Is Oak and Fort A Fast Fashion Brand? An Expert Breakdown!

Existing in such a fast-paced era, where new trends are introduced and others die overnight, is quite tiring. Constantly keeping an eye on the latest fashion trends and the worry of upgrading your wardrobe every few weeks takes quite a toll on an individual. Sometimes, it is better to sit back and let classic neutral styles lead your everyday fashion look which can last long without going out of style and are easier to pair with any clothing item. We found Oak + Fort to fit this description quite well.

You may not have heard of this brand because even though it is slowly rising out of the ashes, Oak + Fort is still not a household name anywhere in the world. But witnessing its current growth, it may very well be in the next few years. Oak + Fort is a Canada-based brand that emerged in 2010 as a collaborative effort by the husband-and-wife duo, Arjuna Thiafarajah and Min Kang, and it creates timeless modern pieces based on minimalist living. The first glance at their website may be underwhelming as we’re used to trendy pieces jumping out at us when we browse through the website of any fashion brand, but Oak + Fort is quite subtle in its approach.

It makes you stop, and patiently look through the designs and you feel a sense of peace taking over you as the monochromatic colors and palettes call out to you through the screen. It does not believe in tiringly putting out the latest fashion trends every other day and not having a basic sense of identity about who it is as a unique fashion brand. Instead, it sticks to introducing seasonal collections that defy trends and stick to muted colors and designs that may not look sharp as compared to trendy pieces but have a timeless and comfortable vibe that satisfies you for a long time.

The minimalistic designs and monochromatic colors also allow you to pair the pieces with any other clothing that you own, making them even more attractive as you can create new outfits with just a single piece of Oak + Fort clothing.

Sustainability Rating: 4/10

Category: Clothing, Accessories, Homeware

For: Women, Men

Products: Tops, Mini Dresses, Outerwear, Cardigans, Jackets

Style: Minimalistic, Classic, Modern, Cool

Quality: Medium

Prices: $30.00 - $1000.00 (US)

Size: XXS-XL (International Size)

Fabrics: Polyester, Polyester Blend, Cotton, Spandex, Cotton Blend, Elastane, Nylon

100% Organic: No

100% Vegan: No

Ethical and Fair: No

Recycling: No

Manufacturing Countries: Not Transparent Enough

Certifications: Not Transparent Enough

Even though Oak + Fort was established quite early on, it didn’t blow up or become popular initially. In 2019, it joined forces with DAC Group to increase its social media presence and help the brand reach a wider audience. It began a campaign on Instagram and Facebook to increase traffic on its online store as well as the newly established retail stores opened in Canada. We can see now that the effort proved fruitful as Oak and Fort gained most of its popularity through social media.

The brand claims to produce clothing for both men and women but its men’s collection is quite compact and does not seem to be the main priority. It is a female-owned and led company that wants to enhance the uniqueness of women and highlight their individuality. They claim to offer affordable prices but this statement is controversial as it falls on the expensive range and customers always inform people to only buy from them if they do not mind spending a large sum of money on clothing. The brand says that the high quality of its clothing is the reason behind the slightly raised prices but many reviews on blogs and review sites complain about the low quality of the clothing. A thread on Reddit made in 2023 had several customers complaining about the thinness of the clothes and the continuously declining quality of the clothes.

This makes it hard to place Oak + Fort as a fast fashion brand or not. While it does not necessarily follow fashion trends, some of its clothing is low-quality and not durable. It does not last long as opposed to the timelessness it claims to offer the market. Along with the cons, it does have its pros as well. It offers free shipping on orders of more than $150 and carries out regular sales that are quite satisfying to customers. However, reviewers on Trustpilot expressed their rage against the bad customer service and the uncooperative attitude of the team on the return of sale items. So be careful before buying any item during a sale as you may not be able to return them if you change your mind.

As far as the sustainability aspect goes, Oak + Fort is rated “Not Good Enough” on the GoodOnYou directory. While the brand does use some recycled materials, it provides no information on its carbon emissions or water wastage. Moreover, no one knows where it sources its materials from or where the manufacturing factories are based. Some speculations are that it is a factory in China where labor rights are not respected and the workers work under terrible conditions with barely any pay. Nevertheless, there is some hope for its animal cruelty policies as we could not find any products made of fur, exotic animal skin, or angora. A lot of information is still required to form a proper image of what Oak + Fort looks like behind the scenes.

The good thing is that Oak + Fort seems to be aware of the public’s eye on its lack of transparency regarding sustainable and ethical practices due to which it recently became a part of Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) which aims to satisfy customers’ need for transparency. Furthermore, it recently collaborated with ThredUp to launch a sub-platform called Oak Renew to begin its journey in promoting circular fashion and reducing its carbon footprint in the world. The vice president of the company expressed the collective desire of the brand to be a part of a more sustainable future.

We can say then that Oak + Fort has a long way to go as far as transparency regarding its ethical and sustainable practices goes, but it seems to have begun its journey and has already begun initiatives towards it. Also, as it continues to turn away from following trends, it may become one of the most sustainable non-fast fashion brands soon.

Sources:

OAK + FORT | DAC (dacgroup.com)

Oak and Fort Clothing Review - Is It A Scam or Legit? - iReviews

OAK + FORT Reviews | Read Customer Service Reviews of www.oakandfort.com (trustpilot.com)

OAK+FORT - Sustainability Rating - Good On You

Canadian Retailer Oak + Fort Is Expanding In The U.S. With 9-Plus New Stores (forbes.com)