The Sugopetite Daisy collection is made from upcycled jeans. Here’s a look into why Daisy is a collection of truly sustainable garments.
What is The New Denim Project?
Our upcycled denim comes from a sustainable textile manufacturer in Guatemala that has engineered a closed-loop manufacturing process to minimize waste. They start with post-industrial denim waste and transform them into the fabric that we use in the Sugopetite Daisy collection. As they say at The New Denim Project, “Waste is not waste until we waste it.”
Am I wearing someone’s old jeans?
No. While we are huge proponents of second-hand clothing and keeping fast fashion out of landfills, the materials in our upcycled denim are pre-consumer, virgin manufacturing waste. When another company makes a pair of jeans, there are always cut-offs that are discarded in the process. The leftover denim cuttings – which would normally go into landfills – are ground back into fiber and woven into beautiful denim fabric. Leftovers are beautiful!
What is the economic impact?
Does it feel like traditional denim?
Our upcycled denim is soft, fresh, light, and comfortable – and it’s machine washable. Wash in cold water on the gentle cycle and tumble dry on low. Iron on a low-temperature setting, if necessary.
]]>We recently asked our customers and followers to tell us more about your experiences being a petite woman. We loved the responses – the honest and the inspiring – and wanted to share them with you.
A lot of women noted that being petite can be an inconvenience. For example, as petites, sometimes we “can’t reach stuff off the top cabinet without crawling on the counters.” Trust me, we feel you! And don’t get us started on trying to buy clothes off the rack.
Many others face genuine body image problems, and comments like “I feel weird seeing how short my body is” were common. One woman said, “not being a model,” and it is undeniable that the fashion industry is made for tall people. But we are changing that, one dress at a time! And all Sugopetite models are 5’4” or shorter. We want you to see our beautiful dresses on women that represent YOU.
There is, at least, a strong perception that being petite can have father reaching consequences, including our professional lives. Forty percent of respondents think taller people get better jobs and opportunities. Another 13% felt their professional career has been directly and negatively impacted by society’s (often unconscious) bias favoring taller people.
We were inspired by the number of women who knew that being “fun size” doesn’t slow them down when it comes to the qualities we value in ourselves and others. Many women listed being a mom and “raising great kids” as their superpower. Others spoke to their confidence, knowledge, intelligence, kindness, resilience, uniqueness, sense of humor, loyalty, and empathy. You are our true superheroes!
It can even come with some perks, like “sneaking through crowds because I’m short lol” and being fierce and feisty. Big personalities come in small packages!
What’s your superpower? Let us know in the comments!
]]>From what we put on our bodies to what we put into them, we can all make some easy changes to lead a more sustainable lifestyle.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
It’s a classic for a reason! With the current state of post-consumer recycling in the US, however, it’s not always possible to recycle. About 25% of what we put in the recycling bin actually ends up in landfills. Reduce and reuse to make the greatest impact.
Wear Your Values
Support sustainable brands and the fashion industry will follow. Sugopetite is glad to lead the way! These days, there are many more options to choose from. Here are a few others that we highly recommend.
Better Nutrition is Better for the Planet
The food industry accounts for more than a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions! Eating less meat is the most impactful factor in reducing the carbon footprint of our diet. People with a primarily plant-based diet also have lower blood pressure, improved cholesterol, healthier hearts, fewer instances of type-2 diabetes, healthier body weights, lower risk for cancer, and longer lives.
Conserve Energy
With all of the ways to reduce our energy consumption, we can all find a few to follow that fit our lifestyle. Turn off the light when you leave a room. Use LED bulbs. Turn down your hot water heater. Fill your dishwasher before running it. They all add up!
We can make significant strides with transportation modifications. Carpool to work if you can. Take public transit if it’s available. And when you can walk, do! Your heart and the planet will thank you.
]]>Summer fashion is in full force, and we’re here with styling tips for all you petite fashionistas out there!
Summer 2020 Trend: Midi Dresses and Skirts
Petite Styling Tip: Since midi dresses don’t create length, petites should consider a monochromatic look to visually extend through the torso and thighs.
Pooja Gohil @katrinagohil, a Sugopetite model and (perhaps more famously) Miss Bollywood USA 2017, shows us how it’s done.
Summer 2020 Trend: Shirtdresses
Petite Styling Tip: Shirtdresses come in many styles, and petite women should pay attention to how fitted they are in the waist. A tailored or belted waist avoids losing your shape through the middle.
Lauris Lopez @laurisloves, an NYC lifestyle blogger and petite fashionista, belted her vertical-stripes shirt dress to accentuate her beautiful figure.
