Ethical | Trendy | Affordable | Outdoor | California

Top Ethical & Sustainable Clothing Brands

#1 People Tree

The Brand: People Tree was founded in 1991 by James and Safia Minney in Tokyo, Japan. It is a top apparel company in fair trade fashion. Their sustainable clothing collections are crafted using artisanal skills.

Need To Know: People Tree works closely with rural producers, farms, and artisanal to make sustainable clothing using organic cotton. The company is the first clothing brand ever to have the World Fair Trade product mark on their clothing.

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#2 Levi’s

The Brand: Levi’s started becoming what it is today in 1873. Levi Strauss partnered with Jacob Davis to produce a pair of waist overalls, after recognizing a need for better quality, durable clothing for workers. Today Levi’s is one of the most popular clothing companies in the world with products available in over 100 countries.

Need To Know: Levi’s has been on a journey to becoming a more sustainable apparel company. The denim they produce is high-quality and durable to use fewer resources and create less waste. They’ve made some great progress so far with both saving and recycling water, getting cotton from sustainable sources, and having products produced in more factories that have worker well-being programs in place.

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#3 Ninety Percent

The Brand: Ninety Percent was brought into the apparel industry in 2018 by co-founders, Para Hamilton and Shafiq Hassan. Ninety percent produce luxury basics meant to last. Their business model is that 90% of profits go to different charitable causes. As a Ninety Percent consumer, you can vote where the profits go using the code on the label of your product.

Need To Know: Ninety Percent make their clothing with the most ethically sourced materials they find that would cause the least amount of environmental damage. The company also focuses on making sure that the workers in the factories where the clothing is produced are working in respectful environments.

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#4 H&M Conscious

The Brand: H&M started their conscious collection in 2012. Although H&M is considered a fast-fashion company, their conscious collection considers both the people who are making the clothing, as well as, causing less damage to the planet.

Need To Know: H&M conscious collection products are made with 50% or more materials that have been sustainably sourced. They also believe in providing jobs to people that are fair and equal while making their products. This includes fair, livable wages, and safe working environments.

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#5 ABLE

The Brand: ABLE was co-founded in 2010 by Barrett Ward and Rachel Ward. Their goal from the beginning was to create opportunities for women in poverty. It began by training women in Ethiopia to make hand-woven scarves and grew into a full lifestyle apparel brand with a mission.

Need To Know: ABLE wants women in poverty to be compensated a fair wage for all their hard work. 95% of employees at ABLE are women. ABLE holds itself accountable by being as transparent as possible to its consumers. They do this by publishing all their wages to help consumers make supportive decisions.

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Top Trendy Sustainable Clothing Brands

#1 Tonlé

The Brand: Tonlé was founded in 2013 by Rachel Faller. One of the most sustainability-friendly companies in the industry, taking a zero-waste approach to their production. They create trendy and affordable clothing while striving for justice for the climate.

Need To Know: Tonlé’s zero waste approach means that they use the waste of their own and from others as resources rather than allowing it to damage the environment. All their products are made from industrial scraps they find in remnants markets.

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#2 Hope For Flowers by Tracy Reese

The Brand: Tracy Reese founded her Hope For Flowers collection in 2019. Hope For Flowers sells a range of bold and trendy clothing pieces that have been sourced and manufactured through positive and ethical practices.

Need To Know: Hope For Flowers’s target consumers are women who want to help make the world a better place. It is a slow fashion brand, meaning that consideration for the health of the world and the people making the clothing comes before producing a high quantity of clothing for cheap.

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#3 Alternative Apparel

The Brand: Alternative Apparel was founded in Atlanta in 1995 and was acquired by Hanes in 2017. Alternative Apparel makes a collection of trendy and affordable clothes that have minimalistic styles while taking an eco-friendly approach.

Need To Know: Alternative Apparel has always been big on sustainability. They have taken big steps recently by changing over to using 100% recycled polyester to produce clothing instead of virgin. They have already saved a huge amount of plastic from landfills by using recycled polyester.

