Isto primarily make menswear essentials (they do a few womenswear pieces too) for guys that want a no-fuss approach to looking good day-in-day out. With super soft flannel button down shirts in soft hues of blue, red and yellow, alongside classic oxford shirts and a solid selection of t-shirts and sweatshirts that happily hide a little bit of the old creeping gut…even in a Medium!

It’s all really good gear, all made in Portugal, so you know the quality is going to be some of the best around. Isto also do some linen shirts too. The women’s linen shirt deserves a shout out too as quite something. It comes in a beautifully lightweight linen with a soft curved hem, side pleat and slightly cropped sleeves.

Isto give clear price transparency and make their styles in organic cotton. This is no fuss sustainability that’s doing grown up basics pretty much perfectly.

isto.pt

What’s tough as nails, made from recycled tarpaulin, looks incredible on your insta feed, looks even better on your back and is often found in yellow despite being named after something green? You guessed it, it’s the mighty Danish grünBAG!

grünBAG are the stand out urban bag for a sustainable future. Made from 90% recycled or sustainable materials, these colourful rucksacks, shoulder bags, sports bags and cases give materials that could last a lifetime, a new lifeline as your new indestructible, favourite bag!

We are in love with their bright and bold backpack made from the waste fabric created from making tarpaulin lorry covers, inflatable bouncy castles and festival tents. It’s got a pocket for your MacBook, loads of space for life’s essentials and a secure zipped pocket, whilst somehow still looking slim and sleek. The in your face branding is actually a huge winner too. Especially as then everyone else knows how smug you feel about being an eco-conscious consumer.

grünBAGs are sewn either at grünBAG HQ in Denmark or by specialist producers in Poland - they’ll even swap any leather components for a vegan alternative if you want. grünBAG, they’re one of the good ones.

grunbag.eco

Beacon & Armour’s first collection comes in the form of two British Wool Jumpers, made from British Sheep’s Wool and Knitted in Britain. So in terms of sustainability, if you’re a British customer of Beacon & Armour you can probably stick your head out the window and hear said sheep bleating. Less air miles and more frolicking lambs, the way it should be.

Beacon & Armour’s first two unisex jumpers are a Guernsey knit and a Submariner knit. The Guernsey knit has a rolled funnel neck that will sit comfortably over a button down shirt, alongside distinctive contrast weaves that signal the searing fisherman history of the jumper.

The Submariner continues on the seafaring theme, but this time takes inspiration from the historical design worn by the British Navy. With a high, thick turtleneck and long ribs around the hem, this jumper is like having a constant hug on cold winter days. Aye, aye Captain.

Using Wool also gives Beacon & Armour a great sustainable advantage. At the end of life it will happily decompose back in to the ground, ready to become the soil that grows the grass, that feeds the sheep, that grow the wool, that makes another jumper.

beacon-armour.com

If you love an artisan craft print, enjoy modern silhouettes and want to wear light loose organic clothing, then it’s time to get to know Matter.

Matter works with rural artisan communities in India and Indonesia, using hand loomed fabrics, Ikat dyeing and weaving and Batik dying (where wax is used to create patterns that are protected from the dye), including many styles being printed on organic cotton.

Matter is primarily a womenswear brand and inspired by travels around South East Asia. Creating a refreshing alternative to typical ‘travel inspired styles’ which are chic enough to get the Vogue seal of approval. The range if full of fun jumpsuits with open backs, lots of high waist cropped trousers all in suitably eye catching prints, simple cropped button backed tops and seriously rad reversible Kimono jackets.

matterprints.com

Raeburn are primarily interesting. They’re a more high fashion/concept brand that have a collection called REMADE, where they re-use materials. Materials like old silk parachutes, old silk maps, original Russian blankets. Using these materials to create a range of mens and women styles such as anoraks, hoodies, sweatshirts and tunic dresses.

Raeburn is also a collaborative design studio, meaning they work with other brands to create more design-led sustainable capsule collections with them. Recent brands to pass through Raeburn’s doors have been Timberland, Palladium and the ace Finisterre.