Summer 2020 Trend: High Waisted Bottoms
Petite Styling Tip: Any time, any place. Petite women look especially great in high-waisted pants and our founder, Susan Gomez, recently posted a blog about it.
Summer 2020 Trend: Off-the-shoulder dresses and tops
Petite Styling Tip: Petites ladies, be careful about pairing off the shoulder tops with high waisted bottoms. This can give the visual appearance of a short torso.
Susana Rego @regosusana gets bonus points for this off-the-shoulder dress that side-steps the concern altogether.
Creating plastic
Producing plastic consumes roughly 8% of global oil and gas production, with half of that creating plastic feedstock and the other half used in the manufacturing process.
Oil and natural gas are the building blocks of plastic. Drilling and fracking for these fossil fuels cause myriad environmental hazards. A shortlist includes groundwater contamination, spills, and leaks. A byproduct of extraction and processing is wastewater that must be stored. Contamination from extraction and wastewater results in pollution and illnesses, even cancer. Reducing our reliance on fossil fuels is imperative.
After extracting oil and gas, it is transported, cracked, and processed into plastic resins and pellets. These pellets are then sold to customers who produce plastic goods. The entire manufacturing process accounts for about 4% of oil and gas consumption and emits greenhouse gasses and carcinogens along the way.
Disposing of plastic
Annually, we dispose of 360 million tons of plastic a year. What actually happens to all of that waste?
Recycling seems like a great solution, but the reality is pretty grim. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, only 8.4% of plastic is recycled, and it’s mostly plastic bottles. Even if you put other waste into your recycling bin, almost 70% of the plastic we consume in the US can’t be recycled cost-effectively and will be discarded in landfills or incinerators.
Plastic waste accounts for almost 20% of trash in landfills in the US, where it takes up to 1000 years to decompose because, surprisingly, landfills are designed to prevent waste from decomposing.
In the US, plastic waste accounts for 16% of incinerated trash. Burning plastic emits pollutants and carcinogens into the air.
An estimated 17.6 billion pounds of plastic waste ends up in oceans each year. You’ve probably seen a garbage patch before, but did you know they have identified 5 garbage islands? Plastics that end up in the ocean don’t biodegrade. They do break down into smaller pieces that are then ingested by fish. When we eat fish, we ingest their lifetime of microplastics.
Much of the larger plastic ends up in the stomachs of sea animals. It is estimated that 52% of sea turtles have ingested plastic debris. A sperm whale was found with 55lbs of plastic debris in its stomach. Seabirds, such as albatrosses, may even be attracted to plastic debris when feeding because plastics in the ocean eventually retain an odor that seabirds associate with prey.
The future of plastic
Reducing plastic use and minimizing single-use plastics are obvious goals, but in most cases, the use of plastic cannot be eliminated. So what should we do? A 2009 report on Plastics, the environment, and human health suggests, "The recycling message is simple; both industry and society need to regard end-of-life items, including plastics, as raw materials rather than waste." We couldn’t agree more ;)
Sugopetite’s eco-friendly clothing is made from post-consumer, single-use plastic and requires 70% less energy than manufacturing virgin plastic. Each dress recycles the equivalent of 30 water bottles into high-performance Chitosante fabric. It’s not just better for the environment – it’s better for you! Chitosante fabric is stretchy, soft, and breathable. It stays fresh and hygienic because it’s anti-bacterial and odor resistant. It’s travel-friendly, wrinkle-free, and pilling-resistant, so it can be machine washed and tumbled dry.
Knowing your beautiful clothes are contributing to the solution – not to the problem – lets you feel as good about your Sugopetite dress as you feel in it!
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Let’s celebrate spring with pastels! Which color pants are your favorite? Mine is definitely the lilac. It compliments my skin tone.
These Sugopetite pants are not available for sale yet (sorry petite fashionistas – they are samples), but what a better time to preview them than spring!
I was inspired to design high rise waist pants because it elongates your legs for a slimmer, taller look. High-waisted pants should never go out style for us petite women! We should all have a great pair of designer petite pants.
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Cotton is soft, breathable, and comes from the earth. It has to be an eco-friendly clothing option, right?! Well, it’s complicated…
A Thirsty Crop
Not that kind of thirsty – get your mind out of the gutter ;)
Cotton is considered a “thirsty crop” because of the massive amounts of water that is required. One cotton shirt requires 2,700 liters of water — equivalent to drinking water for one person for two-and-a-half years. The cotton in one pair of jeans requires 10,000 liters of water or 10 years of drinking water! What’s more, it’s often grown in places already facing severe water shortages.
