Sustainable Clothing Brands

What are sustainable clothing brands?

This guide explores 31 specialist sustainable clothing companies which show the mainstream brands how ethical and sustainable clothing could be done. 

Included in the 31 are eight brands exclusively dedicated to selling secondhand and upcycled clothing such as Depop, Oxfam, Thifted, and Vinted. 

The guide compares some of the leading ethical fashion brands and rates them across a range of categories, including their approach to sustainable materials, animal welfare, and workers’ rights. We have also introduced a new rating which looks at “waste colonialism” – the dumping of mountains of discarded clothing in poorer countries.

There are a growing number of sustainable and ethical clothing brands, so if we haven't included your favourite, use the information in the 'what to buy' and 'what not to buy' section to help you assess how sustainable they are. The guide includes some bigger more well-known names like Patagonia and Seasalt, along with small family run or specialist brands like Earthmonk and THTC.

Some of the brands in this guide have shops on the high street such as Lucy & Yak, Oxfam and Patagonia. All the companies in this guide sell via online shops or platforms which means that people anywhere can choose to buy them.

What counts as sustainable clothing? 

As you can see from our guide to fast fashion, most clothing comes at a low price but a great cost. The good news is that lots of brands are producing clothing in a more ethical way, but what do we actually mean by ethical clothing? 

There are a lot of factors to consider, but here are some of the most important:

• Sustainable materials are used.
• The workers who made the clothes are paid fairly and treated well.
• Clothing is made to last.

Sustainable clothing materials

A lot of brands scored very well in our sustainable materials rating 

We rated all clothing brands on their approach to using sustainable materials, and what measures they were taking to help prolong the lives of their products. (There is sometimes a tension between environmental sustainability and animal welfare – wool being a prime example. This rating focused on environmental sustainability, while our “animal products” rating considered animal welfare issues.)

Our research looked at:

• Does the brand clearly disclose its total fabric mix on an annual basis? For example, we wanted a company to tell us what proportion of all the fabric it used that year was: cotton, organic cotton, linen, polyester, nylon, etc.
• What proportion of a brand’s total fabric mix consists of “most sustainable” materials? If 100% of a brand’s total fabric mix consisted of the most sustainable materials then it got full marks.
• What proportion of a brand’s total fabric mix consists of “somewhat sustainable” materials? Fewer points were available for somewhat sustainable materials such as BCI cotton and non-certified wool.
• Does the company offer a repair service? We gave points to brands that offer a repair service because this helps prolong the life of clothing and keeps it from landfill.
• Does the company have a secondhand shop? We gave points to brands that operate a secondhand shop, either on their website or in a physical location, to resell their clothes when customers were done with them.

How did the brands rate for sustainable materials?

As expected, because these are the eco clothing brands, many brands scored very well in the sustainable clothing materials category, with almost half scoring 100/100.

All of brands in this guide use some organic cotton. 

The brands in this guide also sell products from natural fibres, but most still use some synthetics, especially those that make clothing for sports or outdoor activities. See our separate article on for more about which fibres are best.

THTC prioritises hemp due to the low environmental impact of producing the plant – it is durable and requires little water to grow. I expect that one of the main difficulties of growing hemp is stopping stoners from stealing it. I grew up close to a hemp field and there were several signs around the edge of it: “This is hemp, not cannabis. It will NOT get you high.” That didn’t deter a friend from stealing several bin-bags full one night, only to find that the farmer wasn’t lying.

Vegan-friendly clothing brands

Some clothing brands are explicitly vegan, others avoid selling animal-derived fabrics, and some have robust animal welfare policies for the clothes they sell that contain animal products. 

Our rating system awards full marks in the animal products category for fully vegan brands.

Fully vegan clothing brands

Four brands score full marks in this category because they are vegan and don’t use any animal-derived materials:

• Ninety Percent
• Pact 
• Rapanui
• THTC

Plus, Outsider told us that they are currently selling down old stock and removing all animal products from their collection.

Secondhand clothing brands which sell clothing made of animal products

Brands that only sell secondhand clothes score 90 (out of 100) for the animal products category, because although they sell clothes made from animal-derived materials, they don’t directly contribute to the demand for new animal-derived materials.

Animal products and welfare standards

Wool is the animal product most commonly used by clothing brands, though some also use silk and leather. One brand, Outsider, even sells a fabric called “milk fibre”, made from ... milk! 

We expect brands that use animal-derived materials to ensure that animal welfare standards are upheld. 

For wool this means using wool that is recycled, organic, or certified to the Responsible Wool Standard (RWS). For wool from outside the UK, we expect companies to source from farms that don’t practice mulesing, a cruel practice that is banned in some countries including the UK, but is still used in Australia, a major wool producer.

