Eco-friendly clothing has come a long way from those foggy, hippie-dippie days. You know, the ones filled with crunchy, hemp sandals and patchouli-smelling maxis. In fact, it’s stepped into prime time. Thanks to brands like Kowtow and Amour Vert that focus on style as much as sustainability.
In honor of Earth Month, we’re sharing our 33 favorite sustainable fashion brands that get it right, from ready-to-wear and handbags to jewelry and shoes. We’re talking flirty floral blouses, statement earrings and classic kicks. Because, let’s face it, we are what we wear.
[ Earth Day Awards: The Best Organic Makeup and Natural Beauty Products ]
Eco-Fashion Brands 2019 Update
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Eco-Fashion Brands 2019 Update #1
LABEL: Mother of Pearl
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Amy Powney
AESTHETIC: Runway-worthy creations and seasonless staples.
FUN FACT: After winning the 2017 BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund, the brand branched out and created its core sustainable collection called No Frills.
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Eco-Fashion Brands 2019 Update #2
LABEL: Another Tomorrow
FOUNDER: Vanessa Barboni Hallik
AESTHETIC: Cool separates, trenches and summer suits.
FUN FACT: The brand even started an online magazine.
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Eco-Fashion Brands 2019 Update #3
LABEL: Alice Early
FOUNDER AND CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Alice Early
AESTHETIC: Closet staples in flattering cuts you’ll want to wear for a lifetime.
FUN FACT: The designer previously worked for Paul Smith, Sophie Hulme and Deborah Milner.
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Eco-Fashion Brands 2019 Update #4
LABEL: AMUR
FOUNDER AND CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Sofia Shannon
AESTHETIC: Elevated boho pieces you’ll want to wear all summer long.
FUN FACT: AMUR actually stands for A Mindful Use of Resources.
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Eco-Fashion Brands 2019 Update #5
LABEL: Re/Done
FOUNDERS: Sean Barron and Jamie Mazur
AESTHETIC: Vintage Levi’s, recut (and sometimes dyed) to look ugly-chic, along with "redone" leather jackets and Hanes tees. In other words, vintage basics at their best.
FUN FACT: In addition to repurposing denim and leather, Barron and Mazur source all materials within 15 miles of their Los Angeles factory. -
Eco-Fashion Brands 2019 Update #6
LABEL: Jesse Kamm
FOUNDER: Jesse Kamm
AESTHETIC: Minimal, clean, classic pieces designed “to last until you are old, grey and still very chic.”
FUN FACT: Jesse Kamm is Jesse Kamm. The designer does all her own sales and PR and personally delivers her collections to the stores that carry her brand. If you shoot the company an email, she's the one who responds.
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Eco-Fashion Brands 2019 Update #7
LABEL: People Tree
FOUNDER: Safia Minney
AESTHETIC: Feminine, everyday clothing that'll meld well with your existing wardrobe.
FUN FACT: People Tree was the first company to implement a seed-to-garment supply chain for organic cotton.
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Eco-Fashion Brands 2019 Update #8
LABEL: Shaina Mote
FOUNDER: Shaina Mote
AESTHETIC: Deceptively simplistic clothing with a strong emphasis on construction. Done in light materials and neutral palettes, the pieces combine Californian ease with Lower East Side edge.
FUN FACT: The entire design and production process is done in Mote's native Los Angeles, thus promoting domestic apparel manufacturing.
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Eco-Fashion Brands 2019 Update #9
LABEL: Marimekko
FOUNDERS: Viljo Ratia, Armi Ratia and Riitta Immonen
AESTHETIC: Quintessentially Scandinavian, modestly cut pieces in an abundance of bold patterns, prints and colors.
FUN FACT: Jackie O. was a Marrimekko fan. In 1960, when JFK was campaigning for election as POTUS, the soon-to-be First Lady bought seven dresses from the Finnish print company.
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Eco-Fashion Brands 2019 Update #10
LABEL: John Hardy
FOUNDER: John Hardy
AESTHETIC: Intricate, opulent jewelry handcrafted in Bali. We get serious Khaleesi vibes.
FUN FACT: The brand has now planted over one million bamboo seedlings through its bamboo-planting initiative.
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Eco-Fashion Brands 2019 Update #11
LABEL: Naadam
FOUNDERS: Matthew Scanlan and Diederik Rijsemus
AESTHETIC: Romantic, beautifully crafted knitwear, all made at a mill in Italy. Shop here for classic wardrobe essentials with fun details like cut-outs, slits and pops of color.
