I sew 95% off my wardrobe but I appreciate for most this is not a viable option so these are the places I would be shopping if I wanted to dress affordably, comfortably with a clean and green conscious.
Men and Women casualwear brands:
The brand that deserves being mentioned first is Patagonia. They are the kings of sustainable fashion. They are pioneers with their material sourcing and product design. All their garments are fair trade sewn certified. They come at a premium price with active wear leggings at £90 and coats starting from £150 but then thats not any different from Sweaty Betty or North Face. They always have a sale thats worth checking out.
Patagonia would be my go to stop for a special gift for an active person. If I won the lottery I would be splurging on there fair-trade running leggings, organic cotton cap and 100% traceable down filled jacket or maybe the post consumer waste prima loft filled puffs coat.
Every item sold can be return for repair and if they can’t repair it because its to worn or stinky! They will replace It because THEY TRULY BELIEVE in slow fashion.
Right then moving onto slightly more affordable ethical brands.
Please bare in mind these brands can not compete with primark price structure but for what they offer the price is fantastic and the sales will always offer you good discounts often making them no different then Zara.
I have personally worked with several of these companies so I can vouch for them but some I know less well. It is impossible for a company to tick every box but each off these is doing something I find commendable and would be happy to support.
If you need a decent pair of everyday jeans I would recommend MONKEE GENE saddle they are closed due to Covid but you can find there products with other UK stockists. Whats good about them? All their products are organic cotton, there supply chain is small enough to ensure EVERYONE is paid AT LEAST a living wage.
I recently brought a pair of organic cotton jeans from them and they are a nice skinny fit and were £25 in the sale. They have a great selection of men and womens jeans and lots of on trend styles.
The next brand that comes to mind is seasalt. If you are looking for a ethically made coat, sustainable sourced swimming costume or a piece of beautiful knitwear this is the place to go!
They are based in Cornwall and have a seaside feel to their colour palette and textures. In terms of pricing there tee-shirts start around £20 and going up to £70 for coats. My husband brought me a organic tin cotton rain jacket in 2006 for £55 and its still going strong after much use and two pregnancies!
They have a great size selection going up to a size 28.
What makes them sustainable? Seasalt are real flag wavers for organic cotton, being the first manufacturer to receive the GOTS cerfification in 2005 and they haven’t looked back since; developing waterproof organic tin coated cotton, swimwear made from recycled fibres and soft modal dresses.
If your on a tight budget there is a Seasalt outlet in Lichfield.
I just wish the did childrenswear!
Peopletree ltd
People tree ltd are another pioneering ethical clothing brand. They show so much care and dedication to there suppliers and I can vouch for this first hand as I use to work in the London head office.
There range is fantastic and over the last few years I think the style and fit of the collection has become more wearable. I have picked a selection of the things I LOVE from there from khaki jersey jogger £55, white embroidery anglais blouse £89, blush pink work blazer £139, tights made from 80% recycled material..amazing! organic undie basics £11 and a funky wide leg summer jeans £95.
Don’t let my selection fool you though Peopletree is renowed for its colourful print design and also don’t let these prices put you off as you can buy t-shirts from £10 and jump-suits from £20 in the sale.
it goes without saying everything is organic cotton and fair trade certified. If you want to dress ethically you can’t go wrong with Peopletree. They consider every aspect of material sourcing and maufacturer ensuring garments are produced with minimal impact on the environment and positive impact on the maker- such as the white summer jeans I selected are made using 80% water than a conventional pair of hughstreet jeans.
These are the certifications People tree have and its good to familiarise yourself with these logos.
World fair trade organisation- this means the place of manufacturer will have gone through a rigorous and ongoing auditing programme to recieve this certification, employees will be treated fairly, paid more than the living wage, working in safe conditions, no child labour and employees will be offered opportunities to up-skill.
Vegan approved- no animal products or by products will be used in the sourcing
Soil association for organic textile standard- this certificate is not easy to receive. it takes farmers many years of having their soil and practices scientifically examined to receive, the standard seek to validate farming practices that are organic and respectful to protecting the land.
Global organic textile standard- this certificate not just validates the organic farming but also that the social and environmental impact of the farming is minimal and considerate to the environment. This includes moinitored use of chemicals dyes and disposal of waste water.
Know the origin is a great destination for anyone looking to dress sustainably; they personally know their suppliers and only sell brands that are fully transparent and sustainable.
