Global Brands

Hackwith Design House

Hackwith Design House is an American made company located in Minnesota. The brand launched in September of 2013 with a mission to provide customers with ethically made items but also pieces that are of high quality, fashionable, and sustainable. Every item from Hackwith Design comes in a limited quantity as the items are not made until ordered. There are never more than 25 pieces of one item made to ensure a unique shopping experience and a one of a kind piece of clothing. All of the items are made in house by local Minnesotan seamstresses. 

All of the materials used in Hackwith Design House clothing are made with US Imported Fabrics. Many of the products I looked at were made from natural fibers including cotton gauze, cotton slub, hemp, raw silk, linen, and organic cotton. A few dresses also had material blends like viscose and lyocell in them. 

Considering the clothing pieces from Hackwith Design House are made to order by their team of local seamstresses, I found the prices to be very reasonable. Dresses range from $115-$2,200 which is a very wide price range for a brand to have which ensures there is a large range of customers that are able to purchase from this brand. The dresses on the higher end of the price range are more occasional style dresses that would be used for a special event. The dresses on the lower end are more everyday dresses that are casual and can be worn for a variety of activities. Either way, I believe the quality of Hackwith Design House clothing is impeccable and will last the customer for years to come. 

Zara

Zara is a global retailer with locations in over 88 countries. Zara is a Spanish apparel brand that was founded in 1975 and has a headquarters located in Galicia, Spain. Zara has been growing at a rapid pace and has become one of the world’s largest international fashion companies. Just within the United States Zara had 98 stores as of January 2019. Zara has many manufacturing locations to keep up with the demand and has been known to manufacture in Spain, Turkey, Morocco, and Portugal.

As I expected, many of the Zara dresses were made with synthetic fiber blends including cotton, polyester, and viscose. Other materials that were frequently used were nylon, elastane, and polyamide. As mentioned before I really wasn’t surprised by my findings of the fibers used in Zara’s clothing. Since Zara is being mass-produced and is a fast-fashion brand I expected to see many synthetic fibers and not as many ethical choices. 

For a fast-fashion retailer, Zara is on the higher price range when compared to stores like H&M and Forever 21. They have many dresses available for the price of $19.90 as well as some higher-priced dresses with the most expensive reaching $120. In comparison to Hackwith Design House, Zara is the much more budget-friendly option with a much lower price range. Due to the mass manufacturing and offshore factories, Zara is able to charge less for their products where Hackwith Design House has to pay higher costs to manufacture in-store and source natural fabric.