The sustainable fashion conversation has a class problem. Most of the brands that get coverage for being sustainable are expensive—SGD 200 for a shirt, SGD 400 for a dress. The message is implicit: if you want to dress sustainably, you need to have enough disposable income to make that choice. Our Second Nature is a Singapore brand that is explicitly trying to make sustainable fashion accessible to normal budgets. Whether they’ve succeeded is the actual question.
The Sustainable Fashion Affordability Problem
Sustainable fashion brands have a pricing problem that’s structural rather than accidental. Sustainable materials cost more than conventional alternatives. Ethical labor costs more than unregulated manufacturing. Small batch production costs more than mass production. The result is sustainable fashion that is priced for a premium market.
This means the people most likely to care about sustainable fashion—younger consumers with environmental awareness and lower disposable income—are priced out of the brands that best reflect their values. They end up buying from fast fashion brands they know are problematic because the sustainable alternative requires spending more than their budget allows.
Our Second Nature is attempting this specific problem. The brand’s positioning as “accessible sustainable fashion” is not just marketing—it’s a deliberate pricing strategy to make sustainability achievable for people who aren’t shopping at the premium end of the market.
What Our Second Nature Is Actually Making
The brand’s collection covers women, men, and children, with a living collection for the home. The aesthetic is nature-inspired: floral prints, soft pastels, checkered knits, and the kind of visual language that references the natural world without being literally botanical in a distracting way.
The fabric story is central to the brand’s sustainability claims. Modal-cotton blends and natural fibers are the primary materials. Modal is made from beech trees and has a lower environmental footprint than conventional cotton in terms of water usage. The brand doesn’t make extraordinary claims about their materials—the sustainability story is about being genuinely better than conventional fashion rather than claiming perfection.
Dresses at SGD 59-109: The dress range is where the brand’s price-to-value proposition is clearest. A SGD 99 modal-cotton pleated dress is priced competitively with conventional fast fashion while using better materials. The floral print ruffle-sleeve dress at SGD 59 is genuinely accessible for a sustainable fashion piece.
Tops at SGD 52-89: The top range at SGD 52-89 covers casual and work-appropriate options. The pintuck lace-trim halter top at SGD 89 represents the higher end; the basic knit vests at SGD 52 represent the accessible entry point.
Kids and family range: The children’s collection at SGD 52-59 and the girls’ range are notable because sustainable fashion for children is particularly relevant. Kids outgrow clothes quickly, which means the environmental impact per garment is higher. A brand that can make sustainable children’s clothing at accessible price points serves a real need.
The Honest Sustainability Assessment
“Our Second Nature” as a brand name sets expectations about sustainability that need to be examined honestly.
The brand uses natural and semi-natural fibers (modal-cotton blends rather than pure polyester), which is meaningfully better than conventional fashion. The production practices are likely better than unregulated manufacturing, though the brand doesn’t provide detailed supply chain transparency that would allow verification.
The honest assessment: Our Second Nature is genuinely more sustainable than conventional fast fashion. It’s not zero-impact sustainable fashion, and the brand doesn’t claim to be. It’s a realistic middle-ground option for consumers who want to make better choices without spending luxury prices.
This is a legitimate position. Not every sustainable fashion brand needs to be at the premium end of the market. A brand that makes accessible sustainable fashion available to normal budgets does more environmental good than a brand that makes perfect sustainable fashion that only wealthy consumers can afford.
The Design Language: Nature-Inspired Without Being Literal
The floral prints and pastel color palette aren’t just aesthetic choices—they’re part of the brand’s identity and its resonance with customers who want clothing that feels calm rather than loud.
The nature-inspired design language is consistent across the range. Men’s, women’s, and children’s collections all share the same visual vocabulary: soft colors, natural textures, prints that reference the natural world in an abstract rather than literal way. This coherence means the brand is building a wardrobecosystem rather than just selling individual pieces.
The “timeless over trendy” positioning means pieces are designed to work across seasons rather than to be replaced when fashion moves on. This is consistent with the sustainability ethos: if clothes are designed to last and to remain relevant, they don’t need to be replaced as frequently.
What to Actually Buy from Our Second Nature
A dress in the SGD 59-99 range: This is where the brand’s value proposition is strongest. The modal-cotton construction is more comfortable than conventional cotton in Singapore’s climate, and the prices are genuinely accessible for sustainable fashion. The floral print options are particularly strong.
Children’s pieces for sustainable parenting: At SGD 52-59 for girls’ pieces, the children’s range is priced accessibly enough to buy multiple pieces without budget pain. The sustainability credentials are meaningful for children’s clothing, where replacement frequency is high.
A gift for someone who’s curious about sustainable fashion: If you want to introduce someone to sustainable fashion without asking them to spend SGD 200 on an experiment, an Our Second Nature piece at SGD 50-80 is a low-risk way to test whether the sustainable fashion concept works for them.
What to skip: The men’s range is more limited than the women’s and children’s collections. If you’re buying for a man in your life, check the current range before committing—the brand’s focus seems to be on the women’s and children’s market.
The Comparison with Alternatives
Our Second Nature vs mainstream sustainable brands: The price difference is the key differentiator. Where brands like Kowtow or People Tree are priced significantly higher, Our Second Nature offers comparable sustainability credentials at prices closer to conventional fashion. If budget is a constraint, Our Second Nature is the more realistic choice.
Our Second Nature vs conventional fast fashion: The SGD 20-30 gap between a Zara dress and an Our Second Nature dress is real. What you’re paying for is better materials, more responsible production, and clothes designed to last. Whether that’s worth the gap depends on your budget and your values.
Our Second Nature vs other Singapore sustainable brands: The brand’s accessibility positioning distinguishes it from premium Singapore sustainable brands. GINLEE Studio and SABRINAGOH are in a higher price tier. Our Second Nature is explicitly competing for the accessible sustainable fashion market.
Where to Buy and What to Know
The brand sells through its website at oursecondnature.com. The website has the full range including items that may not be available through other channels.
Shipping within Singapore is available. International shipping should be confirmed on the website before purchasing if you’re outside Singapore.
The physical retail presence beyond the website should be checked on the brand’s website or social media—the brand’s primary channel appears to be online, with limited physical retail.
The Honest Summary
Our Second Nature has a clear and genuine value proposition: sustainable fashion that normal people can afford. The materials are better than conventional fashion, the design language is coherent and appealing, and the prices are accessible in a way that premium sustainable fashion brands can’t match.
The sustainability credentials are real but not extraordinary. The brand is doing better than conventional fashion, not achieving perfect sustainability. This is the right way to understand it: a genuine improvement, honestly marketed, at a price point that makes it achievable.
The sweet spot is the Singapore consumer who wants to make better fashion choices but is working with a normal budget. Someone who would like to dress more sustainably but can’t justify spending SGD 200 on a shirt, and who is therefore still buying conventional fashion despite their values. Our Second Nature gives that person an option that actually fits their reality.
The recommendation: start with a dress in the SGD 59-89 range, see how the quality feels in person, and decide from there. For a first sustainable fashion purchase at an accessible price point, it’s a reasonable place to start.
This article is based on publicly available information from Our Second Nature’s Singapore operations. Pricing and product availability should be verified directly at oursecondnature.com before purchasing.