Genetic Modification
Annual cotton production has surpassed 25 million tons. Of that, 89% percent grow genetically modified cotton that was adapted to include pesticides. “Bt cotton has been genetically modified by the insertion of one or more genes from a common soil bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis. These genes encode for the production of insecticidal proteins, and thus, genetically transformed plants produce one or more toxins as they grow.” Despite this, they usually require additional pesticides.
Chemicals
That’s why growing cotton accounts for 25% of the insecticides and 11% of pesticides used worldwide. It doesn’t end there.
Manufacturing chemicals include silicone waxes, petroleum scours, softeners, heavy metals, flame retardants, ammonia, and formaldehyde. Some 8,000 synthetic chemicals are used in fashion manufacturing, many of which are known to be carcinogens or hormone disruptors. These chemicals can be detected in the final garment that you wear against your skin.
Organic Cotton
Organic cotton is emerging as a sustainable option, and manufacturers are beginning to adopt it. For now, it accounts for about 10% of cotton clothing. Organic cotton is promoted as using less water than growing traditional cotton, but that doesn’t include the 20% of organic cotton that is irrigated, as opposed to rainfed. That means that only 8% of cotton garments sold today are truly sustainable, eco-friendly clothing.
Chitosante
Sugopetite dresses are manufactured of state-of-the-art, Chitosante fabric, which has been independently certified to be sustainable by the US Environment Protection Agency.
Chitosante is made from recycled PET from post-consumer plastic bottles. Every Sugopetite dress keeps about 30 bottles of plastic out of oceans, landfills, and incinerators.
Recycled PET is combined with biomass from crustaceans. Unlike fibers from thirsty cotton plants, crustacean biomass involves no pesticides or insecticides. No bees were harmed in the making of your dress! Now that’s eco-friendly clothing.
]]>Rules are made to be broken – especially fashion rules! Once upon a time, we never would have worn socks with our pumps, but from the runway to your closet it goes. Anything you love can become a wardrobe staple. Bear in mind a few styling tips and, as our founder, Susan Gomez says, “never underestimate yourself!”
Horizontal Stripes
You have probably heard that horizontal stripes are not flattering on petite women. Susan proves that’s not always the case. These horizontal stripes look great on her, right? You’ll notice the stripes are 3 different thicknesses, thin, medium and large. This avoids the geometric optical illusion that makes something look wider or shorter.
Midi Length Skirts
”They” say that midi-length skirts cut off the legs and make a petite woman look short. They clearly don’t know what Susana Tapias knows (Miss Houston Latina). A monochromatic dress gives a tall appearance, especially paired with nude shoes to visually extend the legs. See for yourself! Be careful not to pair a midi skirt with a bulky top that makes you lose your waist. Our belted Tulip ticks all the boxes – just add your favorite accessories.
All Over Prints
Are petite women really supposed to avoid clothing with prints?! The horror! There are too many beautiful, printed petite dresses and clothes to go without. A general guideline is to opt for smaller prints. Another is to avoid too many colors. Here, Susan has kept her shoes in the color family of her dress, while adding one contrast element for a pop of color! While we’re at it, here’s another rule you should break…
Oversized Handbags
Do it! Oversized bags look best when they are not paired with other oversized items, like a big sweater. Susan nails it here with a fitted dress.
Petite Means Tiny
Sure, some petite women can shop in the kids’ clothing section. But make no mistake: petite clothing is not just for size 00. At Sugopetite, our clothing is designed for women of all shapes between 4’10” and 5’4”. The difference is that our size Large petite dress is in proportion to a petite woman’s arm length, for example, so our sleeves won’t hang past your wrist. After adjusting for height, our dresses still have enough room in the bodice for your normal dress size. Check out our complete sizing guide here or write to sugopetite@gmail.com for personalized sizing guidance.
Shine On!
As they say, “A Sugopetite dress is the most beautiful thing you can wear.” Wait… was that the expression? Oh! No, it was confidence. Confidence is the most beautiful thing a woman can wear! (Let’s agree Sugopetite dresses are a close second.) Regardless of whether you are following the rules or bending them to your will, the most important person to please is yourself. If you feel good, rock that outfit!
Send a picture of yourself rocking your favorite outfit that petites “shouldn’t” wear to sugopetite@gmail.com, and we might feature you in an upcoming story!
