Behind womenswear brand Riyka are a wife and husband team from East London with a focus on bold, confident pieces that know their own style. Inspired by the diverse area of London they live in, Riyka had a range of slouchy organic cotton sweatshirt basics, oversized dresses and velour bomber jackers. All with their signature geometric panelling popping with playful colour.

Sustainability credentials come from fabrics that are all either, GOTS certified organic cotton, end of roll, fair-trade, British made or reclaimed. Their design studio waste is recycled and they’ve worked to make sure their Bulgarian manufacturer commits to the same zero waste standard.

Riyka holds a confident style position that could as easily be styled at one end into streetwear and at the other, your office wardrobe. Expect the unexpected.

riyka.com

Essentially the blueprint for how to create a minimalist Scandi organic basics brand. Which presumably is why they went for the ultimate eponymous name. With a mission to create ‘sustainable and better made basics’ they’ve gone from marketing darlings to serious innovators with their latest range of signature tees, socks and boxers for men and tees, tanks, socks briefs and bras for women.

You’ll find organic cotton styles mixed with antibacterial silver yarn and just the right amount of elastane to keep everything in place without any clammy snugness. The sustainable fabrics continue with recycled nylon leggings while they make sure their Turkish and European fabric suppliers and factories are audited, fair paying and transparent. They’re also part of the Sedex not-for-profit organisation that empowers ethical supply chains.

Definitely at the premium end of your everyday basics. Expect regular cut tees in the softest cotton and cute briefs that your bum and the planet will look great in.

organicbasics.com

Know The Origin are best known for as the ethical home for sustainable brands covering Womenswear, Menswear and Homewares. However they do have an own-label range of basics and not-so-basic basics. With Fair-trade and organic cotton tees (very nice mens striped tees too), zipped hoodies and camis alongside high necked Modal dresses, all very reasonably priced.

Know The Origin are leaders in total transparency, so when you buy one of their pieces they’ll be able to tell you, and have relationships with everyone along the entire supply chain. From the family farming the cotton plants to the final factory. All safe in the knowledge that it has been fairly traded and made to the highest ethical standards.

This is easy going, wearable essentials for the uncompromising conscious consumer. 

knowtheorigin.com

PICO produce everyday underwear essentials for men and women in Organic cotton. Traceable from fair-trade farmer co-operatives supplying GOTS certified organic cotton to a fair-trade factory in Southern India.

PICO is beautifully understated, no thrills nor frills. Just a range of super soft, super comfortable underwear. For women there are crop tops, vests, low rise and high waist knickers and full briefs. Whilst for men there is a Trunk Short.

Ethical, sustainable, simple.

project-pico.com

Kowtow are the go-to for minimalist womenswear pieces that have an almost architectural design inspiration to them.

Think structured volumes in fabrics with weight and cuts that stay interesting with every angle. Almost workwear inspired jackets and strap tops in dark and indigo denim are to be found alongside cord pinafore dresses, rib skirts and premium basics. A favourite are Kowtow’s printed classic shirts that look great tucked into any one of their high waisted long skirts of wide leg trousers.

For sustainability Kowtow are up there with the best. With a GOTS certifications on their denim, ECONYL recycled nylon in their swimsuits and Fairtrade (empowering farmers) and SA8000 (developing, maintaining and applying socially acceptable practices in the workplace) certifications. Bonus points come from sustainably sourced FSC-certified paper packaging!

A side-note, Kowtow also do some premium basic mens tees in a slightly oversized fit with longer arms - they’ve actually nailed the cut of this tee. So there might not be a mens range, but if premium tees are your thing then take a look.

kowtowclothing.com

Nobody Denim make women’s denim styles that are bang on trend. Cropped denim jackets and high waisted A line denim skirts, alongside high rise crop jeans that are going to look killer with a pair of stiletto ankle boots. If you’re looking for statement denim, that’s ethically made, look no further.

Nobody denim also do a range of organic and linen tees perfect for summer months as well as some shirting if you’re in need of a more formal look. All, of course, pairing perfectly with your fave pair of jeans.

Nobody denim call themselves a sustainable business and have a focus on making their denim garments in Melbourne where they are based. Although their denim isn’t organic, the locality of keeping a supply chain as close together as possible significantly reduces the airmiles that many brands tend to hide from customers. Any external suppliers are reassuringly audited to SA8000 standards too (making sure socially acceptable practices are in the workplace). 

nobodydenim.com

We’re going to go out on a limb here and say that Myrka studios is the new modern sustainable office uniform, particularly for their womenswear. It’s minimalist without being overly edgy, it’s considered designs with a touch of interest. It’s formal while staying casual. It works at after work drinks that turn into an afterwork night out. It’s a terrible phrase to use, but it’s all just quite nice.