FUN FACT: After a trip to Mongolia, Scanlan and Rijsemus, finance guys at the time, decided to start a business supporting nomadic herders in the Gobi Desert. That business ultimately became Naadam.
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Eco-Fashion Brands 2019 Update #12
LABEL: Brother Vellies
FOUNDER: Aurora James
AESTHETIC: Fresh takes on traditional African footwear with some trendier options mixed in. There's also a full line of plush, statement-making handbags.
FUN FACT: Brother Vellies was handpicked by Marvel to participate in its “Welcome to Wakanda” charity auction event, for which James (a former CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund winner) designed a $12,000 pair of Black Panther-inspired tan boots made of sisal hairs from Haiti — some curly, some straightened — as a critique of the beauty standards surrounding black women and hair.
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Eco-Fashion Brands 2019 Update #13
LABEL: Baserange
FOUNDERS: Marie-Louise Mogensen and Blandine de Verdelhan
AESTHETIC: Basic apparel and knitwear defined by clean, laid-back silhouettes; underwear, loungewear and swimsuits that toe the line between sexy and sporty.
FUN FACT: Before they joined forces to start Baserange (in 2012), Mogensen and de Verdelhan each worked for separate children's lines.
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Eco-Fashion Brands 2019 Update #14
LABEL: H&M Conscious
CREATIVE ADVISOR: Ann-Sofie Johansson
AESTHETIC: Trendy, modern wares, from bridal gowns to day dresses.
FUN FACT: Christy Turlington was recently the face of the brand's Conscious Exclusive collection, the first to use Econyl fabric. For those not familiar, Econyl is a nylon fiber made from discarded fishing nets, which make up a huge chunk of ocean waste and are responsible for the needless death of many a marine animal. -
Eco-Fashion Brands 2019 Update #15
LABEL: Alabama Chanin
DESIGNER: Natalie Chanin
AESTHETIC: Locally-sewn garments and home goods.
FUN FACT: The line was named after the designer’s home state of Alabama and all its pieces are produced in Florence, Alabama.
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Eco-Fashion Brands 2019 Update #16
LABEL: Angela Roi
FOUNDERS: Angela Lee and Roi Lee
AESTHETIC: Celine-style bags in faux leather.
FUN FACT: Angela Roi is an official partner of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA).
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Eco-Fashion Brands 2019 Update #17
LABEL: Atelier Delphine
DESIGNER: Yuka Izutsu
AESTHETIC: Romantic loungewear for the modern woman.
FUN FACT: Izutsu cites California beach lifestyle, French Riviera culture, her native Japan and Jean Seberg as her design inspirations.
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Eco-Fashion Brands 2019 Update #18
LABEL: Kordal
DESIGNER: Mandy Kordal
AESTHETIC: Luxury knits in classic colorways.
STREET CRED: Kordal has worked for Trovata, J.Crew and Doori.
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Eco-Fashion Brands 2019 Update #19
LABEL: Kowtow
DESIGNER: Gosia Piatek
AESTHETIC: Minimalist, modern ready-to-wear.
FUN FACT: Kowtow means "to kneel and touch the forehead to the ground in expression of deep respect, worship, or submission."
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Eco-Fashion Brands 2019 Update #20
LABEL: Ply-Knits
FOUNDER: Carolyn Yim
AESTHETIC: Elegant, uncomplicated knitwear and sportswear made from high-grade, responsibly-sourced wool and offered in a range of plys.
FUN FACT: Knitwear has long been the Yim family business. Yim's grandmother, a couture seamstress for Christian Dior, taught her progeny all that she knew. These days, all Ply-Knits pieces are knit by Yim's family-owned manufacturers.
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Eco-Fashion Brands 2019 Update #21
LABEL: Reformation
FOUNDER: Yael Aflalo
AESTHETIC: Fashion-forward, feminine designs created with vintage clothes, sustainable fabrics and deadstock fabrics from fashion houses that over-ordered.
FUN FACT: Reformation has arguably become the fashion set's top eco-friendly clothing destination. (Karlie Kloss, Taylor Swift, Emily Ratajkowski and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley are big fans of the brand.) It's also one of the more mainstream brands to have featured an out transgender model in its campaign imagery.
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Eco-Fashion Brands 2019 Update #22
LABEL: Rafa
FOUNDER: Taghrid Chaaban Zorob
AESTHETIC: Classic, subtly artsy block-heel shoes in vegan textiles, like faux suede, velvet and tapestry fabrics.
FUN FACT: You used to find Rafa shoes at Assembly and Reformation because cool-girl brands stick together.
