Native Youth

Native Youth is headquartered in Manchester, England. The brand works with manufacturers in Turkey, India, Pakistan and China. To ensure their clothes are produced in ethical conditions, Native Youth only works with manufacturers registered on the SEDEX trade service platform. SEDEX is an organisation that aims to improve working conditions in global production chains. Part of the way they do this is by carrying out checks at registered factories. 

Unfortunately, because Native Youth doesn’t share information about their manufacturers, COSH! cannot verify whether these manufacturers are really audited. As a result, we cannot form a complete picture of the conditions in which the clothes are made.

Native Youth offers sustainable clothing within their collection. For this part of the collection, the brand uses sustainable materials such as organic cotton, Ecovero viscose, Tencel and linen.

Organic cotton is more sustainable than conventional cotton because there are no chemicals involved. It also requires less irrigation water to grow. Unfortunately, Native Youth doesn’t have a certificate to prove whether the cotton is truly organic. The percentage of recycled materials is also unclear. As a result, we cannot estimate how sustainable the clothes are. 

Ecovero viscose and Tencel are two types of viscose made by producer Lenzing. Lenzing guarantees that all wood pulp comes from responsibly managed forests. In doing so, the producer developed a closed-loop system where no chemicals can be released. This ensures that these materials are sustainable.

Native Youth also uses recycled polyester. At first glance, this seems like a sustainable material, but COSH! research showed that this is not necessarily the case. Recycled polyester is usually made from old PET bottles. However, to be truly circular, old PET bottles should be recycled into new bottles, not into other products. On top of that, the recycling process can be polluting and very energy-intensive.

Part of the Native Youth collection is not sustainable at all, as it is made from synthetic materials such as polyester and polyacrylic which are made from petroleum. Moreover, these materials have the risk of releasing microplastics into the environment when the clothes are washed. 

To offset their environmental impact, Native Youth works with Treepoint. This is an organisation that helps companies donate to environmental charities. The donations are used to plant trees to compensate Native Youth’s carbon emissions.

The circularity of a garment depends on the materials it is made of. A garment made of a single material is relatively easy to recycle. Part of Native Youth’s collection is made of such mono-materials. For example, dresses made of 100% cotton or 100% polyester can be recycled and given a new life.

Unfortunately, there is also a large part of the collection that is made from material blends. This means that different materials are combined in one garment. This is much more difficult to recycle, often even impossible with current recycling technologies. COSH! therefore recommends always paying attention to the material composition of your purchase and hopes that Native Youth will use more mono-materials in the future.

Native Youth has a long supply chain. The brand designs the collection in England. The garments are then produced in Turkey, India, Pakistan and China. So your purchase travels a long way to get to Europe. Moreover, it is not clear where the used material come from, so we cannot get a full view of the supply chain.

Native Youth launched a collection of vegan leather jackets and trousers. These clothes are made from a synthetic leather alternative so no animals have to die for it. Unfortunately, such materials are often not sustainable. A lot of chemicals are needed to provide the coating on the jacket and the synthetic material can release microplastics.

In certain designs, Native Youth still uses materials of animal origin. The knitwear collection, for example, contains wool. The brand does not provide information on the origin of this material, so we cannot form a picture of the animal’s wellbeing.

Because Native Youth releases new collections regularly and also follows discount periods, the brand does not fall under timeless fashion. Due to lack of information, COSH! cannot estimate the quality of the materials used. As a result, the clothes are unlikely to have a long lifespan.

The collection is casual and contemporary. With colourful prints, retro designs and casual outfits, Native Youth has a distinct style of its own. However, the collection also includes comfortable basics that can be combined with any outfit.

Native Youth is unfortunately not transparent about their production. Information about both their manufacturers and the used material is lacking.