Covering both womenswear and a smaller range of menswear, Myrka studios’ range isn’t huge but it covers solid foundations. For women there’s white blouses in a boxy cropped cut with golden metal detailing, high turtle neck jumpers in a slouchy fit, trumpet sleeve v-neck jumpers and structured dark navy biker jackets.

For guys there’s a collarless jacket with a strong minimalist silhouette along with an oversized sweatshirt and classic white tee.

Sustainable credentials come from Organic cotton (including recycled) and Tencel fabrics, European sourcing and a fab circular design concept jacket (that you can actually buy) using remnant textiles - the jacket also includes a QR code to give you the info on how to recycle it in the future. That alone is worth heading over to Myrka’s website for!

myrkastudios.com

Admired far and wide, Veja are the sustainable sneaker brand that has made its way into the mainstream fashion conscious through impeccable design and planet and people loving principles. If you live in East London right now we’re fairly sure every fifth person and their pet dog is wearing a pair.

Style and substance is the name of the game, the author here can testify that their Veja’s are still going strong after 36 months of daily abuse on the streets of London, Brighton and Sheffield. That includes a fair few nights out that would otherwise be death to a different pair of off-white sneaks.

Covering mens and women’s styles that are of similar kin, Veja designs sit into 3 styles. The classic thick soled everyday one (great for a throw on some jeans vibe), the more pump/achilles one (the one every woman in fashion/marketing wears), the sporty runner one (think the retro New Balance design).

Sustainability comes in heaps. Organic cotton is bought directly from farmers using fair-trade principles, soles are made from rubber incorporating natural rubber, natural dyes are used where possible, 1/4 styles are vegan, their logistics are handled by a non-profit that helps vulnerable individuals to find a job and regain social stability, their ethical production comes from a Brazilian factory they’ve used since day 1.

Basically Veja are great.

veja-store.com

Hund Hund have that European 'too cool for school' vibe, only they’re not too cool, they just make sustainable styles that look deceivingly like you just throw it on and instantly become 10x cooler. The brand was founded by a fashion designer and a videographer, so I suppose if it was anything less than incredibly aesthetically pleasing you’d wonder what went wrong!

Covering mens and women styles there’s an androgynous feel to their collection. For women there’s striped straight leg light woollen trousers with subtle pin stripes, fisherman knits in strong plain tones and made from Merino. They sit alongside organic cotton tees in oversize fits and rib knit tops. For guys, it’s a there are cuban collared shirts in oversized fits, coach jackets in soft hues and flannel straight leg trousers in a killer fit.

Hund Hund use natural materials across their collections, including Organic cotton, Tencel and Wool, with much of their sourcing coming from Europe along with production. They also promote their own radical transparency (the phrase first coined by Everlane) to show how much your garment actually cost to make. All good stuff.

hundhund.com

Ekn make everyday shoes with a premium look and feel. Their style is laid back with a touch of class covering mens and women ranges, including Vegan styles. For men, the highlights are chunky soled fashion trainers made with recycled neoprene and vegetable tanned uppers alongside equivalents of Nike Air Force 1’s in earthy tones. Whilst on the women’s side there is a great selection of colours for an achilles inspired range as well as flat soled ankle boots.

Sustainable shoe credentials start with the whole process being controlled and completed in Portugal using family businesses. With vegetable tanned calf skin leather insoles and lining, soles made from recycled waste product from the sole industry, organic cotton outers, recycled neoprene outers, waxed seams and recycled polyester for stitching. If you’re looking for a more grown up fashion shoe that protects the planet, Ekn are a great choice.

eknfootwear.com

If you’re into a minimalist urban aesthetic you need Rotholz in your life. This is a modern slow-fashion take on more workwear and streetwear inspired pieces. It’s like taking Folk clothing and Carharrt and adding a dose of sustainable love. It’s not cheap, but it’s all contemporary timeless style with quality that will last years.

Women and Men are catered for in fairly equal measure, in-fact much like Hund Hund the crossover in ranges is quite large. Expect to discover woollen flannel shirting, oversized organic cotton hoodies with great striped drawstring detailing, merino knit 1/4 zips and even some loungewear.

Sustainability comes from organic cotton, lots of wool, recycled polyester and Tencel. It's all above-board here with their suppliers having Fair Wear Foundation and GOTS certifications. 

rotholz-store.com

Jann ’n June make minimalist womenswear and menswear that is more towards wardrobe essentials along with a few stand out statement pieces for an added bonus. It’s great design that doesn’t feel overworked and can happily work for the weekday and weekend, and easily fit into what you already have in your wardrobe.