We found that many of the brands lacked good policies for wool sourcing. In future, we hope to see more brands sourcing wool that is recycled, organic, or RWS certified.

We have more information about animal fibres in clothing in a separate article which covers materials like cashmere and welfare standards and certifications schemes to look for.

Workers rights in the garment industry

For this guide, we assessed brands on the following six policies and practices:

• Whether all the company's products were non-physical or secondhand.
• What proportion of the company's products were Fairtrade certified or demonstrated fair trade principles.
• Whether it had supply chain policy or criteria.
• Whether it published its list of suppliers.
• Other good practices in its supply chain such as long term relationships with suppliers, visiting suppliers to monitor human and workers' rights, manufacturing products in-house and good purchasing practices.
• Whether it had received reputable third party criticism related to human or workers' rights abuses.

How did the ethical clothing brands rate for workers' rights?

There were a lot of high scores in the workers category, showing that most of the brands in this guide have taken good steps to ensure that those in their supply chains – the people actually making their clothes – are paid well and treated fairly. Most of them had a few small suppliers that they had worked with on a long-term basis and visited regularly.

Many of the brands in this guide disclosed details about the factories that make their clothes, which is a good thing because it allows more transparency to check that their ethical claims are true. 

One standout brand is Finisterre. The company has recently launched “Digital Product Passports” which allow consumers to see which companies and suppliers were involved in each element of an item's production. If you visit the Finisterre website you can see for yourself – it is amazing how many suppliers are involved in the creation of just one product.

Howies was the only brand to score zero in this category. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the workers in its supply chain are being mistreated. However, they don’t have anything on their website about what they are doing to uphold workers’ rights in their supply chain, and they didn’t respond to the questionnaire we sent them. We hope that in future they will be more transparent about how and where their goods are produced.

We have an article which explores workers' rights in the clothing supply chain in more depth. 

Which brands make what ethical clothing?

With so many ethical clothing brands available including secondhand retailers, we've summarised what they offer and the materials used. Use the table below to find who offers ethical clothing for men, women and children. 

Is it better to buy new from an ethical brand or secondhand?

Globally, 132m tonnes of fabric was produced in 2024. There isn’t exact data on how much of that was used to produce clothing, but a very conservative figure would be around half: 66m tonnes. This amounts to 8.1kg of fabric per person, equivalent to around 58 average size t-shirts for every person on earth.

Of course, not all of what is produced is consumed. It is estimated that between 10% and 40% of all garments that are made are not actually sold. But one thing is clear: we produce and consume far more clothes than we need. 

So how should the ethical consumer respond to this crisis of overproduction and overconsumption?

Buying pre-loved clothing

Buying secondhand is an obvious choice because it means that you are not directly increasing demand for new clothing, nor the materials and energy that are required to make it. There are also a lot of clothes to choose from – we feature eight brands in this guide that are focused on selling secondhand clothes, but local charity shops are also a good source. Buying secondhand is also a great way to buy good clothes at cheap prices.

All of the secondhand brands featured in this guide are Best Buys, except Depop, which has a substantially lower Ethiscore than the others. Depop, like Vinted, is a platform which allows users to sell their clothes to others. It is now owned by eBay after being sold this year by its previous owner, Etsy.

But buying secondhand is not without its issues. Firstly, we should still be wary of the culture of consumerism, even when it comes to secondhand clothing. While buying secondhand doesn’t directly increase demand for new clothing, a burgeoning secondhand market does allow people who buy too many new clothes to easily sell them on once they are done with them, thereby allowing the overproduction and overconsumption to continue.

The other issue is that secondhand clothes made from synthetic fibres still shed harmful microfibres. Materials made from natural fibres are nearly always the better option.

Experiences of buying secondhand clothes

Some members of Ethical Consumer shared their experiences of buying secondhand clothing.

“I really like Vinted because the filtering helps me find what I'm looking for, it's often quite cheap for basics and also easy to get well known brands for cheap as well (e.g. hiking boots). If things don't fit me, I've learned how to make things tailored to me on the sewing machine.” (Nadine)

“With maybe one or two exceptions, I don't think I've bought any new clothing for well over a decade. I used to use eBay but now mostly use Vinted because it scores so much better in the Ethical Consumer ratings. Although I find Vinted puts more effort into trying to get you to buy more. I've also found some great clothes on Beyond Retro but ... it's a bit pricier (they do good sales though). I think the main thing I like about using secondhand sites is not having to go shopping which I always found stressful and overwhelming!" (Fran) 

Buying new sustainable clothes

The problem with buying new clothing is that you are directly stimulating demand for a sector that is environmentally damaging and relies heavily on the exploitation of workers (mainly women) and animals around the world. 

