Ethical and Sustainable Clothing Brands

67 Comments

  1. I’m surprised to spot eve cork on here. I returned a bag that was rather large on me and didn’t hear from them for weeks, then heard from them, had a run around, and didn’t hear for months about the refund. Had to file a complaint with BBB, post a review on their facebook looking for answers, until they finally sent me a refund >_<

  2. And when it comes to baby clothing, it’s always tiny twig for their incredible organic cotton that are gots certified

  3. Thanks for making this list. I loved discovering TwoThirds and Tropicfeel. Very cool companies. I’m trying to get outfitted for moving to a Scandinavian country from a warmer climate halfway around the world (studying abroad for a year), and I’m also on a pretty tight budget. So… pretty much everything here is still way too expensive for me, including those in the “low” categories (e.g. $50USD for a basic t-shirt, 80 for a sweater, 60 for one bra, 20 for one pair of underwear). It’s amazing that so many of these great companies exist, but it’s also very hard for many of us to access their products when we have such little money to spare. To put myself in context, beyond a tiny number of garments here and there, I haven’t bought new clothing in several years. I’m still wearing underwear and bras that I purchased over ten years ago (which sucks, trust me, nothing fits well), not to mention shirts and pants that are almost all the same age or close. I have gotten some garments from thrift stores over the years and rarely, when truly necessary and can be purchased cheaply, from crappy big box stores. I want to abide by my social justice ethics and my [ethical] vegan values, and I also need new clothes and am fairly poor. Sigh. The search continues….

    1. Hi Rikki, I’m glad you found a couple of brands that resonate! I totally understand what you mean about cost. But, unfortunately, that’s the true cost of garments that tick most of the ethical and sustainable boxes across the supply chain. Hopefully, over time we’ll start to see the prices come down. All the best with your international study experience. It sounds amazing!

  4. Don Davies says:

    Lovely review and I think the sustainable clothing brands on the list are really the best out there. Me personally, an Arizona native, I’m really fond of buying my clothes from https://coalatree.com/pages/about-us. Be it outdoor wear, or leisure wear, you name it, they got it. I really think that they should be featured in top list!

  5. As a devoted vegan for years, I can say this is the hands-down BEST and most comprehensive vegan-friendly fashion brand list I have ever come across. I just discovered at least 20 new brands I’m immediately obsessed with after being in the game for years – thank you so much!!

    1. We’re thrilled that you found some brands to support through this guide. Thanks for sharing your feedback, and we hope you find some great vegan-friendly clothing for yourself.

  6. Hello

    I was thinking to order from two thirds. did someone tried out? Can you tell me more about the pants? (I wanna know if they are actually warm for a cool winter). Or just a feedback would be great 🙂

  7. This article is amazing, thanks so much for putting it together. I’d like to suggest adding Womn to the list. The website is https://womn.co/. They are a conscious clothing company based out of Los Angeles focusing on sustainable fabrics and ethical production. Similar to TwoThirds, they also use pre-ordering to cut down on potential waste.

    1. You’re welcome! Thanks for the suggestion. We’ll be updating the post soon, so will be sure to review womn for consideration 🙂

  8. mary ni leime says:

    Rejean Denim and The Emperors Old Clothes are 2 brands that use secondhand or vintage fabric to make new clothes. They are focused on paying their staff a living wage as opposed to a minimum wage. Ethical and sustainable

  9. I think you should check out TWOTHIRDS. It’s a great sustainable clothing brand.

    1. Hi Caroline, we haven’t heard about them, but they look fantastic. Thanks for the suggestion 🙂

  10. Véronique says:

    Thank you for this list with all these amazing brands. My goal was actually to reduce the amount of items in my closet ?. But with this new knowledge it is going to be difficult. I would like to add two brands. Miss Green, dutch women clothing, and Matt & Nat who makes beautiful vegan “leather“ bags. The bags are made of 100% recycled plastic bottles.

    1. You’re welcome Véronique 🙂 Haha yes, I understand what you mean, however, the list is here only if you really need to add things to your closet ? We haven’t heard of Miss Green, so we’ll check them out! Matt & Nat used to be on our list, but we removed them because closer research revealed their practices weren’t as good as we initially thought. We still have some of their products as they are of good quality.

  11. Thank you so much for all the suggestions! For most of my clothes I like to shop at flea markets and thrift shops, but for the times I can’t find that thing I’m looking for, it is great to have some good options on hand. For example for most of my outdoor clothing and gear, I can highly recommend Vaude, a German outdoor supplier.