The styles tend towards a future utilitarian look, sometimes with a military/outdoors edge, sometimes more streetwear. And it’s also worth noting that Raeburn use organic cotton throughout their collections.

raeburndesign.co.uk

Anian are a minimalist outdoors clothing brand that is as comfortable catching up with friends at the pub for a couple of pints as much as it is hiking up a mountain pass.

It’s not often we agree with how a brand describes themselves, but Anian has pretty much hit the nail on the head saying they “design garments that are practical for a variety of weather conditions and social occasions without harming the environment.”

With dark ash, black and olive moleskin and flannel organic cotton shirts for men and women, alongside thick organic cotton ring-spun henley’s and tees with printed maps outlining their home spot of Vancouver island. They also do some extremely warm recycled cashmere knitted hats.

Added sustainability and ethical bonus points come from that they make everything in factories in Vancouver in Canada just down the road from the brand.

anianmfg.com

Making genuinely gender-free clothing is a tricky business. To have clothing looking and fitting how you’d want it to on often very different gendered body shapes is not simple. We’ve often seen many brands resort to a version of a tunic dress or seriously oversized everything.

Riley Studio have however pretty much nailed it. They produce sustainable minimalist streetwear made from recycled waste fibres. The aesthetic sits together with say, a co-ord adidas tracksuit, only Riley Studio strip back that design and amplify it to a more premium, design-oriented, clean look.

To work on all humans, their choice of cuts is imperative. For example on their Lyocell (wood pulp) joggers, there’s a long bottom cuff keeping a tightness on the calf but with room to move in the thighs. While the high collar on the recycled nylon track jacket means a casual sporty look with the zip undone, but when zipped up to the top it’s a seriously sharp athleisure concept design.

The range continues with recycled cotton tees made in Portugal with subtle slogans, waxed BCI cotton modular anoraks (you can go from full on trainspotter to cropped top festival vibe in a few pulls of the recycled tape zips) made in Britain and recycled cotton and recycled polyester hoodies.

The finishing on the entire range is also impeccable. Go check. 

riley.studio

Leo Strange make artisan produced womenswear, designed in Australia and made India. It’s a small range that contains just a few classy pieces in earthy hues of red, green and mustard.

With double pleated, high waisted tailored chinos made from organic cotton and calf length slip dresses made from banana silk with beautiful curved hems. Alongside batik striped, indigo dyed organic cotton short sleeved tees and wide-mock neck long sleeved tees.

Leo Strange focusses on using natural dyes, the reds made from the Common Madder plant, Myrobalan fruit for their yellows and even recycled iron for their deep blacks. It means that the whole collection works beautifully together as if nature has just put on its best catwalk outfit.

Add onto this that Leo Strange works with artisans to help overcome poverty in the regions where the artisan communities live, and you’ve got yourself a fantastic womenswear brand. 

leostrange.com

Weekday are H&M in one of their various forms, it is starting to feel a bit like you lift the lid on any new slighty-edgy and affordable urban brand and out pops H&M!

Weekday don’t really shout that loudly about being sustainable, most of their marketing campaigns focus on other great movements like body image, LGBTQ awareness and refugees. However, weekday do one of the best affordable ranges of organic cotton clothing we’ve come across.

They even do recycled polyester swimwear too.

Covering girls and guys, it’s all really well made, all a little oversized and all just a touch more expensive than what you’d find in a normal H&M. Happily Weekday don’t go in for any garish graphic designs, instead it’s a mix of mid-weight plain and striped tees, heavy weight super cosy hoodies and sweats and organic denim too.

If you’re venturing into sustainable style, on a budget, and want to easily know where to go to get your everyday fashion with a bit of minimalist scandi style, then quite simply, go to Weekday.

Yes, you’ll be lining H&M’s pockets, but at least you’ll be showing the one of the world’s largest fashion brands that their customers give a damn about sustainability and they should be moving more quickly in to that direction!

weekday.com

Girlfriend Collective make body positive women’s activewear. It comes in a range of really lovely pastel hues (as well as black and dark navy) and every style is made from either PET plastic bottles or recycled fishing nets, and sewn in a Vietnamese factory that pays a living wage.

Clothes made from rubbish never looked quite so fab.

Their sustainable activewear is made for actually moving about in not just brunch, so you can be sure this is technical gear that also happens to look damn good.

