A year ago, the 28-year-old media company employee invested $3,000 in a West Hollywood-based startup, thanks to recent changes in a federal law that allows people of modest means to play the role of venture capitalist. The company he chose, DSTLD (pronounced “distilled”) is an online apparel firm whose promise of premium denim at affordable prices caught his attention. He became a customer and when the company launched a crowdfunding campaign, he wanted in.

DSTLD is one of a slew of online fashion companies that market themselves as being “ethical,” an umbrella term that refers to a concern for the impact a firm has on working conditions, the environment and animal welfare. Like Everlane, Zady, Kestan, Reformation, Tuckerman & Co. and Elizabeth Suzann, these online outfits are building direct relationships with a customer base increasingly conscious about how its clothes are made.

Read the full article at Fast Company

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Jessica Goodheart writes for Fast Company.