    1. Sorry Sophie, we initially missed your comment. Thank you for sharing your approach to sustainable clothing shopping 🙂

  12. Thank you for sharing. Pistol Lake is an ethical clothing manufacturer based in Los Angeles. They have minimalist, outdoor, themed clothing for men made of recycled material. They also make sweaters out of Eudae which is similar to merino wool but made from eucalyptus trees. I think they ship internationally.

    1. Thank for the recommendation Dom! We’ll check them out to see if they can be added to the list. It’s nice to see this kind of brand for men’s clothing.

  13. Thank you for so many suggestions – I am living a plant based diet and am becoming more aware of vegan items and products outside of those I can eat. It is great to see so many ethical and sustainable alternatives out there, especially local Australian initiatives.

  14. I didn´t know few of them so now I gonna have a good time looking at them and buying few things, thanks! I bought a couple times from thehippiecow.com in case you want to add it! I really like the brand.

  15. Hi Just checking in with an update on reformation as they currently carry leather. Not sure if that’s new for them but thought you might not be aware. Hope you find this useful!

    Thanks for the article.

    Julie

    1. Thanks for letting me know Julie, I have updated the listing letting people know that it’s not all vegan. Much appreciated!

  16. wonderful collection! i was looking for vegan wallet and found this blog.

    This is unique as per my searching but really having great collection.

  17. Sad update from Leanne at Vaute Couture. Too bad, good mission.
    ______________________________________________

    From: Leanne
    Date: September 6, 2018 at 8:27:58 AM PDT
    Subject: Investor Update: Request for help/partner
    Reply-To: Leanne

    Unfortunately, I have bad news. We’ve been working all year on raising a Series A or bringing on a large partner to scale manufacturing and cover a cash gap from 2015-2016 (more on this below), and while we had many prospects, nothing has come to fruition. Vaute is now on life support — we have 45 days left to find a partner or we will need to close the business.

    A recap of what brought us here: After the loss we took from expanding to too many categories and employing an expensive leadership and retail team in 2015-2016, I spent 2017 cleaning up our business model and paring back to focus on our profitable outerwear category, e-commerce, and a minimal team. We not only made it through our 2017-2018 fall/winter season but grew our market reach with astounding results in our first paid marketing campaign (up to 8.6 ROI some weeks). We also reached new mainstream markets through NY Magazine, Glamour, PBS, and celebrities like Liam Hemsworth and Edie Falco, yet we had issues increasing production. This meant we had a successful season (we still increased sales from 2017), but couldn’t produce fast enough or at a high enough volume. The demand was there, but I realized that we had a structural issue: without a major manufacturing partner to fund growth and scale operations at our ethical standard, we couldn’t handle the volume of orders that were needed to stay in business.

    Until February 2018, I was in discussions for a Series A to get us to the fall/winter 2018 season that sadly fell through. Since then, I’ve been working with a broker to find a partner or buyer. Though we had many promising prospects and were optimistic it was just a matter of choosing the right one, we were not able to close a deal in time to responsibly begin production.

    I have done everything I possibly can, but time is running out. Please let me know if you know of a potential manufacturing partner or buyer who could scale at our ethical standard (living wage production). We need to find one by October 15th for us to launch our FW2019 collection or we will be forced to close. To keep costs at a minimum, I stopped taking an income for the last three months while we looked for a partner/buyer, and have been living with my wonderful friends week-to-week while working to find a solution. If we don’t find a partner, however, I will soon need to start looking for a job.

    The idea of closing breaks my heart. After launching in 2008 with the mission to create the category of vegan apparel and show that animals do not belong in the fashion equation, my next goal was to break through to the mainstream and make “ethical fashion” a household concept. I’ve invested every fiber of my being into making that happen and I can hardly believe it may be over. At the same time, I’m so grateful for all that we’ve accomplished. Most businesses don’t make it to their second birthday, let alone their tenth (ours is today- actually), and most pioneer companies spend so much effort just breaking ground on a new category or idea, pushing boundaries, and setting up new systems and materials, that they don’t get to then grow into a viable company.

    Still, you always think that you will be the exception. I always thought through all the challenges, through all the times we almost didn’t make it (several per season since the beginning, as entrepreneurship goes), that we would keep defying the odds and find a way forward. It may be that instead of being here to become a household name, we were here to create the category of vegan apparel, get animals on the map for ethical fashion, and lay the groundwork for businesses to follow in our footsteps to grow and go mainstream; if it is not us, I am thrilled to pass the baton to those who come after us to keep running as fast as they can to speak up for as many animals as they can, until the day when wearing animals is a thing of the past.

