[Canmore, AB 09-09-09] As the dream for an encounter earth retail store was still in concept form a key development was the commitment to make jeans a cornerstone product. Jeans are by far the most worn pair of pants in north america. The casual revolution has taken hold in most parts of the continent. I believed that encounter earth had to have fair + sustainable jeans in the store in order to hit the vibe I was looking for. So the hunt for a supplier began… it wasn’t easy!

In my early research I came to realize that the original “fair trade” jean was a very scary looking thing… style and quality control were not in vogue. The basic style was a pair of denim sweat-like pants with a drawstring… yuck! Then I was star struck as I surfed the internet and found a company in the Netherlands that make very cool f+s jeans in Peru. It took me two to three months before I finally received word from this company that they did not distribute to North America. I was crushed. I could not believe that I could look at these jeans but I could not order them. I took a deep breath and had to let go.

A couple of months later I decided to Google one more time “fair trade jeans” even though I had accepted the futility of even trying. To my amazement I came across goodsociety, a jean company out of Seattle, USA. They had fairly made organic jeans from a small factory in India that was owned by a father of one of the team members back in the US. I literally sat back and could not believe my eyes. I made the phone call and sure enough this was for real and encounter earth could place an order! And oh, did we order a lot of jeans… they were shipped directly to Canada from the factory in India.

goodsociety jeans have been a big hit… most people who try them on fall in love with them. The design is incredible, simple and clean. The raw denim is by far the most popular. encounter earth is very thankful for the partnership we have with goodsociety and look forward to carrying these jeans for years to come. If you have not tried a pair on I really recommend coming by and if you are not in the area check out a local eco store. If you do own a pair please comment on this blog entry and let us know your experience with your goodsociety jeans.