Conscientious fashion has come so far, not just in terms of style (no replicas of burlap sacks with armholes cut out!), but also in terms of what sustainability means. The brands featured here are all making strides in different ways, including using responsibly grown and cultivated materials, offering safe, fair work environments, and minimizing their carbon footprint through factory locations, and opting for recycled materials. But the message many of them have is the same: Buy less. Buy quality and be creative with how you wear it. That is ultimately what will keep apparel waste out of our landfills. Ready to do your part?
Best Variety: Reformation
Employee rights is a core value for Reformation, so the brand built its own factory in L.A., where they know who is making their clothes and that their conditions are safe and respectful. They use low-impact materials and are 100 percent carbon-neutral and plan to be carbon positive by 2025.
Key Pieces: Remember when eco-friendly fashion meant some variation of beige linen? Reformation throws that notion out the showroom window. Eco in the 2020s means sexy silk wrap-dresses, cozy cashmere sets, and retro-inspired skirts. They also have wedding and bridesmaid dresses for the conscientious bride.
Do-Good Denim: DL1961
This family-owned denim brand is doing right by the planet and its people. Among its initiatives, the brand uses old denim and post-consumer waste (like recycled plastic) to make their jeans and uses 150 times less water to make a pair of jeans than traditional denim manufacturers. Factories are compliant with social and environmental quality standards and the brand is devoted to giving back by supporting New York-area shelters and charities.
Key Pieces: Come for the jeans, with their variety of cuts and washes, and stay for the super-chic jumpsuits, jackets, and tops. There are dozens of cool looks for kids and men as well.
Best French-Girl Style: Sezane
This Paris-based brand’s mission is to “create timeless pieces that will outlive fleeting trends” with items “made from eco-friendly and innovative materials by people we trust.” Founder Morgane Sezalory also created the charity Demain (translation: tomorrow), which has donated more than $4.5 million to charities that support educational opportunities for children and young adults globally.
Key Pieces: Drool-worthy blouses, sweaters with a little something extra and jackets that’ll make you crave cold days — these are pieces that will elevate your everyday style to something unique and timeless. And don’t forget the accessories — their belts are key to finishing off an outfit the French girl way. For the dapper dudes in your life, check out their menswear essentials as well. Bonus: Deliveries to the U.S. are free for orders over $200 and returns are also gratis.
Cute for Conscientious Kids: Boden
Parents around the world will tell you how annoying it is to have their children’s clothes get holes in them after only a few wears for seemingly no reason. Boden clothes don’t do that. They are quality and made to last, which founder Johnnie Boden says is their most sustainable characteristic. Beyond that, the company is passionate about fair working conditions for not only their employees but for their suppliers.
Key Pieces: Though the brand offers clothes and accessories for men and women, it’s the childrenswear that deserves a shout-out thanks to its durability and adorable prints. Parents rave that the pieces — which don’t cost a fortune, to begin with — can be passed through multiple family members. Sizes go from newborn up.
Savings tip: When they have a sale, stock up!
Beautiful Basics: Cuyana
Fewer and better is the motto at Cuyana, co-founded by two intelligent, savvy women that aim to create quality pieces that will stay in the wardrobe forever — literally the opposite to fast fashion. By next year, the company aims to use 100 percent sustainably-produced materials (it’s currently at 96 percent); their suppliers have to agree to fair employment practices, and the company only produces as much as they believe they can sell — not an excess that could be headed for a landfill.
Key Pieces: If you love elegant apparel, then this is the brand for you. Take note of the timeless leather bags and sumptuous cashmere pieces. Looking for luxury loungewear? These are your people. And the refined puffer jackets? Made from 100 percent recycled material.
Good Value: Quince
It’s a common misconception that conscientious clothing must cost more. True, many of the practices, like paying employees decent wages and not treating them like sweatshop labor, will cost more. But Quince proves that doing the right thing doesn’t mean consumers have to pay a massive markup. A few of their conscious initiatives: compostable packaging, organic materials, safe and wage-fair factories, and factory-to-consumer shipping to reduce carbon footprint.
Key Pieces: In need of some cold-weather layers? Check out their beautifully-cut cashmere and alpaca sweaters and down jackets that start at $50.
Men’s Basics: United by Blue
United by Blue, which makes accessories and homewares along with men’s and women’s apparel, uses sustainable materials like wool and recycled polyester in all of their products. Items are made in factories that have to meet a set of stringent standards. The company also organizes waterway trash clean-up events and has so far removed nearly 4 million pounds of garbage.
Key Pieces: Button-down shirts, pants, boxer briefs, T-shirts, and cool casual sneakers — this is the place to get your basics covered. Getting ready for winter? They sell cozy long johns made from Tencel (a super-soft fabric made from wood pulp) and equally snug wool and boar hair-blend socks.
Best Bridal: Leanne Marshall
There are some gorgeous eco bridal options these days, but Leanne Marshall takes the (wedding) cake for both its ideals and designs. The gowns are made with sustainable textiles in New York, by fairly-paid seamstresses. Raw materials come from reputable factories that meet environmental and working standards.
Key Pieces: There’s something incredibly romantic and whimsical about Marshall’s designs. But it’s also the little accents on the gowns that make them so alluring — some with practical pockets, or a shortened length, or colorful accents, or thigh slits, or the separates — skirt and top options. But of course, there are also the traditional picks with classic silhouettes, available in white or ivory. Check her site and Instagram often, as samples at hugely reduced prices are added periodically.
Refined Workwear: Another Tomorrow
This New York-based brand prides itself on using sustainable materials like recycled cashmere and ethical wool, and on ensuring their suppliers engage in meticulous manufacturing, from worker rights to animal welfare to environmental accountability.
Key Pieces: If commanding the boardroom in a pair of perfectly tailored trousers and crisp blouse sounds like you (whether it’s the reality of your job or not!), then this is your brand. Beautiful lines on the dresses and trench coats will make you swoon as well.
Feminine Dresses and Jumpsuits: Christy Dawn
This company devotes a lot of love to its farm-to-closet initiative, which ensures healthy practices for every step in a product’s development, from the soil that the cotton is grown in to the people whose hands create the apparel. Each item on the brand’s website has a price transparency report so you can see the cost that goes into making it, including the wages paid.
Key Pieces: These are the pieces that you create a dream scenario around — collecting wildflowers in a field or picking ripe produce at the farmer’s market. And though that may just be fantasy, Christy Dawn’s dresses and jumpsuits have that whimsical, carefree vibe that feels like a breath of fresh air even if you merely wear one to work or brunch.
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