But not all brands produce their clothes in such damaging ways, and the point of this guide is to highlight those that are doing things better.

While it might generally be better to buy secondhand, this isn’t always possible or desirable. Sometimes, even after hours of rummaging, the charity shops in your local area may not have that bright orange boiler suit you really need, or maybe the clothes are the wrong size or they are all poor quality cast-offs from the likes of Boohoo and Shein.

Buying new from ethical brands also supports companies that are providing a real alternative to fast fashion and showing that things can be done differently.

There are several things to consider when buying new. 

First opt for a brand with a decent overall Ethiscore in our score table, especially our Best Buys or Recommended brands. 

Next, choose clothing made from sustainable materials. Natural fibres are best, organic if possible, especially cotton as conventional cotton production uses a lot of pesticides. For most people, and most uses, natural fibres will do just fine (even for low-level exercise). We have a detailed article on the different types of fibres.

Also, choose clothing that will last.

Clothing that is well stitched and made from durable fabrics will last longer, which is better for the environment but also for your wallet because you won’t have to replace it any time soon. Some brands also offer repair services for your clothing, so if you aren’t a dab hand at needlework then you might want to go for one of these. Repair services are generally more common among outdoor brands, especially those in the higher end price-wise, but we’ve seen more general clothing brands start to offer this too. See further down for which brands offer repair services.

Experience of buying new ethical clothing

Here's what one Ethical Consumer member of staff said about buying new sustainable clothing:

“I’ve bought from some ethical clothing companies directly, such as Nomads, Rapanui, and Greenfibres, when I was working in an office and wanted smart quality items of clothing that would last, and some long-lasting leisure items. I’ve still got those clothes nearly 20 years later and they are still in good condition. They may be more expensive initially but over time they are much better value for money. And I know no one has been exploited in the making of them. Although there are issues around frequent sales offers, most brands do have end of line discounts you can keep an eye on.” (Alyson)

Does ethical mean more expensive?

We compared the price of ethical clothing brands with that of high street brands. Taking a wardrobe staple, the short sleeved t-shirt, we selected 10 brands from this ethical clothing guide.

Our comparison excluded secondhand clothing companies and brands that didn’t sell t-shirts.

For each, we chose the cheapest adult t-shirt listed on the company’s website. We used the normal price rather than the sale price, but many items were on sale for significant discounts, so you may find items cheaper than we have listed them.

We also chose single items, rather than multi-buys, although these do work out cheaper per item.

*Original price in Euros.

When it comes to mainstream brands it is easy to find a standard, non-organic cotton t-shirt for well under £10 from e.g. M&S and Next. Primark even sold one for £2.50!

It is little surprise that ethical brands charge more for their clothes. Fast fashion brands cut corners by using cheaper, less sustainable materials and rely on underpaid workers in their supply chains. The big brands also benefit from economies of scale too, meaning their costs of production will generally be lower because they can purchase bigger orders and negotiate lower prices.

The problem is that the mainstream has set our price expectations, so we see a t-shirt over £20 and most of us probably think it is a rip-off. But we have become used to cheap clothes which are only cheap because people and planet have been exploited in their production.

For those that can afford it, buying fewer but better clothes is the way to go. The good news for those on a budget is that secondhand is both an ethical choice and, usually, a very cheap one.

Does more expensive mean more ethical?

If new clothing is very cheap, it almost certainly hasn’t been made ethically.

But that doesn’t mean that expensive clothes are necessarily more ethical. Historically, luxury brands have actually been some of the worst offenders when it comes to ethics and sustainability. Their clothes might cost a lot more than those of fast fashion brands, but they have likely been made in similar conditions.

After years of the luxury fashion sector dragging its feet on transparency, according to the Fashion Transparency Index 2023 the five biggest movers recently on transparency and supply chains are all luxury brands (Gucci, Armani, Jil Sander, Miu Miu and Prada), with the biggest increase being Gucci by 21 percent. 

But although some progress has been made in recent years, the problem persists.

In July 2025, Loro Piana, a luxury cashmere brand owned by LVMH (which also owns Christian Dior and Louis Vuitton), became the fifth high-end brand to be put under judicial administration in Italy over worker abuses in supply chains. Like most clothing brands, Loro Piana had subcontracted the production of its garments to another company – in this instance, a Chinese-owned factory located in the suburbs of Milan. Workers in the factory, all 10 of them Chinese, five illegal immigrants, were paid €4 an hour and forced to work up to 90 hours a week, seven days a week, and slept in rooms illegally set up inside the factory.

