‘A sisterhood of the travelling pants, but with belly-support shorts’: how to ethically shop and share maternity clothes

When Taylor Brydges, a circular economy researcher at the University of Technology Sydney, fell pregnant for the first time, she had clear priorities when it came to her clothes: nothing “obviously maternity” and she wanted her purchases to be thrifted or ethically manufactured.

Above all, she says, “I knew I wanted to be out and about”. Her clothes had to look good while also being suitable for pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Brydges’ concerns represent a very modern dilemma: what to wear during big life changes in a cost-of-living and climate crisis.

For this generation of mothers this trifecta of needs is widespread and reflected in the rise of the circular maternity wear economy. Broadly speaking, it’s comprised of four major categories: sustainable designers, clothing adaptors, rental services and secondhand or sharing economies.

Share your clothes

When Melbourne-based author Wendy Syfret was pregnant with her daughter, she and her friends developed a habit of sharing maternity clothes. “Kind of a middle-age sisterhood of the travelling pants, but with expensive physio-designed belly support bike shorts rather than jeans,” she says.

Related: Know your measurements and stick to the rules: Guardian readers’ top tips on shopping secondhand

For Mercedes Fratamico, a working mother of two from Philadelphia, sharing maternity clothes has been a way to keep in touch with her best friend who lives in another state.

“Judy got pregnant with her first baby during the third trimester of my first pregnancy, so once I was done with my maternity clothes, I offered them to her,” she says. They’ve successfully posted each other maternity clothes across four pregnancies. “Because not all our pregnancy seasons have perfectly aligned, we ship items as needed, bit by bit.”

Buy, swap and sell at secondhand marketplaces

Online secondhand marketplaces may be one of the most useful communities the internet has given us, particularly for buying preloved maternity clothes. The Facebook group Maternity & Breastfeeding Clothes Buy Swap Sell Australia has almost 20,000 members.

“A lot of people sell secondhand items that were only used for a single pregnancy, so most are in great condition,” says Fratamico, who frequents buy, swap, sell groups. For convenience, she often buys bundles of maternity clothes packaged up in a single size.

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“I was able to get pants, shirts and dresses in a single purchase. For example, 15 items for $50 in a size medium,” she says. Bundles of secondhand maternity clothing are also available on other resale sites such as eBay and Depop.

If interacting with strangers online isn’t for you, Jumping Jack operates a consignment service for secondhand and excess maternity and children’s clothes from a warehouse in Melbourne. Garments can be purchased from their website, and if you have things to sell, simply fill out an online form , post your garments in and they handle everything else.

Sellers receive a 40% commission once their garments have sold, but they can also opt for their proceeds to be donated to charity.

Hire a maternity dress

Expectant mothers can hire a dress for weddings and special occasions instead of investing in a whole outfit they’ll only wear once.

“I didn’t want to spend an [exorbitant] amount of money on dresses I wouldn’t wear again,” says Pamela Loustos, a Sydney-based event manager. “It was just so much easier to rent and get it delivered. I liked that I didn’t really have to wash it, and I could send it back the way that it was.”

The Volte is one of the most well-known rental service platforms in Australia, and while they don’t carry maternity-specific dresses, the site has collated a selection of pregnancy-friendly styles in a range of sizes. “From personal experience, I’d look to designers who do volume, like Alemais, Shona Joy and Lee Mathews, as their designs will work with a prominent baby bump,” says The Volte’s chief brand and strategy officer, Kellie Hush.

If you’re after something maternity-specific, Mama Rentals has over 140 different styles of special-occasion maternity dresses and gowns in a range of sizes. A typical rental period is four days, with the option to extend to eight days or two weeks; prices start at $69.

Glam Corner also offers a maternity subscription service that allows you to rent three items a month for a minimum of three months. It includes cleaning services and a personal stylist to help select pieces that are suitable for a changing body. Prices range from $79 to $219 a month.

Seek sustainable designers

When shopping for new pieces, it’s important to look for quality items made from natural fibres you will want to wear when you’re no longer pregnant or that might have resale value if you decide to pass them on. Australian brands Uton and Sorella Organics have a range of responsibly manufactured maternity basics made from Oeko-tex certified bamboo jersey and certified organic cotton respectively.

When looking at non-maternity options that will suit a growing bump and bust, look for wrap styles, kaftans with a bit of give or drape, oversized shirts and thick jerseys that won’t become transparent when stretched. Some good options include Seaside Tones , Kuwaii , Cloth & Co , By Freer and Kowtow .

The Very Good Bra also make a nursing bra from unbleached, undyed organic cotton and elastic. “It has six adjustments on each side, enabling the bra to grow and contract with you comfortably during this time,” says the company’s founder and designer, Stephanie Devine.

Adapt your current garments

One way to keep your pre-pregnancy trousers and jeans in rotation is a maternity pants extender , a piece of fabric with a button and a buttonhole that attach to your fly and sits in the opening of your pants. There are also simpler elastic options for earlier in your pregnancy that bridge a smaller gap between the fastening. As your bump grows, belly bands can act as an extra fabric layer to provide extra coverage between the bottom of your T-shirts and the top of your pants.

Related: Pants that eat your feet: how to wear long-lined trousers without destroying the hem

Finding a versatile dress for the bump and beyond

Brydges eventually found a versatile, multifunctional dress that appeased her sartorial anxiety – a mid-length kaftan from Ever by X which she wore during pregnancy and postpartum to the beach, park, dinner and work.

There is enough fabric in the dress to accommodate a growing bump, while the drape of the fabric – a vegan “silk”, similar to viscose rayon – and the included sash can be tied in different ways to transform the silhouette . It also featured a line of buttons down the chest which run low enough to be suitable for breastfeeding.

At $395, it’s not the cheapest option. But it is made in Sydney and Brydges says the price is balanced by its cost per wear. She’s bought the kaftan in several colours and often lends them to pregnant and breastfeeding friends – including one she posted to her sister in Canada.

“Those days and weeks after my older daughter was born were such a beautiful and completely overwhelming time,” she says. “It was a relief to have something to wear that I didn’t have to think about because it was lightweight and didn’t cling to my body, which was going through some crazy things.”