Ten years ago, if you’d asked me what sustainable fashion would look like I would have said ‘oatmeal-y’, possibly made of hemp and very itchy to wear. But, we’ve come a long way since then. Under pressure, the high street is slowly moving with the times and creating environmentally friendly lines. Call it greenwashing all you like, but it’s still better to have the option to buy fast, sustainable fashion than not at all. Following in the footsteps of market leaders like Stella McCartney, the brands have been switching to organic cotton where possible. Some have been going further by turning to eco-friendly electricity sources and upcycling materials. So you don't have to trawl the whole world wide web, bookmark the pages below if you want to shop fast, eco-responsible fashion...
Mango’s Committed Collection
The Spanish retailer launched a 45-piece collection earlier this year that puts the environment first. It’s produced in factories in Portugal, Turkey and Morocco and uses organic and recycled materials that are dyed with eco-friendly inks.
H&M Conscious Collection
H&M are so committed to being perceived as environmentally friendly that they’ve even considered the source of their electricity supply so that now 96% of what they use comes from renewable sources. Around 43% of their cotton is sourced sustainably, and they strive to use recycled materials. They’ve even been lauded by Greenpeace as the first high street store to eliminate nasty PFC chemicals.
Monki Cares
Launched this week, Monki Cares is the Scandi line’s new organic cotton denim range. It has been produced in independently-owned factories that pay their employees fairly. They have also announced that they are setting themselves a target to only use recycled or sustainable materials by 2030 and to be climate positive throughout their whole value chain by 2040.
Zara’s Join Life Collection
Using the combined resources of upcycled materials and sustainable options, like ecologically grown cotton, Zara has created a full throttle environmentally-friendly line called Join Life. As part of the brand’s ongoing commitment to the environment, they are also asking people to bring in clothes to be recycled.
Marks & Spencer Plan A
While they have been trying to remove harmful chemicals from production and move towards more sustainable fabrics, M&S has been at the forefront of employment rights. They have focused on training their workers in employment rights, financial literacy and offering them healthcare.
Monsoon
As a founding member of the Ethical Trading Initiative, they have promised to use organic cotton, reduce energy used in stores, decrease excess packaging. Notably, they only use leather that is a by-product of the meat industry and don’t sell fur.
ASOS
Not only do ASOS have a special Eco Edit tab that’s fueled by sustainable brands, but they sponsor a factory in Kenya, called SOKO Kenya, that offers training initiatives to local workers and produces ASOS products under fair-trade principals.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.