Ethically Made Kids Clothing – Eternal Creation

Finding well-made, age appropriate clothing for my rapidly growing tween has been quite a challenge of late! My Emma, who is 9 but wears a size 12, needs clothing that is durable and easy to play in.

This post is in collaboration with Eternal Creation

She isn’t a little kid any more and has grown out of most kid’s ranges which usually stop at size 8. But the clothing designs for teen girls are way too ‘mature’ for the likes of a nine year old that still loves to climb trees.

Emma wears Bella Sundress – sz 11

Add to that her particular sense of style and shopping for clothing is a challenge. The girl loves bright colours (pockets are a bonus), but definitely no pastels, unicorns or lace, thank you very much.

Mostly Emma’s wardrobe is cobbled together from op-shop finds, handmade items and the odd department store purchase, often from the boys section. Girls clothing seems to be made from the most delicate of fabrics that just don’t last more than a few wears, what’s up with that!?

Ethically Made Kids Clothing

I’m not really a fan of ‘fast fashion’ so when Eternal Creation got in touch to share their ethically made kids clothing range with me, I was really excited to learn more.

Emma and her cousins wearing Eternal Creation

About Eternal Creation:
Eternal Creation clothing is made by The Visible Clothing Company which employs 37 people in Dharamshala, India, at the foothills of the Himalayas. A registered member of the Fair Trade Association of Australia and New Zealand, and affiliated with the World Fair Trade Organisation, it has great working conditions for staff including benefits like, free on-site nursery, subsidised school fees for every child who has a parent working at the tailoring centre, paid annual leave, bonuses and annual pay increases. Learn more here.

The team at Eternal Creation offered to send me some clothing for Emma in exchange for an honest review and a few fun photos of the clothing being worn.

I love supporting independent businesses that treat their staff fairly and tread lightly on this planet we all share, so of course the answer was YES!

Emma wears Zanzibar PJs – sz 11

Placing our order

Emma and I chose the outfits together, 1 set of PJs, one dress and 3 outfit combinations. Most items are made to order to reduce waste, so the estimated shipping time can vary depending on the style. Emma is tall and thin so I estimated she would be a size 11 according to their measurement chart.

The items arrived by courier about 3 weeks after the order was placed.

Emma wears Gypsy Skirt and Hot Pink Button Tank – both sz 11

The clothing – Our verdict

Styles – I love the fun choices of fabric prints in bold colours as well as pretty florals. There is more than just ‘pink for girls and blue for boys’ which is always refreshing. The designs have a timeless retro feel which works with our style aesthetic.

I like how they offer ‘zero waste’ mystery designs which are patchworked to use up the last pieces of fabrics.

However I would like to see more ‘sun smart’ summer garments on offer for the girls with a bit of shoulder coverage. Most of the dresses are sleeveless or strappy.

Eva (7yo) wears Pink Multi T-shirt and Embroidered Denim Shorts – both size 11

Quality – The quality of both the fabric and the garment construction is beautiful. All the fabrics are 100% cotton and washed really well without shrinking or colour running. The PJs, red dress and both t-shirts were washed a couple of times before the photos were taken, and they still look brand new.

I suspect these garments will be grown out of before they wear out making them the perfect investment pieces to hand down to younger siblings or lucky friends.

As a sewist myself I appreciate all the extra detailing in the garments. Buttons, trims and extra embroidery are all executed very well and always enhance the design.

Amalia (4yo) wears Hibiscus Flare Top and Ruby Crossing Twill Shorts (pinned) – both sz 11

Sizing – I was excited to see that the kids sizing goes up to 14 in many of the styles. It’s so hard to find age appropriate clothing for tweens and teens. The dress and skirt fit Emma perfectly and were long enough to cover her knees, which isn’t always easy when you have a tall kid.

In saying that, the sizes trend small and unfortunately are a little inconsistent depending on the style. Generally the styling is quite slim so if your child is a bit stocky I’d recommend going up several sizes. I found the shorts didn’t fit Emma as she is quite long and the rise was way too short. She would probably need a size 13-14 in the shorts.

All the t-shirts fit well as the fabric was stretch and the length was good. The biggest let down was the Hibiscus Flare top that had tiny arm holes. I really loved the print and pom pom combination on this style but sadly it was way too small.

Eternal Creations offer free returns with a local shipping address to AUS and NZ but instead of sending the too small items back I passed them on to Emma’s younger cousins.

The cut of the PJs is quite slim across the back too so take that into account when ordering.

Ethical Kids Clothing Made to Order

It’s interesting to note that because all the garments are made to order you can request styles be made in different fabrics or slightly longer/shorter than pictured. Handy if you have kids with unusual proportions. 

Emma and the girls love wearing their new ethically made kids clothing and we had a super fun time with the photo shoot. Emma’s favourite is the Bella sundress which she wore on Christmas day and all though our Summer holidays – it literally got put on nearly every day straight off the washing line!

You can shop for ethically made clothing for kids and adults at eternalcreations.com

This was an unpaid review, My Poppet received the garments pictured for our consideration.  As always all opinions are my own.