Noah's Hard-Core Environmentalism
Sustainable fashion is one of those terms—like “streetwear” or “chic” or “DJ”—that seem so recklessly applied that they're practically meaningless. I have no idea what it is. I just visualize a deeply uncool graphic tee with a tag bearing a vicious message like “Made from 100 percent recycled rubber bands.”
Brendon Babenzien, founder of the cult menswear brand Noah, which has turned elevated sportswear into a platform for environmental activism, is also flummoxed by the term. “Does it mean that everything you make can be completely, 100 percent re-used?” he muses. “I don't know if there's really much clothing in the world that can do that.” This is surprising, because Noah donates one percent of its sales to environmental nonprofits, and it's made capsule collections to raise awareness about environmental issues. But Babenzien says categorizing Noah as “sustainable” would require extreme measures, like taking old underwear and grinding it down to make new underwear. “We use some recycled cashmere occasionally for filling in jackets. We have some recycled-cotton T-shirts. And we're always looking for more options.” Trust: If we could all wear great tees made from old water bottles, we would, but right now it's just not feasible.
So Babenzien has a more radical message from Noah: Buy. Less. Stuff. The brand's New York City store was closed on Black Friday. Outrageous! Babenzien laughs. “I don't think buying less is that outrageous!” After all, “we're fine. We have a nice little healthy business. We don't need to be making hundreds of millions of dollars to feel good about ourselves.” It's a tricky pitch, but Noah is willing to subvert the idea that there is no ethical consumption under capitalism—the mantra that launched a thousand memes. “We can still have cool shit. We can still have fun,” says Babenzien. “But there's gotta be some limits.”
And best of all, Noah has fashion bona fides that don't often come with eco-clothing—spiffed-up windbreakers, spunky knits, and smartly tweaked chinos that work easily into an everyday uniform. Not because the stuff is casual, but because it's uncompromising.
Rachel Tashjian is GQ's style writer.
A version of this story originally appeared in the May 2019 issue with the title "Noah's Hard-Core Environmentalism."