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#4 Everlane

The Brand: Everlane was founded by Michael Preysman in 2010. The company sells trendy pieces of clothing for all different occasions. Everlane believes in the importance of transparency in taking steps to be a responsible company.

Need To Know: Everlane performs careful audits on each factory they work with to ensure that they are places where employees are treated fairly. The company is very transparent about its products’ costs and provides cost breakdowns to prove fair pricing.

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#5 Amour Vert

The Brand: Amour Vert was founded in 2010 with a mission of being a sustainable player in the fashion industry. Amour Vert aims to provide you with trendy clothing that is also eco-friendly. All processes at Amour Vert have sustainability in mind.

Need To Know: The clothing at Amour Vert is all made from sustainable fibers to lessen the impact on the environment. Amour Vert also runs a tees for tree program where for every tee you purchase, they plant a tree.Their packaging is made only from recycled materials.

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Top Affordable Sustainable Clothing Brands

#1 Pact Apparel

The Brand: Pact Apparel was founded in 2009 by Jason Kibbey and Jeff Denby. It is a well-known apparel company that makes affordable clothing pieces out of organic materials. All of Pact’s products are certified organic by Global Organic Textiles Standards.

Need To Know: Pact Apparel uses only organic cotton in their clothing to create fewer impacts on the soils and crops. Pact is also Fair Trade certified, which ensures that the workers making the clothes in factories are in safe environments and are being treated fairly.

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#2 Tentree

The Brand: Tentree was founded in 2012 by Kalen Emsley and David Luba after they noticed a lot of people wearing clothing from socially responsible brands. Tentree now provides affordable clothing pieces while also helping the environment.

Need To Know: Tentree plants 10 trees for every purchase made. They also make their clothing with the most sustainable fibers and materials they can find. Tentree puts people first and ensures that the factories manufacturing their products meet high ethical standards.

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#3 Happy Earth

The Brand: Happy Earth was founded in 2015. They provide affordable, organic clothing while working to help protect the planet. With each purchase you make at Happy Earth, you get to choose how you want Happy Earth to give back to the environment.

Need To Know: Happy Earth has three “giving campaigns” you get to choose from when you purchase from them. You can prevent 150lbs of harmful GHG emissions from damaging the atmosphere, you can choose to have them plant 15 trees, or choose to have them collect 1lbd of trash.

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#4 Frank And Oak

The Brand: Frank and Oak was co-founded on February 1, 2012, by Ethan Song and Hichan Ratnani. Frank and Oak care a lot about the future of the environment. They make sure to leave as little environmental impact as possible while making you affordable clothing.

Need To Know: Frank and Oak ship items in boxes made of 100% recycled cardboard and their poly bags are made of 50% recycled materials. They also participate in a tree-planting program to help with reforestation. To prevent waste, they will take donated clothes and make sure they go to people in need.

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#5 Kotn

The Brand: Kotn was founded in 2015 in Toronto, Canada. They sell affordable, sustainable clothing both online and in-store. Kotn designs clothes that will be timeless and last a long time, in order to reduce the amount of consumer waste.

Need To Know: Kotn sources biodegradable fibers from small family-owned farms in Egypt. Kotn works closely with the farms and manufacturers to ensure they can operate with the greatest success and keep their people healthy and safe.

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Top Sustainable Outdoor Clothing Brands

#1 Patagonia

The Brand: Patagonia is a big outdoor apparel brand first founded in 1973 by Yvon Chouinard. Patagonia focuses on making high-quality, environmentally clothing items rather than fast fashion items that hurt the people making them and the environment.

Need To Know: Patagonia has always been a brand that cares about the environment and they continue to make efforts to improve. By 2025 Patagonia plans to be 100% carbon neutral, and use 100% recycled materials for the clothing and packaging.

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#2 Save The Duck

The Brand: Save the Duck was founded in 2012. They provide high-quality outdoor clothing that is 100% animal and cruelty-free. They also ensure that their clothing is very durable and long-lasting so that their consumers can buy less, leading to less environmental impact and waste.

