Last Updated on June 22, 2023
Dolls Kill has been a destination for unique pieces and statement items. The brand is best known for their festival styles and as a source of punk, kawaii, goth, rave, and “alternative” fashion.
The issue? Dolls Kill has taken many counterculture fashion movements, which were previously driven by DIYers and independent designers, and highly commercialized them.
Is Dolls Kill fast fashion?
Yes. Dolls Kill is a fast fashion brand with unethical practices.
Dolls Kill has terrible transparency about their manufacturing, wages, and ethical standards, and no environmental initiatives. Additionally, Dolls Kill has been accused of stealing designs (read more about why this happens so often in fashion), cultural appropriation, inappropriate and exploitative marketing, and in 2020 the owner praised the police during the Black Lives Matter protests sparking the trending hashtag #BoycottDollsKill.
In response, people started sharing other places to get similar styles, though unfortunately many of those brands also have no transparency and questionable ethics. Here are our top picks if you’re looking for Dolls Kill alternatives that are ethically and responsibly made.
(please note: some affiliate links are used in this post which means we may get a small commission)
Thief & Bandit
With their exclusive prints silk screened in-house Thief & Bandit has a signature, statement style. Their inclusive collection includes clothing, swimwear, underwear, and accessories all made in their Halifax studio.
Size Range: XS – 4X
Values: Sustainable materials, made in-house, made-to-order, made in Canada
Availability: based in Canada, ships international
LOUDBODIES
On a mission to design stylish, comfortable, and sustainable clothing for all bodies, LOUDBODIES has the most inclusive size range we’ve come across from an ethical brand! Their sweet feminine styles and statement cuts made a perfect slow fashion alternative to Dolls Kill.
Size Range: XXS – 10XL; custom
Values: Sustainable and recycled materials, made-to-order, low waste production, OEKO-TEX certified fabrics, carbon neutral shipping, made locally
Availability: Based in Romania, ships worldwide
NOCTEX
Love black? Looking for something more dark and edgy? NOCTEX has a collection you must check out! Their pieces are locally made in Canada from deadtsock fabrics.
In addition to producing their own line, NOCTEX is a great place to shop as they also curate and sell pieces from other independent designers (although the other brands may not have the same sustainable/ethical values).
Size Range: XS – 1X
Values: Reclaimed & deadstock materials, low waste production, made in Canada
Availability: based in Canada, ships international
FOXBLOOD
Vegan brands with a gothic, mostly black collection. Their collection includes lots of casual and everyday wear.
FOXBLOOD manufactures in both LA (where they’re based) and Turkey. They select suppliers and manufacturing partners who pay a living wage.
Size Range: XS – 4X
Values: Vegan, some sustainable materials, gives back
Availability: based in USA, ships international
Etsy
While Etsy can be a great place for specialty, handmade clothing, I do want to emphasize that it’s always important to look into the individual seller. Unfortunately some businesses on Etsy aren’t actually selling handmade clothing but are getting it from a factory or re-selling clothing bought elsewhere. An easy way to check for this is to read the seller’s bio and check them out on social media if possible. Ideally they’ll share info about their design and making process.
Size Range: The sizes available will depend on each Etsy store, but many sellers offer plus and custom sizing.
Availability: Etsy is available world wide and you can also filter by stores in your country.
Frankie
I have to give Frankie’s upcycled collection a mention, in particular their bustiers and corsets, reworked cut-out tees, and mini-dresses. They repurpose vintage tracksuits and sportswear to strike the perfect mix of cool, sexy, sporty, and sustainable. Their unique pieces are made in Vancouver with workers paid a living wage.
Size Range: XS – 3XL
Values: upcycled materials, low waste production, made in Canada
Availability: based in Canada, ships international
Tunnel Vision
Collection of alternative vintage and secondhand apparel as well as their house-brand products (made in small batches in certified factories).
Tunnel Vision is based in LA and claims to be “sweatshop-free” – they use certified factories but don’t mention where their house-brand apparel is made.
Size Range: XXS – 5X
Values: vintage and reclaimed garments (some), SGS, SEDEX, or WRAP certified factories, gives back
Availability: based in USA, ships international
We are HAH
Sexy and sweet styles. We are HAH makes swimwear, lingerie and a sexy apparel line for those who want to stand out and show some skin. They provide info about each of their factories and are incorportating more recycled and eco-friendly fabrics into their line.
Size Range: XS – XL
Values: Sustainable and recycled materials (some), gives back
Availability: based in USA, ships international
Uye Surana
Cute feminine, and whimsical lingerie. Uye Surana creates lacy and mesh pieces which can be worn as lingerie or styled as sexy statement pieces. Their garments are ethically made in Colombia in small batches.
Size range: XS – 5XL
Values: Small batch production
Availability: based in USA, ships international
Don’t Forget Secondhand
Shopping secondhand is an amazing sustainable way to find unique clothes. Here are our favourite places to thrift online.
Any ethical brands we missed? Please share your favorites in the comments!
Green Fashion Society
This is such a valuable post My Green Closet. I appreciate how you use a relevant and highly popular fast-fashion brand to help younger audiences find alternative options. I agree that Dolls Kill is a common fast-fashion brand that breaches many ethical standards and environmental initiatives, like most fast fashion brands. I also love how you have placed slow-fashion brands with a similar aesthetic to Dolls Kill for consumers to easily make the switch!
I would be interested to hear your thoughts on how they are breaching these standards, particularly within the environmental sector and how you think this may influence the consumer. As many consumers of these fast fashion brands, are not aware of the damaging effects that their purchase has on our environment. My research has shown me that the consumer’s purchase intentions towards fast fashion brands can be influenced, once they are educated and aware of various environmental issues, animal welfare, and worker welfare.
The source “Do ethical concerns personal values influence the purchase intention of fast-fashion clothing?”, has really helped me understand how people respond to relevant unethical brands such as Zara and H&M, that harm our environment. I would recommend giving it a read!
link to source: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JFMM-01-2019-0011/full/html
ruth h
hi!
i just wanted to say i love this, i’ve been looking for alternatives to dollskill for a while. but most recommendations were still fast fashion or from unethical businesses. its so nice to see such cool brands in the one place! thank you.
Verena Erin
Thanks for commenting! Happy it’s helpful 🙂