Leggings come in high-rise or standard-rise and you can choose between a thicker compressive material or a lighter more flexible material and their sizing goes from XXS to 6XL (they’ve also taken the time to actually match these sizes to cuts that fit changing body shapes across that size range!).

Bras come as more of a crop top, with a high-neck low-back version and scoop neck racer-back version. Girlfriend collective also do a range of bodysuits, tees and tanks as well as running and spinning shorts!

You’ll be jumping for joy with Girlfriend Collective.

girlfriend.com

By Signe make a range of women’s essentials that manage to toe the line between basic and interesting just right. With an individual aesthetic that’s restrained and design-led, the kind of simplicity that makes up great design and makes you take a second glance.

With organic cotton scoop tees in soft lilac and pastel yellow, an incredible range of jersey dresses, many with mock necks and also gathered and silk skirts. By Signe also do a small range of relaxed underwear in super soft organic cotton.

By Signe make all of their styles in their home country of Denmark, setting a high president for full and constant oversight by making their range in-house. They also ensure that all their organic cotton is GOTS certified and use oxybleach to whiten their fabrics if required (oxybleach is a low impact, safe method of whitening using oxygen that leaves no nasty chemical residue).

bysigne.com

Sustainable mens fashion that’s on the smarter side, the much smarter side, is hard to come by. Very hard indeed. Especially to find any that actually looks damn good on.

Brave Gentleman is bucking that trend, bringing a sartorial style that involves crisp organic cotton short sleeve cotton shirting with bold prints, vibrant check recycled polyester houndstooth overcoats, lightweight bamboo suiting, ‘future-wool’ biker jackets (made from a mix of recycled cotton and polyester in Brazil) and a cracking selection of vegan smart shoes.

The initial focus for Brave Gentleman started out as being Vegan, so the entire range continues to be pushing the fore-front of innovation for vegan materials.

It’s a mix of more edgy, late night sartorial style alongside some more classic numbers. The footwear range is excellent, with brogues, double monks, chunky soled loafers and Chelsea boots.

bravegentleman.com

Colorful Standard may be from Denmark, but they realised that Portugal is pretty much the world leader at the moment in producing premium organic cotton jersey essentials. So they’ve done us all a favour and made all the basic essentials you need in all the colours you could wish for!

It’s unisex stying and the collection involves mid-weight short sleeve and long sleeve tees, heavyweight fleecy sweatshirts, heavy weight hoodies and some zip through hoodies too. It’s an American Apparel vibe from back in the day. To top it off Colorful Standard also do a range of Italian Merino wool beanies.

If that wasn’t all enough, they also donate 5% of their profits to charity.


colorfulstandard.com  

Bleed describe themselves as 100% eco, 100% fair, 150% YEAH. So you can’t help but be stoked for whatever they’re making!As it turns out they make vegan, sustainable clothing for anyone and everyone who loves to be outside skating, riding, surfing, running, snowboarding… They’re the 90’s skaters still looking for the good times. We massively respect that.

Alongside eco and vegan credentials, every piece of Bleed clothing has to fulfil the requirement of being great for sport and to look great in everyday life. What this translates as is mens and women styles along the lines of tear-proof Hemp Shackets, soft striped flannel shirts, organic cotton canvas parka jackets with Primaloft insulation, soft-shell hoodies and organic cotton jeans.

Bleed acts as a really good alternative to Patagonia if you want a more diverse range of everyday clothes that can more than easily deal with an afternoon hike or quick dash down a trail path on your bike. They also do a great little selection of Econyl swimwear for men and women. Bleed aren’t trying to be overly fashionable, they’re happy with being stylish, relaxed and functional.

bleed-clothing.com  

The extended collaboration between Parley, a curated gathering of innovators and ideas folk talking about the state of the oceans, and Adidas, an all singing all dancing taking over the world sportswear brand, is one of the most optimistic collaborations for the future of big business and protecting the planet, that we’ve seen.

The huge influence Adidas have means that now there is recycled polyester in the shirts of Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid football shirts, Adidas Parley have made an NFL shirt together using recycled polyester and up cycled fabrics. Their range of trainers made from recycled polyester and ground up recycled rubber soles has been so commercially successful they’ve pledged to double its production to 11 million pairs in 2019.