Need To Know: All of Save the Duck’s products are approved vegan by PETA. They also have a line that is made out of recycled materials. They help to create less waste by shipping their items in recycled materials.

Save The Duck on Amazon

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#3 Smartwool

The Brand: Smartwool was founded in 1994 by Peter and Patty Duke. They provide high-quality clothing that is meant to keep you comfortable while doing outdoor activities. Their clothing is made with Merino wool which is a top wool suited for performance.

Need To Know: Smartwool uses climate-friendly wool in its clothing items. They promote wellness by ensuring access to safe outdoor environments. Smartwool is also big on diversity and inclusivity with 12% of the brand’s athletes being BIPOC. Smartwool’s 5-year plan includes sourcing 100% of their wool from ZQRX and having 100% of materials be renewable-based.

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#4 Picture

The Brand: Picture organic clothing was founded in 2008 by Julien Durant, Jérémy Rochette, and Vincent Andre. Picture provides you with eco-friendly outdoor clothing that is perfect for sports such as surfing, snowboarding, skiing, and hiking.

Need To Know: Picture is a part of the fair wear foundations which ensures that workers have good working conditions. They have built their own plastic recycling machine, which melts and molds plastic into the desired shape. They are big on transparency and want you to know who is making your clothing and what processes are behind it.

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#5 Cotopaxi

The Brand: Cotopaxi was founded in 2014 in Salt Lake City, Utah. They offer outdoor apparel that is built with adventure and making a positive impact on the planet in mind. Its mission is to make clothes that are durable in a sustainable way.

Need To Know: Cotopaxi wants to reduce waste by creating clothing in an environmentally friendly way that is durable and will last you a long time. They try to source non-virgin and alternative materials that are better for the environment. Their goal is to produce with 100% recycled materials by the year 2025

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Top Sustainable California Clothing Brands

#1 Whimsy + Row

The Brand: Whimsy + Row was founded in 2014 by Rachel Temko in Los Angeles, California. They provide clothing that is targeted toward eco-conscious women. People who love to dress trendy but also care for the environment.

Need To Know: Whimsy + Row makes their clothing in batches in ethical factories in Los Angeles. They make sure that all their employees are being both paid and treated fairly. The clothing they make is made from locally sourced, recycled materials.

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#2 Quince

The Brand: Quince was founded by Sid Gupta, Sourabh Mahaja in the year 2020 in the San Francisco Bay Area of California. They are well known for providing trendy pieces at very affordable prices, often having waitlists for some of their best items.

Need To Know: Quince produces their clothing using organic materials such as organic cotton. They work closely with the factories manufacturing their clothing to ensure that their processes create the least amount of impact on the environment and that workers are treated well.

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#3 Reformation

The Brand: Reformation is a very popular Los Angeles, California-based company, founded in 2009 by Yael Aflalo. They provide a wide range of trendy sustainably made clothing made for women.

Need To Know: Reformation creates a factory of their own to operate out of where they provide their workers with a healthy and fair environment. They are a 100% carbon neutral company. By shopping at Reformation you’ll be helping save more water than at the average company.

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#4 Outerknown

The Brand: Outerknown was founded in 2015 by Kelly Slater and John Moore, in Los Angeles, California. They have a very California vibe with a mixture of high-fashion and surfwear. All their clothing is made with a commitment to sustainability.

Need To Know: Outerknown makes their clothing with 90% of the material being organically sourced or recycled and they are working to increase to 100%. They invest in workers through fair trade to ensure that all workers are being paid and treated the way they deserve for their hard work.

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#5 MATE The Label

The Brand: MATE The Label was founded in Los Angeles, California by Kayti O’Connell Carr, in 2015. The goal of MATE The Label is to provide everybody with sustainably made clothing that is good for not only the environment but also you as the consumer.

Need To Know: MATE The Label makes sure their manufacturing processes do not include any toxic chemicals that could be harmful to the workers or the consumers. The materials they use are organic to create less environmental impact. They also aim to be 100% plastic-free with their labeling and packaging.

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