10 Sustainable Clothing Brands to Help You Feel Better About Your Closet

Living sustainably can be challenging. Whether you’re composting at home or using recyclable and refillable beauty products, reducing your environmental impact takes extra effort. However, it doesn’t always have to be time-consuming or tedious. One enjoyable and simple switch you can make today is to move away from fast fashion and support sustainable clothing brands. While sustainability has become a marketing buzzword for many companies, there are brands genuinely committed to eco-friendly practices. Here’s how to identify these truly sustainable brands and some top recommendations to get you started.

What is Sustainable Fashion?

Sustainable fashion is an approach to designing, producing, and consuming clothes that aim to minimize the negative impact on the environment and society. This concept encompasses various practices and principles that collectively seek to create a more responsible and ethical fashion industry. The key aspects of sustainable fashion are:

• Eco-Friendly Materials: This means using materials that have a lower environmental footprint. This includes organic cotton, recycled fabrics, bamboo, hemp, and other natural fibers that are produced without harmful chemicals. Also using materials made from recycled plastics and other waste products, helping to reduce landfill waste and conserve natural resources.
• Ethical Production: This focuses on ensuring fair wages, safe working conditions, and the overall well-being of workers in the fashion supply chain. This aspect of sustainable fashion fights against exploitative labor practices, such as sweatshops and child labor.
• Transparency and Traceability: This means providing consumers with information about where and how their clothes are made, from the sourcing of raw materials to the final product. Transparency helps consumers make informed choices and hold companies accountable.
• Circular Fashion: This includes creating high-quality garments that can be repaired, reused, or recycled at the end of their life cycle. The goal is to create a closed-loop system where clothes are continuously repurposed, reducing the need for new raw materials and minimizing waste.
• Reducing Carbon Footprint: This involves using energy-efficient manufacturing processes, investing in renewable energy sources, and optimizing logistics to lower greenhouse gas emissions.
• Slow Fashion: It encourages consumers to buy fewer, higher-quality items that last longer. Slow fashion emphasizes timeless designs, craftsmanship, and the emotional value of clothing.
• Local and Small-Scale Production: Supporting local artisans and small-scale production is another aspect of sustainable fashion. This not only reduces the environmental impact of transportation but also helps to preserve traditional crafts and provide economic support to local communities.

Resources for Sustainable Fashion

There are several resources available for consumers looking to make sustainable fashion choices:

• Remake’s Sustainable Brand Directory: A comprehensive guide to brands with verified sustainable practices. https://directory.remake.world/
• Good On You: A platform that rates brands on their environmental impact, labor conditions, and animal welfare.https://directory.goodonyou.eco/

Here are 10 fashion brands known for their eco-friendly practices, along with a brief explanation of what makes each brand sustainable:

1. Patagonia

Patagonia manufactures outdoor apparels and she is renowned for its commitment to the environment. The brand uses recycled materials for its products and advocates for environmental conservation. Patagonia also encourages customers to repair their gear instead of buying new items. https://www.patagonia.com/home/

2. Everlane

Everlane focuses on quality and on transparency in its supply chain. The brand provides detailed information about the factories where their clothes are made, ensuring ethical practices. They also use sustainable materials and have a line of products made from recycled plastic bottles.https://www.everlane.com/about#

3. Reformation

Reformation is a women’s clothing and accessories brand based in Los Angeles.She uses eco-friendly materials like TENCEL, recycled cotton, and deadstock fabrics. The brand is transparent about its environmental impact, publishing quarterly sustainability reports and striving to minimize waste and energy use.https://www.thereformation.com/clothing?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwyJqzBhBaEiwAWDRJVGqGbCj-2JVKfc7ndJS3dsX78Z0JyyUWd2UMaD8aiCKXkzXL4MO0oRoCnEEQAvD_BwE&page=2

4. Eileen Fisher

Eileen Fisher emphasizes ethical production and sustainable materials. The brand has a take-back program where customers can return old clothes to be resold, repurposed, or recycled. Eileen Fisher also focuses on fair wages and safe working conditions.https://www.eileenfisher.com/

5. Girlfriend Collective

Girlfriend Collective is known for its activewear made from recycled materials, such as old water bottles and fishing nets. The brand uses eco-friendly dyes and 100% recyclable packaging, and they emphasize transparency in their manufacturing processes. https://girlfriend.com/

6. Outerknown

Outerknown, co-founded by surfer Kelly Slater, focuses on sustainability through the use of organic, recycled, and regenerated fibers. The brand ensures fair labor practices and strives to reduce its environmental footprint through ethical manufacturing processes. https://www.outdoorandcountry.co.uk/shop-by-brand/outerknown-clothing.cat

7. People Tree

8. Thought Clothing

Thought Clothing emphasizes on natural, organic, and recycled fabrics. The brand is dedicated to ethical practices and sustainability, offering timeless designs to encourage long-term use of their products.https://www.wearethought.com/

9. Allbirds

Allbirds creates footwear using sustainable materials such as merino wool, eucalyptus tree fiber, and sugarcane. The brand is committed to reducing its carbon footprint and provides transparency about the environmental impact of its products. https://www.allbirds.com/

10. Veja

Veja produces sneakers with organic cotton, wild rubber from the Amazon, and recycled materials. The brand focuses on transparency, fair trade, and ecological materials to ensure a positive impact on the environment and communities. https://www.veja-store.com/en_eu/

These brands offer a variety of options for those looking to make more sustainable fashion choices, from casual wear to high-fashion items, all while maintaining a commitment to environmental and social responsibility.

Make your choices!