The women’s range sees high necked organic cotton fleece tops, corduroy tunic dresses, fun printed slip dresses, an incredible Tencel black jumpsuit and a fabulous long fluffy coat made from organic cotton and recycled PET plastic bottles. The fluffy coat you’d put on and simply never want to take off.

The mens range is much smaller, but covers your wardrobe foundations. With wide necked sweatshirts, lounge pants, boxy tees and a solid bomber jacket. All coming in understated guy friendly navy, black and greys.

Lots of sustainable fabrics and also Jan ’n June use a single manufacturer in Poland. Which is always a great way of seeing how a brand treats relationships with production and here, there’s evidently a solid and transparent supply chain.

jannjune.com

On the one hand, we shouldn’t like Jungmaven, they stock the classic hemp and tie-dye products that pigeon holed sustainable fashion as only for people leading alternative lifestyles. But the problem is, try as we might, we can’t help but like them. Their ranges all contains some form of hemp, often mixed with organic cotton and thankfully the range goes far beyond the curse of tie-dye.

Covering men’s and women’s, Jungmaven’s clothing is an array of slightly rugged, honestly casual essentials. Dreamy peach striped sweatshirts, striped tube socks, twill chore/worker jackets (including a popping yellow one) and tees with ‘California Dreamin’ printed on the front with some palm trees. They even do laid back Dungarees. I mean, really, what’s not to like?

Jungmaven aren’t trying to be the most fashionable out there. They’re trying to make hemp a sustainable alternative to cotton and they’re making as much as possible in the USA. In doing so they’ve also created a potential wardrobe that transports you to lazy days in sepia-toned California sun. Surfs up.

jungmaven.com

Naadam make really excellent and overly humorous about videos. We recommend visiting their website even if it’s just for that. They also make exceptionally reasonably priced cashmere jumpers for guys and girls. We’re talking £60/$75 for a 100% cashmere jumper, using cashmere sourced directly from Mongolian herders who get a fairer price for one of the softest fibres on the planet.

If we’re being honest, the straight forward camel, black and grey crew-necks are by far the best style Naadam do and is an absolute wardrobe essential must-have. Worth checking out the olive colour too. When you look after cashmere, it will definitely look after you. Cashmere is super soft, super warm and the styles are normally fairly drapey, so expect the fit to be nicely relaxed without looking oversized. For men and women Naadam also do a wider range of cashmere hoodies and quarter zips, although these are a slightly older look that what can be achieved with a staple crew-neck.

Naadam sweaters are Cradle to Cradle certified, meaning Naadam can prove to be making their sweaters in a process that optimises for reducing harm to the planet through the materials they source, limiting material waste, using renewable energy, water stewardship and social fairness. Naadam also support over 1,000 herding families in Mongolia and have provided veterinary care to 250,000 cute cashmere goats!

naadam.co

Dedicated are unsurprisingly dedicated to making easy-going printed and embroidered tees and sweatshirts in a wide range of basic, illustrated and fun designs. More heavily focussed on the mens collection, Dedicated do also carry a women’s range too.

A big favourite here is the plush organic cotton lofted fleece hoodies and sweatshirts that look like the perfect style to snuggle up in on a Sunday afternoon.

All of Dedicated’s styles are either organic cotton or Tencel (for some of their shirting) and also happily Fairtrade. It’s a great brand to check out if you’re a ‘throw on a fun tee with some jeans’ kinda person that wants to have a smile here and there rather than searching for the ‘latest look’.

dedicatedbrand.com

Lets address two things straight from the off with Mara Hoffman. One, no it’s not cheap, or even reasonable. Second, it’s beautiful.

Really beautiful.Mara Hoffman makes high end ready to wear womenswear that’s a gallery of striking denim silhouettes, dream-like floaty long dresses and impeccable swimwear crying out for la Côte d’Azur.

Happily for high-end womenswear there’s also a good range of extended sizes taking into account actual differences in overall body shape. Mara Hoffman isn’t just made to flatter, it’s made to feel supremely confident in your own style.

In terms of sustainability, Mara Hoffman is leading the way for (fingers crossed) more high end brands, having been founded in 2000, but taking the clear step in 2015 to uncover the possibilities of manufacturing in a less harmful and more ethical way. With a transparent list of manufacturing partners, artisan groups and sustainable materials used. Mara Hoffman is part of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, Global Fashion Agenda and Fashion Positive, which all translates as Mara Hoffman are making the right moves and are living and pushing a sustainable agenda.

marahoffman.com