When buying clothes, you want to feel good about the price. You also want to feel good about the brand and hope that it is sustainable and made by ethical means. Here are 14 affordable ethical fashion brands you should check out!
First, What Makes a Brand Ethical?
A brand is ethical if it doesn’t adhere to fast fashion, where clothes are made in a non-sustainable way and with terrible working conditions. When looking for ethical fashion, you want to make sure that there isn’t a huge impact on the environment and that the people creating the clothes are treated well.
Pact
Pact is a clothing brand that gives you basics but doesn’t give you all the bad things that could come with a clothing brand. The brand is made with organic cotton, GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) certified, and it is not made in sweatshops or with child labor. You know you are getting a good thing when you buy from Pact.
Organic Basics
Organic Basics only wants the best for its brand. The best meaning is that the clothes are sustainable, and the only factories the company works with care about the environment and the people that work for them. The cool part about their site is you can even see which factories are making their clothes. Everyone likes a transparent company!
Patagonia
Patagonia is known for being hip with the outdoorsy crowd. The brand is sustainable, and they care about the environment. On their website, there is an option to look up different groups that are working to combat the environmental crisis.
Quince
Quince is a brand that’s main commitment is to be sustainable. They work mostly with organic materials and work with factories that also care for the environment. This brand prides itself on being luxurious but also affordable. Luxury, along with doing good for the planet? That’s definitely where I want to buy my clothes!
Nudie Jeans
Nudie Jeans is a little more pricier than the other brands on this list, but you will have to sometimes pay for good quality. The company uses organic and fair-trade cotton. They also make sure those working in their factories are making livable wages. The brand also strives to reduce their greenhouse emissions.
Everlane
Everlane prides itself on being ethically sourced and keeping an eye on its factories and their practices. The company also wants to make sure it is sustainable and doesn’t do anything to harm the earth. The majority of the cotton Everlane uses is organic or recycled. The brand strives to be as transparent as possible, making information on their sourcing and sustainability available on their website.
Allbirds
Allbirds is a shoe company that likes to use natural materials. The brand wants to reduce its carbon emissions to about zero by 2030, and they are almost halfway there at the time of this writing. Allbirds prides itself on its sustainability measures as well.
Reformation
Reformation is big on sustainability. It is very important to the brand to eliminate waste as much as possible and reduce their water and carbon footprint. Reformation also has been certified as Climate Neutral, meaning they have zero net-carbon pollution.
Boden
Boden wants to make high-quality clothes that can be worn for a long time. The brand also wants to be as sustainable as possible. Boden also works with factories and makes sure that everything is responsibly sourced. The packaging products are sent in are recycled and recyclable.
Girlfriend Collective
Girlfriend Collective is not only inclusive with its sizes, but it is also sustainable. The brand has a program called Regirlfriend, where customers can send in their clothes and recycle them. If you do the Regirlfriend program, you will then get discounts to their website. Sustainable and giving discounts? Sign me up!
Tentree
Tentree is a brand that plants trees for every item purchased. Tentree has planted over 100 million trees at the time of this writing. It uses only organic and recycled materials for its clothing. Sustainability is top of mind for this company!
Yes Friends
Yes Friends is a brand that was started so it could make affordable, sustainable clothing. The company pays its workers livable wages so they can have a fulfilling life. The type of factories Yes Friends works with have the same values as them, are fair trade, and are GOTS certified.
Read More: 10 Luxury Skincare Brands to Indulge In
Paka
Paka makes their clothes with alpaca fiber, along with other materials that are good for the planet. The main focus is to make sure the earth is being protected when the brand makes its clothes. Paka is a Certified B Corporation, which means it has good environmental and social performance.
Read More: 15 Helpful Tips to Organize Your Closet
Eileen Fisher
Eileen Fisher is working on combatting climate change with each article of clothing they create. The company wants to adopt a way to use less water, less energy, and less chemicals. Eileen Fisher is working its way to be as sustainable as possible.
Read More: 10 Best Online Stores for Affordable Fashion