There prices are really reasonable from £20 for a tee too £50 for a jumpsuit and the fit and design has a fresh, modern comfy feel.
Here are my top picks:
What happens to ‘dead’ highstreet stock?
Have you ever returned a garment and wandered what will happen to it? Or seen a full rail of sale clothing know that sale ends tomorrow and thought where will all those clothes go?
Brands will incinerate perfectly good stock to avoid flooding the market with out of season stock and potentially devaluing the brand. Burberry were caught incinerating £28 million pounds worth of stock on =e season. It isn’t just luxury brands but also high street names such as Newlook- as they can’t resell a worn item. I know this because I use to work there as a teenager.
These brands are working hard to avoid there returned and faulty but still perfectly wearable goods go to landfill or incineration. Oxfam and Bella dame both sell many retailers returns such as Marks and Spencers, Levi and Whistles. If you like whistles check Oxfam online shop as they have a great range of whistles factory samples.
Tk maxx is another great example of a retailer trying to slow down the pace of fashion by giving products longer on the shelf. Except of course for their own manufacturer products which they cleverly rebrand. But Tk maxx are a great brand and one of the few with a physical presence on the high street.
Sustainable knitwear brands
John Smedley are a Derbyhire based textile manufacturer and they have been making textiles for over 230 years! Smedleys is one of the oldest textile facrtories in the world!
Their knitwear is second to none, many of there permeant stock items are knitted on premises in Matlock, creating knitwear of the highest quality.
I was very lucky and found a John Smedley merino wool crew neck sweater 4 years ago in a charity shop, I have worn it to death and it still looks new. If you shop at Smedleys not only will your garment be sustainably made and made but it will out live you!
They come out a premium with prices starting around £125 but they have a factory seconds shop on site where you can get some great ‘not quite perfect’ garments at a fraction of the price.
The owner Kate in her workshop in Cumbria where many of the pieces are knitted
Oubus knitwear is a beautiful knitwear company creating heritage pieces made in Britain with British wool. Each piece is made with the quality at the forefront so your piece can be treasured through and past the fleeting fashion trends.
Prices start from £40 for a hat too £215 for a full body Donegal cardigan, but again keep an eye on their sale and subscriber discounts… I particularly love that burnt orange beanie which is £28 in the sale.
I went to Uni with Kate and she has always been a passionate kind hearted advocate for creativity and the environment.
Other great brands I didn’t get a chance to delve into
-Carhartt WIP if your a bloke and need a coat this organic cotton company is too cool for school- check them out!
-Howies they have a great history of sustainable durable mens fashion
-PS Jeans I work here and can personally vouch for their responsible organic cotton sourcing in this range
-BABA knitwear sooo beautiful, hand knitted chunky pieces for all the family, but investment buys.
-Gabrielle Vary Knitwear gorgeous womens hand knitted pieces, currently her online shop is closed but you can purchase pieces through stockists. We have several of her scarfs and baby blankets and we adore them 10 years on!
I haven’t discussed any large brands ethics in this blog…it is a bit of minefield and whilst they make many great eco claims to research the validity of each of their claims would take days and days or research. Often they are accused of greenwashing by those who do the in-depth research to hold them accountable to their claims. If you are interested in the research check out; eco-age, sustainable fashion angle, road map to zero or the ethical fashion forum.
Therefore if I were looking to shop sustainably I would avoid high street chains like the plague they are feeding the monsters at a rate that no amount of 50% organic cotton tee-shirts or gym shorts made out recycled fibre will stop.
I would recommend sticking to the smaller brands listed above and any other small brands you discover. When a brand is small they can know their factory staff personally and they know who farms the cotton they buy and that makes the world of difference.
Thank you so much for reading this! Well done if you made it to the end!
There are so many areas that can be covered by I forced myself to just stick to affordable sustainable brands that I trust. In the future I would hope to write about other topics such as the ones below, let me know which of these would interest you?
-Tips for shopping second hand
-Tips for keeping your wardrobe in tip top condition and clothing repairs
-Which fibres to look for and which to avoid
-How to shop sustainably; shoewear
-How to shop sustainably; underwear and accessories
-How to shop sustainably; childrenswear
Please feel free to share, leave comments and ask questions! x
2022 update
Yan tan - British knitwear
Huit British made denim
finisterre - pioneering new sustainable materials
