Fox & Robin’s eco-efforts don’t stop with the materials it uses in its apparel — the brand also includes sustainable packaging to ship its products, including carbon offsetting shipments to make them carbon neutral, using plastic-free packaging and including algae ink, a carbon-neutral ink, to design its packaging.

“Consumers are increasingly caring about sustainability,” says Flaim, who also points out that the company donates one percent of its sales to environmental NGOs selected by advisory board member Forrest Galante, who is a world-renowned conservationist. 

Making sure customers are aware of the various ways the company gives back to the planet is important to Flaim and Neuberger, who predict that future generations will be more conscious about how they shop than those who preceded them. 

“Sustainability is more expected than ever, especially for younger generations,” says Flaim. “Fashion has been going in the wrong direction and consumers care about this.”