We all want to dress to impress, but the truth is that our wardrobes are wearing down our planet. Fast fashion brands like Shein, H&M, and Forever21 have provided us with cheap, single-use outfits and Earth is picking up the tab. Clothing is pretty essential, so we’re glad to see some sustainable fashion brands using better materials and more ethical business practices to keep us looking good.
What is sustainable fashion?
First and foremost, sustainable fashion refers to the clothes that you already own! Regardless of how green something is, every product has an impact. The best purchase you can make for our planet is by not making one!
But, because you can only deal with unraveling threads and worn out knees for so long, here’s another definition of sustainable fashion:
With sustainable fashion, the entire lifecycle of the garment is taken into consideration—as well as the ecosystems and communities involved. To reduce the impact as much as possible, sustainable fashion makes use of eco-friendly materials and manufacturing practices that limit water use and pollution, promote durability, and support workers.
Types of sustainable fashion
What’s already in your closet!
Again, dressing for our planet starts by wearing the clothes that you already own. If you reuse or wear a piece of clothing for just nine months longer, it’s been shown to reduce its environmental impact by up to 30%!
Swapping clothes
From 2000 to 2015, the number of times a garment is typically worn decreased by 36%. Aside from damages associated with the use of poor-quality materials, many of us eventually grow tired of what’s in our closet. Fortunately, a sustainable wardrobe rehaul is easy—and free!
Joining or hosting a clothing swap keeps clothes out of landfill and minimizes the resource requirements of new clothes. Plus, it’s a great way to connect with friends and wear something “new.”
Second hand and thrifted clothes
Similarly, extending the life of a garment by purchasing it used also has several benefits when it comes to water and energy savings, curbing pollution, and keeping products out of landfills. Popular websites like Poshmark and ThreadUp make it easy to buy and sell online, and local thrift stores are always a great place to find a treasure!
In 2018, the EPA reported that a whopping 17 million tons of textiles—mostly clothing—ended up in landfills. Minimizing that number, even by just a little, has a positive impact.
Fair clothes
In April 2013, a Dhaka, Bangladesh building housing five garment factories collapsed, injuring more than 2,500 people and killing at least 1,132. Known as The Rana Plaza disaster, this put the abysmal conditions for factory workers into public view—especially as workers had complained about unsafe working conditions and the building’s structural issues for months.
For this reason, sustainability has often been combined with ethical fashion—and fair trade practices are one of the best ways to provide workers with safe and supportive working environments and fair pay, all while strictly prohibiting exploitation, harassment, forced, and child labor.
Vegan clothes
Many animal-derived materials (leather, wool, cashmere, fur, etc.) are known to pollute the planet, harm workers in the supply chain, and obviously cause animals to suffer. It’s a common misconception that animal materials like leather are byproducts because, in fact, they’re often considered to be a coproduct—meaning that both meat and leather drive the industry.
Upcycled clothes
As a quick reminder, to upcycle is to: “recycle (something) in such a way that the resulting product is of a higher value than the original item,” according to Merriam-Webster.
So, in the case of fashion, old garments or fabric scraps—often referred to as “deadstock” fabrics—are upcycled into new, cool clothes. This keeps valuable materials out of landfills and makes for unique clothes.
Circular fashion
Circular fashion considers every step of the garment’s life so closed-loop production systems might also be used to minimize waste and pollution and materials are designed to be kept in use as long as possible. Oftentimes, an option to recycle/upcycle/resell the garment itself is in place.
Recycling clothes
It’s been found that up to 95% of clothes that are discarded could have been recycled or reworn instead!
Gone are the days where you have to lug a bag of donations around. Many sustainable fashion brands are starting to provide options to recycle garments—any brand, any condition—by shipping them back after receiving an order.
- Knickey is a popular brand that offers recycling for old underwear.
- Madewell turns old jeans into insulation.
- Pact has a Give Back. Wear Forward. program distributes gently used clothes to nonprofits.
What is sustainable clothing typically made of?
