PLAINANDSIMPLE - Tiny Eco Home Life - Review Of Plainandsimple: Sustainable, Ethical Everyday Clothing

Top Takeaways:

• Plainandsimple are a UK clothing company focussing on high quality, everyday essentials
• All products are made from organic cotton (GOTS-certified) in ethical factories
• Items fit well and are made to last

Wouldn’t it be great to be able to buy high quality, ethically made clothing at an affordable price? 

To be quite honest, I didn’t think it really existed. But I’m reviewing those thoughts after coming across Plainandsimple. 

Plainandsimple are a company that creates sustainable and ethical clothing essentials.

As someone who works full-time from home and practically lives in comfortable, relaxed clothing, everyday essentials are, well, essential for me. So I was delighted when Plainandsimple got in touch to see if I wanted to try them out.

I’ve been trying them out for about a month now (at the time of writing this review) and I’m typing as we speak in the grey sweatpants and hoodie.

In this honest and genuine review, I’ll share my experience of Plainandsimple’s clothing, plus take a look at the company behind the products.

About Plainandsimple

Plainandsimple are a London-based business founded by Duco Bloemers and launched in 2021.

They’re on a mission to combat the mainstream fashion industry’s negative impact on the world – this is a big mission and a much-needed one! Bucking the fast fashion trend, Plainandsimple create premium quality, everyday clothing that’s designed to be recycled or composted. 

For Plainandsimple, sustainability means not only making the best products in the most sustainable way, but taking responsibility for those products from start to finish. This ‘producer responsibility’ is how it should be. 

By bringing great value products, closing the loop on clothing waste and providing a more sustainable and ethical choice, Plainandsimple have a lot of good to offer.

What You Need To Know About Plainandsimple

Before I get into my opinion, here’s a snapshot of some of the facts on Plainandsimple and what they offer:

• A small range of men’s and women’s everyday clothing, including tracksuits, loungewear and t-shirts
• All of their products are made from 100% GOTS-certified organic cotton
• No fossil-fuel plastics used in their clothing, labels or packaging
• Product packaging and mailer bags are 100% compostable
• The clothing is manufactured in ethical factories in India. There’s full disclosure and details on the factories they use on their website – we’ll get into the details below
• Lifetime guarantee on all of their products – when an item of clothing reaches the end of its life, customers can send it back to be recycled or composted, receiving a discount on their next purchase. 

Is Plainandsimple Any Good? 

After the last month or so (as of writing) I’ve had the opportunity to try out a number of Plainandsimple products, including:

• Premium Weight Organic T-Shirt
• Lightweight Organic T-Shirt
• French Terry Organic Sweatpants
• Relaxed Terry Organic Hoodie

First of all, the quality of these items is exceptional. This isn’t a fashion blog but all of the items have a nice weighty, durable feel to them with strong stitching. The hoodie and joggers weigh in at 450 GSM and the premium t-shirt 200 GSM. I can imagine these lasting for ages. 

Most of the products go for a slightly oversized look and feel. I stuck with my normal size for the t-shirts (large), but downsized to medium for the sweatpants and hoodie. I’ve got to say, these sizings worked out spot on for me. 

I was pleasantly surprised by the affordability of Plainandsimple’s clothing. With high-quality, ethically-made organic t-shirts starting at just £12, and the premium version priced at £17, it’s on a par with standard, unsustainable clothing items. The heavyweight organic hoodie, at less than £50, is also fantastic value.

Although the clothing is plain and simple (which suits me down to the ground), I appreciate the attention to detail in the designs. 

Such things as using organic cotton for the labels instead of polyester (present in 99% of clothing) and a mini phone pocket inside the hoodie’s main pouch pocket. I’ve not seen this before. An ingenious little touch.

The fact that all of their clothing is made using a single material – GOTS-certified organic cotton – and zero plastic is amazing too. This means that each product is 100% biodegradable, fully compostable and easier to recycle.

I can confidently say that I’ll be buying from Plainandsimple in the future.

Sustainability And Ethical Credentials

Plainandsimple’s commitment to sustainability is evident with their ‘Made to be Re-Made’ philosophy. 

All of their clothing is designed to be taken back and re-made into new clothing or composted at the end of its life – you can literally bury one of their organic cotton products in soil and it will be decomposed by the wonderful soil ecosystem. 

If you don’t want to bury your t-shirt, customers can send back their worn-out products for free and receive a 15% discount on your next order. Plainandsimple will then either recycle or compost them.

Cotton

Growing cotton is thirsty work. Some argue because it takes an awful lot of water to grow, that it isn’t a sustainable material. In my view, it’s certainly more sustainable than plastic-based products. 

Plainandsimple use GOTS-certified organic cotton. Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) is a global leading textile processing standard for organic fibres. It includes both ecological and social criteria that has to be backed up by independent certification of the entire textile supply chain. If you’re using cotton, you can’t get more ethical than GOTS cotton.

One of the biggest cotton producers in the world is India. This is where Plainandsimple get theirs from.

To ensure ethical production, Plainandsimple work with factories that sustain and promote fair labour practices, safe working conditions and environmental responsibility. They’ve also developed their own responsible supply chains where every supplier must meet their standards across business, environmental and social. 

Being a transparent company, Plainandsimple have listed the details for their fabric supplier factory and garment supplier factory, which you can view from here. These are listed on the product pages too, so customers know where their items are coming from and the value behind them.

Packaging

All of packaging from Plainandsimple is recyclable or compostable in some way.

The see-through packaging with the clothing in looks like plastic. But it’s not. It states on the front in big letters ‘this bag is not plastic’ in case you’re not sure!

It’s not plastic as we know it. It’s a type of bioplastic that’s fully compostable and will be broken down into soil. The packaging states that these bags will biodegrade within 3 months.

Even the mailer bags are fully recyclable. Again they appear to be standard plastic, but they’re actually made from sugarcane.

Who’s Plainandsimple Good For?

Plainandsimple is a great choice for anyone who enjoys being comfortable and relaxed whether you’re at home or out and about. Their organic hoodies, tracksuits, sweatpants and t-shirts allow you to chill out in style. 

Their products are also the antithesis of fast fashion – they’re produced with quality and longevity in mind. 

I’d say Plainandsimple is for anyone who wants to buy better and more ethical everyday clothing. 

What Do Others Think?

It’s not just me who’s been impressed with Plainandsimple. They’ve garnered a rather impressive 4.7 rating out of 5 rating on Trustpilot, based on 246 reviews so far. 

To give you a quick look at some of the reviews: 

• “I can’t rave enough about the exceptional quality of both the women’s and men’s sweatshirt and pant sets! They are not only super comfortable but also incredibly well-made.” 
• “Really pleased with the joggers, good quality for the price and feel like they’ll last a long time. A little hiccough with delivery but the customer service team were on it from the start, very communicative and really made me feel looked after. I wouldn’t hesitate to order from them again!”

Tiny Eco Verdict On Plainandsimple

Plainandsimple have managed to create a collection that combines comfort, durability and affordability whilst maintaining a strong commitment to environmental responsibility and social aspects behind their products. This has got to be commended. 

The range is currently quite small and limited in colours, but I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing. Sometimes too much choice is overwhelming in my opinion.  

Plainandsimple’s use of 100% GOTS-certified organic cotton and their made to be re-made programme sets a good, solid example of what all clothing brands should be doing to reduce textile waste and promote a circular economy. For me, they’re a great brand for people looking to live more sustainably.

I would highly recommend Plainandsimple to anyone seeking comfortable, quality, well-fitting and sustainable clothing options. 

To read the article on Tiny Eco Home Life, please click here.