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Eco-Fashion Brands 2019 Update #23
LABEL: Rothy’s
FOUNDERS: Roth Martin and Stephen Hawthornthwaite
AESTHETIC: Chic, moisture-resistant pointy or round-toe flats, often in geometric patterns.
FUN FACT: San Francisco residents Martin and Hawthornthwaite, a design gallery director and a financier, respectively, developed the shoes in response to the city's "flip-flop and sneaker epidemic."
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Eco-Fashion Brands 2019 Update #24
LABEL: behno
FOUNDER: Shivam Punjya
AESTHETIC: Saddle bags, totes and clutches made with recycled and upcycled ingredients.
FUN FACT: Each behno collection is produced at MSA Ethos, an ethical garment factory in Gujarat, India built and maintained by behno and its partner, local rural health nonprofit Muni Seva Ashram.
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Eco-Fashion Brands 2019 Update #25
LABEL: Titania Inglis
DESIGNER: Titania Inglis
AESTHETIC: Striking, minimalist dresses, separates, handbags and jewelry.
FUN FACT: Each piece is crafted in a family-owned factory in New York using sustainable fabrics, like Italian vegetable-tanned leather and Japanese organic cotton.
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Eco-Fashion Brands 2019 Update #26
LABEL: Loomstate
FOUNDER AND CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Rogan Gregory
AESTHETIC: Sporty wardrobe essentials, like hoodies and tees.
FUN FACT: Everything is made from 100-percent certifiable organic cotton, sourced from farmers who refrain from using chemical pesticides and fertilizers in exchange for natural, safer methods. -
Eco-Fashion Brands 2019 Update #27
LABEL: Pelcor
FOUNDER: Sandra Correia
AESTHETIC: Contemporary accessory designs and housewares made entirely from cork skin.
FUN FACT: The Portuguese brand harvests cork from trees in the country's oak forests. It takes 20 to 25 years before the first cork can be harvested from an oak tree and after the first extraction, cork can be removed every nine years. Because of small color variations in the cork, no two Pelcor pieces are alike.
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Eco-Fashion Brands 2019 Update #28
LABEL: Melissa Joy Manning
DESIGNER: Melissa Joy Manning
AESTHETIC: Elegant, nature-inspired jewelry for women with a bohemian spirit.
STREET CRED: Manning founded and co-chaired the CFDA Sustainability Committee and won the 2012 CFDA/Lexus Eco-Fashion Challenge. Also, she made her first piece of jewelry at age 4.
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Eco-Fashion Brands 2019 Update #29
LABEL: Amour Vert
FOUNDERS: Linda Balti and Christoph Frehsee
AESTHETIC: Ultra feminine separates that aren't afraid of patterns or a splash of color.
FUN FACT: With every purchase of an Amour Vert T-shirt, the brand plants a tree in North America. Thus far, the company (with the help of its partner American Forests, one of the oldest nonprofit conservation agencies in the US) has planted over 337,000 trees.
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Eco-Fashion Brands 2019 Update #30
LABEL: K/LLER COLLECTION
DESIGNERS: Katie Deguzman and Michael Miller
AESTHETIC: Chic, part gothy, part bohemian jewelry for biker chicks (or dudes) who live downtown.
FUN FACT: The co-founders, both of whom studied furniture design at Parsons, met in a very apropos manner: Deguzman bought a bracelet off Miller to hide a tattoo from her mom and a friendship (and, ultimately, creative partnership) was born.
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Eco-Fashion Brands 2019 Update #31
LABEL: Study NY
DESIGNER: Tara St James
AESTHETIC: Seasonless, updated classics.
STREET CRED: Study NY was awarded the Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation Grant for sustainable design in 2011 and was a runner-up in the 2014 CFDA/Lexus Eco-Fashion Challenge.
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Eco-Fashion Brands 2019 Update #32
LABEL: Svilu
FOUNDERS: Britt Cosgrove and Marina Polo
AESTHETIC: Smart, timeless designs that exude casual femininity.
FUN FACT: Cosgrove and Polo met during their tenure at Peter Som. They knew they worked well together; they'd both just turned 30. So they hit the refresh button.
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Eco-Fashion Brands 2019 Update #33
LABEL: Veja
FOUNDERS: François-Ghislain Morillion and Sébastien Kopp
AESTHETIC: Sleek, nostalgic trainers and tennis shoes. In other words, sustainable sneakers for the Seinfeld-identifying set.
FUN FACT: The brand is a favorite of stars like Emma Watson, Eddie Redmayne, Mélanie Laurent and Marion Cotillard.
