7 Sustainable Fashion Brands to Shop If You Want to Ditch Fast Fashion
Listen, I love fast fashion as much as the next person. Affordable prices, limitless options, and easy accessibility—what's not to love?
Well, negative environmental impacts and unfair working wages, to name a couple reasons. Fast fashion brands are some of the biggest culprits behind our growing carbon footprint, which is why investing in sustainable clothing and companies that are dedicated to ethical practices has never been more important.
Fortunately, clothing brands are taking note: A handful have started implementing eco-friendly habits like incorporating recycled materials in their designs and packaging, banning single-use plastics, and introducing climate-positive projects, showing that sustainability is more than just a trend—it's an emerging pattern. If you want to be more mindful of where your clothes come from, here are seven of our favorite fashion-forward brands taking eco-forward steps towards a healthier planet.
1 Noize
As a brand originating from Montreal, one of Canada's coldest cities, it's safe to say it knows a thing or two about outerwear. Its ethical and sustainable fabrics are expertly hand-picked to be equal parts high-quality and eco-conscious. We love their raincoats, which are made of fill completely derived from plastic bottles.
2 Everlane
Everlane is a beloved name in the fashion world for many reasons. In addition to its modern yet simplistic designs, it also practices radical transparency and commitment to sustainable products. The brand isn't kidding when it touts transparency—you can actually check out the manufacturing company where each product was made. To top it all off, it has removed 90 percent of new plastics from its supply chain, using recycled or alternative materials instead.
3 Allbirds
You've probably heard of Allbirds shoes on social media, and we can confirm that the hype is well-deserved. Not only are they insanely comfortable, but they're also made with sustainable materials like wool, trees, and even sugarcane (with laces made from plastic water bottles). All of its products are FSC-certified, meaning it has met the environmental "gold standard" for wood harvested from forests. Oh, and did we mention these guys are machine-washable?
4 Reformation
With timeless silhouettes and eye-catching patterns, Reformation's dresses are fitting for just about any occasion, from a brunch outing to a romantic date. The brand has been carbon neutral since 2015, and is incredibly transparent about its sustainability reports, workers' living wages, and fabric sourcing.
5 Amour Vert
Amour Vert translates to "Green Love" in French, a name that is very fitting considering everything the brand stands for. Based on its mission to cut down excess materials by making items in limited quantities and its pledge to plant a tree for every T-shirt it sells, it's clear that sustainability really is the backbone of the brand.
6 Parade
Don't forget about the item closest to your skin: your underwear! Parade's fabrics are all Oeko-Tex certified, meaning they are "free from harmful chemicals that pollute your skin and our waters." The brand is also inclusive of all body types and sizes (the panties come in XS-3XL), and to show it has really thought of everything, even the packages are shipped in compostable mailers!
7 Article22
Article22's jewelry has been worn on the red carpet by the likes of Emma Watson—but its mission (and jewelry) are definitely down to earth. The brand creates its jewelry using military grade aluminum recovered from shrapnel and debris recovered from Laos. Its workers are paid fair trade wages, and each purchase helps the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) clear unexploded ordnance from the countryside.