Repair services

When it comes to fixing clothes, there is a clear generational divide. Much of the older generation know their way around a needle and thread, but these skills have become less common among younger generations. Gen Z, though, appears to be embracing mending anew, driven by an awareness of environmental issues and the pinch of the cost of living.

Mending clothes probably isn’t as hard as you might think, as we explore in a forthcoming article. But for those that are scared of the needle or simply don’t have the time, the good news is that help is at hand – at least from a handful of forward-thinking brands. Some companies now offer clothing mending tutorials on their websites or even in store, but a few go further and actually repair garments for you.

The gold star goes to Patagonia, which not only offers a free repair service but will also send you trims, buckles, and zipper pulls for DIY fixes at home!

Finisterre and Kuyichi will also mend your clothes but you'll pay a fee.

Lucy & Yak offers customers vouchers to return their used clothes, which it then repairs as part of its Re:Yak scheme and sells as part of its Pre-Loved collection.

Matching thread for home repairs 

Ethical Consumer subscriber, Jacky, wrote in to tell us about her struggle to get brands to send matching thread to allow her to repair clothing at home. We hope brands will start offering such a service.

"I sew my own clothing, but my husband is a great fan of merino tops, which he buys from various companies. Merino is fabulous for comfort but wears through very quickly. Many of them offer a “repair” service but none (as far as I am aware) offers a small amount of matching thread for a simple home darn. I rather think that is because they would rather we paid top price for a “repair”. Of course, I repair with closely matching thread, but it shows. I don't especially want to name any company but think it should be considered alongside the “repair” service offered by a few companies now."

Top tips when buying secondhand clothes

Ethical Consumer staff share a couple of tips when buying secondhand clothes.

“Getting jeans/trousers that fit is such a nightmare and you can't return things so easily on second-hand marketplaces. My top tip is to try on different pairs in actual shops to work out what size/style fits best and then search for them secondhand. Same for shoes.” (Fran)

“When using secondhand market places, I now filter more for material type to avoid polyester and also filter out the ultra-fast fashion brands as the quality is often not great.” (Anon)

How was Ethical Consumer's research carried out?

Below we set out our research process and methodology. 

1) Categories used for rating sustainable clothing brands

These are the either rating categories we used for this research, and why we used them:

• Animal products: we assessed whether brands were using animal-derived materials to make their clothing and, if so, what steps they were taking to protect animal welfare. Most points went to companies that use no or minimal animal-derived materials. Points were also given if a brand only sources responsible animal products, such as organic wool.
• Climate: we assessed what companies were doing to reduce their climate impact. Taking steps to reduce carbon emissions is essential if we are to meet international agreements and minimise the harmful effects of climate change.
• Company ethos: we assessed what type of company owned the brand and whether they were linked to controversial sectors. More points were given to business types such as not-for-profit organisations and co-operatives. Points were deducted if the business was found to be linked to controversial sectors, such as fossil fuels or arms.
• Israel-Palestine: we assessed whether companies have connections with the Israeli state, with marks lost when connections were found. This is an important issue because the Israeli state has been accused of the ethnic cleansing and genocide of Palestinians.
• Sustainable materials: we assessed what materials a brand is using to make its clothing and how environmentally sustainable these materials are. More points were awarded for more environmentally sustainable fabrics, notably natural and organic fabrics.
• Tax conduct: we assessed whether it is likely that a company is using tax avoidance strategies to minimise its tax bill. This is an important issue because tax pays for essential goods and services, such as healthcare and education.
• Waste colonialism: we assessed the extent to which brands are implicated in the problem of “waste colonialism” – disused clothing being dumped in poorer countries. Points were deducted if a brand’s products had been found in certain places (such as Accra’s beaches) or if they had been criticised by the Or Foundation.
• Workers: we assessed whether a brand is protecting workers’ rights in its supply chain. Exploitation of workers is endemic to the clothing sector, so it is vital that we examine what brands are doing to ensure supply chain workers are paid well and treated fairly.

2) Key external sources and reports used

• Materials Market Report, Textile Exchange (September 2025)
• ‘It’s the industry’s dirty secret’: why fashion’s oversupply problem is an environmental disaster, The Guardian (Thu 18 Jan 2024)
• Fashion Transparency Index, Fashion Revolution (2023)
• Classic cashmere purveyor Loro Piana placed under court monitoring over worker abuse, Reuters (14 July 2025)

3) Date of research
The research was conducted between July-September 2026. Most research was based on information published in the past two years.

4) Engagement with companies
All brands included in this guide were emailed a questionnaire which asked about the ethical issues we assess in our ratings.

If companies didn’t respond then we used publicly available information, such as their website, documents filed with Companies House, and trusted third-party news sources.