Buy less... but more sustainably

At Helmers Magasin, everything is handpicked with the heart. But also with a head that has long thought that it should be much easier to choose the good and support conscientious rather than unscrupulous producers.

As retailers and consumers, we have a voice when we shop. By demanding, curating and buying decent things, we reward those who make a bigger effort and make a difference for the climate, the environment and people. We show that it pays to adapt - even if it is a long road that also requires political action.

So it's a no thanks to Made in China. No thanks to ten 'drops' a year. No thanks to the requirement to buy a whole lot of stuff a hundred years in advance, which ends up on dusty shelves for just as long. No thanks to brands that pride themselves on being committed to sustainability, but in reality contribute nothing but their own success and undermine trust in the entire clothing and textile industry.

Fortunately, more and more people are saying YES THANK YOU. The vast majority of brands in Helmers carry at least one of the recognized organic labels, such as GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard), the EU's Ecolabel, the Nordic Swan Ecolabel or Oeko-tex. (Note that Oeko-tex does not mean organic, as the name suggests - you can read more about that here) .

Clothes and items can also be considered without being organic - if, for example, they are made from recycled or surplus materials, are vintage/secondhand finds or have been left over after, for example, a store closure.

Brands that have made the effort to become B-Corp certified get a head start. Production within the EU also gives points. Focus on equality, diversity, neurodivergence and improving difficult living conditions for the world's poorest also counts, of course. Craftsmanship, artistic originality and high aesthetics have a special place.

Doubts often arise: For example, is it sustainable to buy a bag made from recycled plastic from soda bottles if it was perhaps produced under unethical conditions and flown here from the other side of the world?

Helmer doesn't always have the answers, but he asks many critical questions of producers. They should note that there is an increased demand for greater responsibility in all parts of the production chain, with a focus on quality rather than growth.

As I said, we as retailers and consumers can create action by taking action ourselves. And every time you buy an organic undershirt from, for example, a good Danish brand handpicked for Helmers Magasin, you probably buy one less from, for example, Zara, Uniqlo and H&M (which, by the way, is also behind Arket, Weekday, COS, & Other Stories).

They're unlikely to notice until there are a lot of us who do it. But if the quality, service and responsibility are significantly higher, and the price is surprisingly reasonable, then you will - every time you jump into the shirt - be able to raise a small internal flag for your personal micro-protest against the behemoths who drive trucks of new clothes directly to the incinerator without blinking an eye, blindly turning away from a world in flames.