There’s now a range of Adidas Parley Econyl swimwear too. Meaning not only is Adidas Parley using up the trash plastic bottles found in the sea, they’re also helping to remove the trash fishing nets too.

The best part is it also means there’s now sustainable, every day sportswear at Adidas prices and in Adidas styling that you can buy online. Ready for serious running, tennis, swimming, football, yoga…

Nike and Under Armour, I hope you’re taking notes.

adidas.com/parley  

Wow-wow-wee-wa, no wait, that’t not right - but what is right is pretty much everything about Wawwa. Lets start with the style and get onto the even better stuff.

Wawwa make unisex laid back casual styles that have a definite oversized skater vibe and a little bit of a washed out dye surfer feel. It’s damn cool with some seriously good illustrated graphics in seriously popping colours. Think organic cotton and fair-trade tees, hoodies and sweats. They’ve also got you sorted on the accessories with beanie and fishermen hats, socks and football-esque scarves.

Right, now what else do Wawwa get up to? Funny you should ask, they pay the living wage, they’ve been experimenting with a recycled yarn made from recycled plastic bottles and organic cotton offcuts, they’re Peta Vegan certified too.

Phew, that’s quite the list. Oh, and they also have 1 for 1 bundles. Where if you buy a beanie hat, t-shirt and socks together, they’ll donate the same to someone homeless. Which is totally awesome.

Big-ups to Wawwa, they’re also a certified Social Enterprise.

wawwaclothing.com  

Back Beat Rags bring a touch of California, mix it with a whole heap of organic and hemp fabrics and finish it with a few vintage twists. With a ‘small but all you need’ basics womenswear collection that is effortlessly cool, has an on point colour palette and comes in easy, wearable cuts made to have fun in.

All you really need to add is a spot of Cali sun!

With Tencel and Hemp sweater robes that sit over wide leg utility pants. Oversized hemp hoodies and sweats alongside hemp heavy twill utility jackets with beautiful large brass coloured metal buttons. Then there are organic cotton rib mock necks, high neck jumpsuits and a couple of fun slogan tees. All of this comes in a variety of soft pastel hues that look like you’ve just picked the perfect insta filter.

Oh, and check out the short sleeve hemp boiler suits - too good.

They also manufacture down the road (literally, like 10 miles) from their studio in Los Angeles, including sourcing their sustainable knitted fabrics!


backbeatrags.com  

Monki is the go-to womenswear brand for fashion lovers with a relaxed, super fun style. This is feel good, totally rad style with (nearly) the sustainability creds to match. It’s also totally affordable. Talk about crushing it.

Find striped organic cotton long sleeve tees in boy-ish cuts and in every colour your heart could desire, oversized crazy fluffy recycled polyamide shearling coats, organic cotton V neck buttoned, wide-leg boiler suits, wide leg BCI cotton corduroy trousers in that classic mustard shade and a whole host of other styles to fall in love with.

We really recommend visiting one of their stores too. It’s mirror madness and makes you feel like you’re in a unicorn dreamland.

One thing to note though, Monki are on the journey to sustainability, some styles are, some not so much - Underneath the thumbnails on the styles look for the phrase “Monki Cares”! There’s also an ‘Monki Cares Edit’ editorial on their website for a quick and easy route to viewing a good selection of their sustainable styles.

monki.com

Riz Boardshorts are a guys best friend at the beach. They make their boardshorts from recycled PET bottles that lived a previous life floating around in the ocean. There’s a happy irony in that they’ll make a return to the ocean when you’re riding/falling off your surfboard!

Riz have you covered for short, mid length, long and all-day board shorts that either come in slightly flamboyant prints, or something more average joe. It’s good of them to think of us all!

Better still when you buy a pair of Riz boardshorts they’ll donate £1 to the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) to help support the ongoing efforts to protect our marine world.

Added bonus is from their ‘Rizcycling’ scheme, where once your shorts have played their last innings, you can send them back to Riz for recycling, repairing or re-homing. They’ll even give you 25% off your next pair for doing so.

Top chaps.

rizboardshorts.com