    I have dedicated ten years to this mission. I’ve made painful mistakes and it has felt impossible at times, yet it has been an incredible journey; we’ve made a significant social impact, and I have met the most amazing people — including you. Along with making an impact, I wanted so badly to make you money. I wish I had a different update for you, but if we cannot find a partner, and Vaute is forced to close, please know that your investment saved lives, created jobs, and opened minds and for that, I’m so grateful and also hopeful for the animals in the fashion industry.

    NEXT STEPS

    1. We are checking what tax deductions can be made for your convertible note, in the case we do close. We will be following up when we have this information.
    2. Please let me know if you might have a potential partner or buyer for us.
    3. I will update you again around October 15th to let you know what the next steps are.

    Sorry again that I do not have better news. I’m grateful to you for joining me on this mission and for everything you do for the animals and humans in this world.

    With lots of gratitude.

    Vaute · 35 Meadow St Ste 101 · Brooklyn, NY 11206-1759 · USA

    1. Hi Victoria, thanks for sharing this letter. We had no idea. What sad news. We hope an investor supports this brand and they’re getting results, and it’s for a meaningful cause. We’ll stay close to their journey in case we need to update this post. Thanks again.

  18. You forgot to mention http://www.karomade.com, they have super cute selection of cruelty-free vegan leather bags and backpacks.

  19. Honestly, finding ethical shops or brands is not easy at first, but when you know the brands already, things get easier. As for me, I buy on flea markets or there are shops that I know already, or online stores that sells handmade/artisanal products such as localbazaar.co.

  20. Found a few funny vegan shirts here https://www.defendanimals.com but some designs are definitely not for me … I like their organic & PETA-certified t-shirts

  21. I love this list! I have shopped from many of these mentioned – but I recently bought a backpack from a vegan brand called Hetty+Sam (www.hettyandsam.com) they have very hip bags and purses! Keep up the great work 🙂

    1. Hi Charlie, great to hear! Thanks got sharing. Do you know if their products are made ethically?

  22. Thank you so much for the feature and support!
    We strive to educate people and maintain the transparency of all our sustainable and ethical brands,
    We appreciate the love <3
    https://ethi-collective.com

  23. Ines Silva says:

    Hello! Great article, check http://www.sydney-brown.com ! It’s also a vegan brand, ethically made in Porto, Portugal but the online shop is USA based. Moo shoes stocks them 🙂

  24. Chelsea Abel says:

    WE-AR here in New Zealand 🙂

  25. annie calvert says:

    All these brands are really good and the most important is these all are vegan brands.

  26. Thank you SO much for the love – it is really so wonderful to see, read and know about so many amazing global brands! Deep gratitude! xo

  27. There’s also a great brand of vegan footwear called Nae Vegan, based in Portugal! Highly reccomend them, all their workers are local portuguese shoe makers and they share so much of the work with clients!

  28. Love your article and thank you. I could add another store called Econcious. I get my tee shirt there.
    They come in ra classic tee and the v-neck as well. You can’t beat their price either.

    1. We appreciate your kind words Barbara! Also thanks for the suggestion. Just checked out their website and it looks quality.

  29. Really Nice Post! Thanks for sharing useful information. Our company also offers non-leather briefcases, backpacks, belts and accessories.

  30. Love this list! I love Wills Vegan Shoes. Thanks for your article

  31. Just came across this blog! Absolutely love it 🙂 Companies like Matt and Nat are what inspired me to get into the sustainable/ethical fashion business! Have any of you guys heard of cork handbags? If not I encourage you guys to checkout what Eve is all about! https://www.evecork.com/pages/about-eve

  32. Maria Aguayo says:

    is Antrhopologie one of them?

    1. Hi Maria, never heard of Antrhopologie. I just checked out their website and they seem to be quite involved in giving back to the community. They also have a great range. Thanks for sharing.

  33. Love this list! I love Vaute Couture for coats and tees and more. I also love Herbivore.

  34. Check out Couch Guitar Straps!
    Don’t be fooled by the name of the company. They also make vegan wallets and bags using recycled materials from classic car interiors!

  35. katy mcmurray says:

    Vegan Wares based in Melbourne sells quality shoes, boots, wallets and belts that last for years.

    1. A Different Ball Game is a UK Sustainable Clothing Brand / Sustainable Clothing Wholesaler who manufactures coats, face masks, umbrellas, tents, football shirts, children’s clothing and many more. They supply tradesmen, hospitality, salons and small businesses. All their products are made from upcycled marine plastic.

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