]]>Purchasing eco-clothing is a fantastic step towards minimizing your footprint. Each Sugopetite signature piece – Tulip – uses 30 recycled, post-consumer plastic bottles! That’s 30 bottles that don’t end up in landfills. We’re proud of our eco-clothing and especially proud of our customers for prioritizing our planet in their fashion and consumption decisions – and we want to help you do more.
Only about 25% of the plastic produced in the U.S. is recycled. We all have to work hard to reduce our consumption of single-use plastic. Here are some great tips we’ve pulled together on (mostly) painless ways to reduce your plastic consumption.
1. Take reusable bags everywhere.
Many people have started carrying reusable bags for groceries. That’s a great step, but with an estimated 14 billion plastic bags used every year in the US alone, there is much more we can do. Keep reusable bags in your car or purse, and decline a new plastic bag everywhere you shop, including clothing stores, pharmacies, and convenience stores.
2. Drink from reusable cups.
When you order to-go drinks like your favorite specialty coffee, bring a sustainable beverage container – a lot of shops will offer a discount for bringing your own. Avoid bottled water! Plan ahead, and pack it in a reusable bottle that you can refill at water fountains along the way. This works for airplanes too. You’ll have to go through security with it empty, but there are always filling stations available and you avoid the mistake of throwing out a practically full bottled drink because you forgot to drink it in time.
3. Swap out bottles for boxes and bars.
Cleaning products for the home and personal hygiene are among the largest contributors to landfills. The personal care market has recently expanded to include high-quality, sustainable options for body wash, shampoo, and even shaving cream that come in a bar and not a bottle. Home cleaning products have options as well – many detergents come in powder forms that are packaged in recyclable cardboard instead of plastic bottles. And don’t forget that a homemade solution of vinegar and water
will replace a lot of cleaning products sold in plastic bottles.
4. Minimize single-use plastic tableware.
Keep reusable cutlery and dishes at work to wash and reuse, instead of throwing out a new plastic fork and Styrofoam plate every day. When you have guests at your home, treat them like the VIPs they are and use your personal tableware. Sure, it will take a few extra minutes to wash – but those plastic forks would take 1,000 years to decompose in a landfill.
5. Switch to cloth diapers.
Reduce your costs too! Cloth diapers are not only cheaper, but they also cut down the estimated 7.6 billion pounds of disposable diapers thrown out in the US every year – a football stadium of dirty diapers every day.
6. Buy cereals and snacks from bulk bins.
Bring reusable containers from home to buy cereals and snacks from your grocery store’s bulk bins. If you can purchase three fewer packaged grains per week, that’s 150 pieces of single-use plastic saved every year. Bonus points for bringing your own packaging for produce!
7. Reduce waste in general to reduce trash bag use.
Many of us are guilty of over-using convenience products that produce waste. We use paper napkins and paper towels without much thought since they are “biodegradable”. We throw out food which, despite being organic, is detrimental to landfills. When something breaks, we often replace it instead of trying to repair it, contributing to massive electronic and plastic waste. We throw out clothes instead of mending a small tear, fixing a hem, or resewing a button.
Switch to reusable items, like cloth napkins and rag towels. Compost food waste. Recycle paper and plastic. Repair some worn or slightly damaged items. These simple, sustainable changes will go a long way towards reducing your trash production. By some estimates, the average 2-person household
throws out 1.5 large bags of trash per week – or 75 large bags of trash per year! If you were able to reduce your trash by one third, you could eliminate 25 bags of waste sent to landfills each year.
8. Re-think your food storage.
Reconsider all of the times you are using plastic baggies, plastic wrap, and single-use plastic storage containers. Use jars or glass containers and re-use plastic containers to eliminate Ziploc bags and Saran wrap. If you usually take home a doggie bag from a restaurant, bring your own reusable containers and pack your leftovers yourself.
9. Minimize prepared and packaged food.
Prepared food, especially from the grocery store, is typically over-packaged in single-use plastic. We all know that homemade meals from whole foods are healthiest in terms of added salt, hidden calories, and added sugar. Planning ahead and preparing your own food is better for the environment and your health!
10. Avoid buying new plastic clothing.
While eco-clothing is the best option, sustainable fashion is a very young market. This niche of the industry isn’t yet large enough to offer a perfect solution for every requirement. Sometimes, you have to go with traditionally sourced garments, and in the fashion industry, there is a range of options.
A new polyester dress USES as many plastic bottles as a Sugopetite dress recycles, but that’s just the start. Regular polyester also requires six times as much energy to produce, compared to our eco-friendly Chitosante fabric. And most clothes, especially inexpensive clothes, are made in the poorest regions of the world, where workers are exploited and often forced to work in unsafe conditions.