Organic cotton
Conventionally grown cotton is a notoriously difficult crop. You might be familiar with the fact that a single cotton t-shirt uses 2,700 liters of water! Cotton is only grown on 2.5% of Earth’s agricultural land, but uses a whopping 16% of pesticides! This leads to significant health and environmental problems.
Fortunately, organic cotton is a much greener fabric. It’s better for the farmers, the soil, surrounding ecosystems and waterways, and us (less synthetic chemicals are required)!
Hemp
Hemp has been referred to as cannabis’ “sober cousin” because the quick-growing plant doesn’t contain any psychoactive THC. What it does contain is an extremely durable, sustainable fabric!
Hemp doesn’t require pesticides or much water to grow, and it can support soil by preventing erosion. Considered a “miracle fiber” for many, hemp is weather resistant, mold- and UV-resistant, versatile, absorbent, lightweight, and relatively cheap to produce. It’s no wonder it’s been used for more than 10,000 years in clothes!
Linen
Another fabric with use dating back thousands of years, linen was used to wrap Egyptian mummies, and today the flax-based fiber is even more popular. It’s two to three times stronger than cotton, dries quickly, and has natural heat and moisture-wicking properties.
It also holds dye better, meaning less required chemicals. It gets softer over time, too!
Recycled materials
Because they typically contain several components, materials, and dyes, clothes are notoriously difficult to recycle. Globally, just 12% of clothing material gets recycled.
Recently, however, brands are producing a different type of recycled clothes: those made with recycled materials (typically polyester, nylon, and even cashmere and wool).
In fact, rPET (recycled polyethylene), which is made from recycled plastic bottles, is commonly making its way into activewear. Recycled nylon, which is typically from discarded fishing nets, can be increasingly found in things like swimwear.
Because synthetic based materials—recycled or not—still release microplastics in the washer, it’s recommended to use a Guppyfriend washing bag to capture them so they don’t pollute waterways.
How can you tell if you’re buying sustainable clothing?
Look for transparency
As green has become the new black, greenwashing—or false information or impressions about how environmentally-friendly a company is—has become more popular, too.
For this reason, it’s important to ensure that a brand has information and details to back up their claims! Aside from certifications, look for information about where their factories are located, how/where they source their materials, and any practices that are in place to support workers.
Look for certifications
Because they’re third-party verified, certifications are the best way to ensure that a sustainable clothing company is actually sustainable! Especially with larger brands (who have the budgets to afford certification), you should clearly be able to see one, or several, of the following:
- Fair Trade Certified: indicates that a certified factory was used, meaning no child/slave labor, safe working conditions, and fair pay
- Fairtrade: the international organization protecting workers’ rights and ensuring fair trade agreements between farmers and buyers
- SA8000: workers are paid living wages and ILO-based standards are in place to support their health and safety
- WRAP: the World Responsible Accredited Production checks for safe working conditions and ensures the freedom of association and collective bargaining, and prohibits child/forced labor
- GOTS: the Global Organic Textile Standard considers fair labor, chemicals, type of fiber, how wastewater is processed (beyond just organic materials, it ensures ethical and sustainable practices)
- Bluesign: awarded to companies that minimize their ecological impact and pollution and support worker and environmental safety
- OEKO-TEX Standard 100: indicates less harmful chemicals are used in manufacturing
- GRS: the Global Recycled Standard ensures that garments actually contain recycled materials
- Certified B Corporation: measures environmental and social impact, providing a score (B Impact Assessment) based on company’s impact
- Climate Neutral: indicates net-zero carbon emissions from offsets and practices to reduce emissions
Look for a company that gives back
Even with the best materials and the most ethical and environmentally sustainable business practices, sustainable fashion still has an impact. To help to offset some of this, many brands have philanthropic efforts to give back.
This could look like paid volunteer days for staff, donations of excess garments to nonprofits, or contributions to social/environmental organizations like 1% for the Planet and One Tree Planted.
Look for limited batches or made-to-order pieces
It’s recently been discovered that many fashion brands make clothes for 52 micro-seasons! In a world where we’re consuming and discarding clothes like never before, this is a really bad look for our planet.
