The Best Sustainable Fashion Brands for your Winter Wardrobe
Ethical fashion isn’t just for summer, with its floaty floral dresses, vintage denim, organic cotton tees and oversized shirts; your winter wardrobe needs some investment too. Here are my top ten picks from the coolest brands that the internet has to offer this season. These folks priorities sustainabiltiy but don’t compromise on style, for all your outerwear, knitwear, and of course partywear needs.
Let me know what you think in the comments and don’t forget to check out my ethical fashion brand directory for more sustainable shopping inspiration too.
VETTA
Vetta is based upon helping you create your ideal capsule wardrobe by creating just five key high-quality seasonal pieces each month, created using responsible sourced and eco-positive fabrics. December’s ‘edgy’ capsule collection offers up a soft grey waffle-knit sweater, a versatile tailored blazer dress and a party ready vegan leather skirt. I’ll take one of everything, please.
OLD HARRY
Whether you’re looking for a no-frills fisherman, a timeless breton stripe or a cosy cable knit, Old Harry focusses on one thing and one thing only; great knitwear that’s made to last, crafted in the UK. These are jumpers for life, that you will treasure regardless of trends; the jumper that you can’t wait to pull out from under the bed come October and embrace like an old friend.
A WOODLAND GATHERING
A Woodland Gathering is not only sustainable and ethical, but Scottish too (my favourite combo). Handmade by designer Rachel Hollinger, the brand creates stunning linen garments (and man, do I love linen) as well as items crafted from super-soft organic cotton, in deliciously earthy tones, all completely designed to be the comfiest clothes you’ve ever worn. Perfect for when you’re hibernating into your ‘winter body’.
KERRIE ALDO
Another fabulous Scottish fashion brand, I have blethered on about Kerrie Aldo before on the blog, but this independent designer deserves another mention as she comes into her own in the Autumn/Winter season, handcrafting genuinely bloody cool unisex coats and jackets using zero-waste production methods and ensuring the highest possible quality materials and construction goes into each and every piece.
ALLBIRDS
I only recently discovered Allbirds via the magic of Instagram’s advertising algorithm, and I love their idea of creating cuber-comfortable footwear from sustainable materials, including shoelace that are 100% recycled from post-consumer waste. I like wearing trainers all-year-round, so its great to discover a brand that makes them in super-soft, ethically sourced wool to keep my feet cosy in Scotland’s cruel winter commutes.
MONKEE GENES
If, like me, you live in jeans as much as possible, you will love Monkee Genes as your new go-to denim destination. The denim industry is infamously toxic, polluting, thirsty and wasteful, but Monkee are aiming to combat these problems by creating jeans with GOTS certified organic cotton that use 80% less water and chemicals that the industry average, and they guarantee the wellbeing and rights of their garment workers (with a proud commitment to fair working conditions), while providing skint fashionistas sale prices starting at just £20 (ka-ching!)
VEGE THREADS
A quick glance at the Vege Threads website will seem like a California girl’s paradise, but for me, winter is all about comfort, and this Australian brand’s 100% organic underwear, socks and yoga/exercise wear, plus hemp and linen daywear in cosy Autumnal tones, is just what my closet is craving at this time of year. What’s amazing about this company is that they are a member of Patagonia’s ‘1% for the planet’ initiative, regularly donating profits to environmental charities, as well as manufacturing in local, ethical factories with a totally transparent supply chain.
BIRDSONG
birdsong.london
Birdsong is my new favourite British fashion brand with an authentic social; they create unique, contemporary design-led womenswear, designed and made by talented women (often affiliated with incredible women charities), who are paid a living wage and receive holistic support for their wellbeing. They have a cool collaboration with London vintage brand Beyond Retro at the moment, and also have a range of beautiful seasonal pieces available online, including embroidered sweatshirts, utilitarian suits and jumpsuits, hand-knitted jumpers
ARMED ANGELS
armedangels.de
Another repeat favourite for me has to be eco-friendly and fair fashion German womenswear label Armed Angels, a brand I am thrilled to have accessible to me locally at Edinburgh’s John Lewis, and this season they have some supremely stylish garbs for sale, including relaxed-fit party dresses, cosy organic knits and lots of retro-inspired bold prints and gift-ready accessories too.
LUCY & YAK
From teddy-bear coats and eighties-style ski fleeces made from recycled plastic bottles, to shirt dresses and boiler suits crafted from organic cotton with low-impact dyes, UK-based ethical fashion brand Lucy and Yak has gone way beyond their original offering (although their dungarees and overalls are still so. damn. good.) Plus their go-to slogan is: “If its not comfy, why are you wearing it?” - which I relate to on a spiritual level this winter.