You don’t have to buy into the industry’s worst practices. By choosing suppliers who use ethically sourced, natural materials and have transparent manufacturing practices, you can contribute to improving the fashion industry, even when eco-clothing options are not available.
We like to say that Sugopetite dresses are a better fit for petites and our planet. But all of the buzz surrounding sustainable fashion and eco-friendly fabrics can sometimes leave more questions than answers. We want you to know exactly why Chitosante recycled polyester was the right eco-friendly fabric for your beautiful dresses.
What is Chitosante?
Sugopetite dresses are made from state-of-the-art, Chitosante fabric. To make Chitosante eco-friendly fabric, recycled PET from post-consumer plastic bottles is combined with biomass from crustaceans. Unlike fibers from thirsty plants, like cotton- or wood-based fabrics, this process does not use biomass that involves pesticides or insecticides – a critical step in an industry that is responsible for 24% of insecticides and 11% of pesticides used globally.
The resulting fabric is stretchy, soft, and breathable. Chitosante is also naturally much more hygienic than other fabrics: it is anti-bacterial, odor-resistant, and non-toxic. And more convenient! Machine wash and tumble dry this wrinkle-free and static-free fabric that never needs to be ironed. A Sugopetite, Chitosante dress is your perfect travel companion because it’s always ready to wear! We focus on convenience so you don’t have to spend time taking care of your dress and can spend it enjoying life instead.
Recycled polyester vs virgin polyester
Virgin polyester is almost the same as recycled polyester, in terms of quality, but the production of Chitosante eco-friendly fabric requires only 1/3 of the energy of traditional polyester manufacturing processes.
By using recycled plastic instead of virgin plastic, every Sugopetite dress keeps about 30 bottles of plastic out of oceans, landfills (where it would take up to 1000 years to biodegrade), and incinerators (with toxic emissions). A virgin polyester, in comparison, would begin with the extraction of fossil-fuel petroleum from the Earth, ultimately depleting non-renewable resources and adding new plastic to the biosphere.
Sustainability
Sugopetite was founded on the four pillars of style, sustainability, quality, and convenience. Our commitment to sustainability lets you feel as good about your dress as you feel in it!
]]>Don’t get buried under an avalanche of winter clothes! Susan Gomez shares five of her favorite looks plus styling tips in our Petite Clothing Winter Style Guide.
We all have to make a choice.
Do you want the $50 pants or the $85 pants?
Would it change your answer to know the $85 pants were made in the US, and the $50 pants were made somewhere else? Sixty-seven percent of people would still buy the $50 pants, but they were asked the wrong question.
The real question is, why are the pants only $50? Why did US garment manufacturers reduce their workforce by 75% at the same time worldwide garment manufacturing jobs doubled? Why are US apparel factories sitting empty if we buy 60% more clothing than we did 20 years ago?
The answer is offshoring. For fast fashion companies to put out new designs every week – and cheaply enough for you to buy them – they had to make them faster and cheaper. That meant outsourcing to low-cost countries with lower environmental and regulatory costs.
It’s easy to make a profit when you don’t pay your workers.
In 2017, after a factory owner who supplied Zara, Mango and Next refused to pay his workers. Zara sold those clothes on their shelves at a profit. While the company publically announced that it would repay the employees, as of two years later, the 140 factory workers had only received a partial payment – despite media attention to the matter and $5 billion in annual profit.
Safety is an investment.
Operating a factory in accordance with strict safety regulations is expensive, and many fast fashion companies don’t think it’s worth it. Sure, a lot of people have heard about the Bangladesh factory fire that killed 120 people in 2012. In a Bangladesh garment factory collapse in 2013, 1,134 people died and another 2,500 were injured.
One could fairly assume worker conditions have changed since then. After all, the bad press led the European brands to set up the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, intending to fundamentally change safety practices and labor conditions. Six years later, 1,400 of 1,600 Bangladesh garment factories failed international safety inspections. Nothing has changed.
Ethical fashion FTW.
Make no mistake: this is not an ad for “made in America”. This is about humane working conditions, which can be found outside the US, but often are not adequately considered when the goal is low-cost manufacturing.
Sugopetite dresses, in fact, are produced by an ethical, reliable manufacturer in Guatemala. Susan got her start in the industry there and has known her manufacturing partners for years. She has personally witnessed their commitment to safe, fair working conditions.
Safe and humane working conditions come at a cost. At Sugopetite, we believe ethical fashion is worth the investment. We want you to feel as good about your dress as you feel in it! We hope you believe in us and our values, so we can continue bringing you ethical fashion in petite sizes.
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