It’s better to go with brands who embrace slow fashion, or who feature very limited batches, have slow turnaround times, or produce made-to-order pieces.
5 High Quality Sustainable Fashion Brands
Patagonia
- Based in: California, USA
- Price Range: Relatively affordable ($$$)
- Product Categories: Outdoor apparel for the whole family
About
Driven by durability, repairability, and limited ecological impacts, Patagonia has played a key role in shifting the entire fashion industry. The mission-driven company is large, but has remained committed to protecting our planet.
What makes them sustainable?
They started the organization 1% for the Planet, use an ever-expanding range of sustainable materials, are supporting the regenerative agricultural movement, and produce garments in many U.S.-based Fair Trade factories.
They also have Worn Wear—a collection of secondhand Patagonia garments! Trade-ins get store credit, too.
Shop: Patagonia
Girlfriend Collective
- Based in: Washington, USA
- Price Range: Affordable ($$)
- Product Categories: Men’s and women’s activewear and swimwear (including maternity and plus size)
About
Girlfriend Collective is committed to being as transparent and eco-friendly as possible. They use 100% recycled packaging and recycled polyester and nylon make up the bulk of the materials that go into their clothes.
They also embrace inclusivity—some of their garments go up to size 6X!
What makes them sustainable?
Girlfriend Collective is all about circular fashion and closing the loop. Their clothes are made from recycled materials and they have an option to send back old Girlfriend pieces to be transformed into new clothes!
Their Hanoi factory is SA8000-certified and their recycled fabric is OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certified. They only use eco-friendly dyes.
Shop: Girlfriend Collective
Eileen Fisher
- Based in: New York, USA
- Price Range: Expensive ($$$$)
- Product Categories: Women’s apparel and shoes (including plus size)
About
Eileen Fisher has been producing stylish, beautiful clothes since 1984—and has recently become a leader in ethical and sustainable fashion. They prioritize timeless, well-made clothes and minimalist style, and specialize in loose-fitting garments that can be worn year after year.
What makes them sustainable?
Eileen Fisher uses a range of sustainable materials like organic cotton and recycled nylon.They’re also one of the few brands to use organic linen! They embrace circular systems and accept old garments to be repaired and recycled, too.
The brand is extremely transparent about their supply chain, sharing details about their factories and workers. While just a few garments are made in Fair Trade factories, they’re committed to providing living wages to every single person in their supply chain.
Shop: Eileen Fisher
ABLE
- Based in: Tennessee, USA
- Price Range: Affordable ($$)
- Product Categories: Women’s apparel, shoes, and accessories
About
ABLE is committed to use ethical fashion as a vehicle to employ and empower women. They started out by selling scarves made by Ethiopian women who needed employment after leaving the commercial sex industry—but now sell leather bags, shoes, jewelry, and clothes.
What makes them sustainable?
The mostly woman-based team is changing the fashion industry for the better by demanding living wages. Just 2% of fashion workers earn it, so ABLE introduced the #LowestWageChallenge. They transparently share the lowest wages of some of their manufacturing partners in Brazil, India, Ethiopia, Mexico, and Nashville, Tennessee.
They also use scrap leather and metal in their accessories, and mostly-natural materials in their clothing. They are supported by certifications from GOTS, FSC, and (soon) WRAP.
Shop: Able
Athleta
- Based in: California, USA
- Price Range: Affordable ($$)
- Product Categories: Women’s and girl’s activewear
About
Now owned by Gap Inc., Athleta got its start in 1998 to provide easy-to-wear clothes for athletic women.
What makes them sustainable?
The brand uses some recycled materials and has practices in place to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and manage water use.
Athleta is a Certified B Corp and has a Power of She fund that provides $2 million in grants every year to women who find confidence through movement.
Shop: Athleta
Wrapping up sustainable fashion brands
You know those good feelings that come with wearing something new? They can feel even better when you know that the clothes have been produced in a sustainable and ethical way. This list just scratches the surface of all of the sustainable fashion brands—support them so that the movement can keep growing!
Disclaimers:
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