KIHT: The Manchester activewear brand selling ethical gymwear

For many women, activewear is all about compromise: You can either look trendy but lack support, or find items that enhance your body yet are basic and boring.

And if all that isn’t hard enough, then you actually need to get motivated to work out!

One brand that claims to be bridging the gap, however, is KIHT Collective – a Manchester-based group that says it’s creating ‘ethical gymwear for babes who care’.

The ethos of the company is to use fabrics that support performance while creating trendy designs – all-the-while being sustainable.

Danielle, the brains behind KIHT, began her work in the fashion industry as a designer in some of the city’s biggest fast fashion brands. But instantly, she knew it wasn’t the right fit for her.

“Seeing and visiting factories in China and Bangladesh VS the glossy shoots, it just never sat well with me”, says Danielle.

“I just felt it should be different”.

Combining this passion for ethical clothing options and her love for health and fitness, Danielle was inspired to launch KIHT.

She believes that gymwear shouldn’t be a struggle between being fashionable or staying fit, and her brand was formed in response to the lack of affordable pieces.

“At the time, the only things on offer were not very feminine and covered in awful logos, unless you could afford to spend £100 on a pair of leggings,” she tells us.

Danielle is also eager to prove that activewear isn’t exclusive for workout sessions, as their versatile, comfortable pieces – with squat-proof compression fabrics and adorable designs – styled for everyday wear.

But most important to her of all is creating a sustainable, transparent brand that customers can trust – with KIHT aiming for a low carbon footprint, ethical sourcing and using factories that don’t support wage labour.

“[I wanted] to create clothing to withstand a sweaty gym session, but makes you feel so good, you wanna wear it all the time!” says Danielle.

“And I wanted to try and give more people the choice to make a sustainable decision.”

You can shop the entire collection of stylish sportswear over on the KIHT website.

KIHT is also collaborating with TreeSisters to plant a tree with every purchase that is made.