About Girlfriend Collective

Girlfriend Collective is an activewear brand founded by a husband and wife duo, Ellie, and Quang Dinh in 2016. Based in Seattle and does not currently have a retail space. With a focus on ethical manufacturing, recycled materials, and body positivity, Girlfriend Collective has built a community that consists of like-minded people like myself who support the mission and adore their products. Their bras retail for $38, and leggings retail for $68. Very affordable compared to many activewear brands out there!

Did you know almost all synthetic activewear is made from plastic? Girlfriend Collective’s High Rise Compressive leggings are made mostly with recycled plastic once destined for landfills. Not that you would notice - the leggings have mainstream appeal with the added benefit of being good for the environment. Girlfriend Collective seem to have mastered activewear that’s sustainable, size inclusive and fashionable, making it one of the best sustainable fitness brands on the market. 

They just make theirs with materials that would otherwise clog landfills and pollute the earth. It all starts with 100% post-consumer water bottles that have their labels removed, are crushed into billions of miniscule chips, and then washed until they’re sparkling clean. All their products are eco-friendly and either made of certified used water bottles or fishnets retrieved from the ocean. Girlfriend Collective is proud to be a slow fashion company.

They're like the earth's number one fan, so being eco-friendly is at the top of their priorities, as is giving you as much information as possible. Here’s a breakdown of each of their products and how it stacks up. Mainstream sustainable fashion isn’t often size-inclusive, which is a common criticism for many sustainable fashion brands across the board. Girlfriend Collective’s sizes go up to a 6XL. 

Packaging: 100% recycled and recyclable, so don’t throw it away!

Compressive Leggings + Bras: Made from 79% recycled polyester (or RPET) and 21% spandex, their leggings are made from 25 recycled post-consumer bottles and bras are made from 11.

LITE Leggings: Made from recycled fishing nets and other waste using ECONYL yarn, LITE fabric is made up of 83% recycled nylon and 17% spandex.

Cupro: Tees and tanks are 100% cupro, a delicate fiber made from waste the cotton industry leaves behind. Their yarn is made in a zero-waste, zero-emission facility in Japan, then constructed at their SA8000-certified factory in Hanoi.

Reusable Pouch: Their reusable pouch is made with the same RPET as the bras and leggings. So not only is it reusable and adorable, it’s just as good for the earth as the rest of their line.

New Outdoor Voices

Gymwear, in my opinion, fulfills a related but different set of criteria than other workout apparel. It doesn’t have to resist any kind of weather, but it should stay securely in place and relatively dry while you sweat for a straight hour. Because you’re in a self-contained fitness biosphere lined with mirrors, gymwear should make you look good. And if you’re me, you have one final requirement: a high waistline. Or all these reasons, it perplexes me to not see more women wearing Girlfriend Collective’s workout clothes. The brand is still fairly new — it launched in 2016 with a free-leggings publicity campaign that generated some buzz online — but it’s since gotten shouting.

People shop according to different principles, and in this regard, Girlfriend Collective has admirably covered its bases. If you shop according to sustainability, Girlfriend Collective recycles No. 1 plastic bottles in Taiwan and knits them into fabric. 

And if, like most people, you simply shop by price, Girlfriend’s stuff is cheaper than Outdoor Voices, Nike, Lululemon, Athleta, or most other premier brands. I own and enjoy items from all of those brands, but recently, when — in an idiotic post-cycling, not-yet-caffeinated daze — I left a pair of leggings in the locker room, it was kind of nice to not feel the sting of losing $110 worth of sweaty fabric.

High-Rise Legging

My favorite item from the line, these leggings are soft, easy to move in, and have a high waist that sits snug near my belly button. In the past I’ve gone as far as getting workout pants tailored and darted, to stay fitted around my waist, and these need no such extra work.

Paloma Bra

The second top I got from Girlfriend Collective, the Paloma, is my preferred item for more intense workouts like studio cycling or HIIT.

High-Rise Run Short

For the first time in a long time, I’m actually considering buying workout shorts.

Moon Skort

I don’t have this one yet, but I want it.

Black Maternity Legging

A breathable, flexible, everyday maternity legging designed for yoga, lounging and growing a tiny human.

SO ARE LEGGINGS WORTH IT?

I was wrong to underestimate Girlfriend Collective, the compression high-rise leggings stand up to much of my old-faithfuls. The durable material is ideal for those who tend to wear their leggings out as much While the price of these leggings are closer to the premium prices on the high street, it seems customers are also paying for peace of mind. Girlfriend Collective take all the difficulty out of sustainable shopping by doing much of the necessary research for you. The company is transparent about materials used and even the things they’re doing to continue to improve their sustainable offering.

Restrictions:

One coupon/deal per order.
Offer good while supplies last.
Exclusions may apply.

Don't forget to apply Girlfriend Collective coupons & deals to save!

Girlfriend Collective Reviews

Ana  ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌
Girlfriend leggings are the only pair of leggings I want/need
I am so amazed by my Girlfriend leggings. They look pretty much spanking new despite wearing them several times a week for the past 3 years. They are durable, flexible and keep shape really well. Even when I took a nasty tumble off my bike in an accident I had no scrapes or cuts on my legs. I'm sure if I'd been wearing any other leggings the material would have torn and so would've my skin too...