17 Sustainable Fashion Designers Whose Clothes Are Great For The Environment As Well As Your Wardrobe

These progressive designers are helping the planet, one garment at a time.

As defined by Vogue, sustainable fashion refers to producing garments that are beneficial for the environment and the people who make these clothes. It includes eco-friendly practices that achieve goals such as limiting CO2 emissions, as well as compensating workers fairly for their labor, and maintaining a safe work environment.

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Many designers have shown through various looks made using eco-friendly techniques how sustainability can generate fashion that is both stylish and beneficial for the planet.

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Stella McCartney, for example, is a groundbreaking designer who has remained committed to sustainability since she started her fashion house over 20 years ago. The brand now has 46 independent stores and is available in 77 nations.

Here are 17 designers who are breaking ground in sustainable fashion.

1. Tyler McGillivary

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The bold and creative looks created by Tyler are made in workspaces that prioritize sustainability, the designer said when she talked to i-D in 2019.

"The factories that I work with are both really small and women-run, and I love working in India because I source a lot of the fabrics there," Tyler said. "The factories I work with also have an emphasis on sustainability."

She additionally discussed how the eponymous company will approach sustainability looking ahead, saying, "My brand is trying to shift towards making pieces that will last for a long time. We’ve also been thinking about making our packaging fully recyclable and making sure that when we cut our patterns there is no waste. We are also working with my friend who does natural dying to come up with a color we can use for next season."

2. Maggie Marilyn Hewitt of Maggie Marilyn

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Maggie, whose fashion house is called Maggie Marilyn, uses quality products with fabrics that are favorable for people and the Earth. Her fashion label works with deadstock fabrics, post-consumer waste recycled polyester, and regenerated nylon, among other resources, to make wearable, high-end attire.

3. Stella McCartney

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Stella started her luxury brand in 2001 and, per her bio, "has never used leather, feathers, skin or fur in any of her designs since day one..." The company utilizes animal alternatives that are less harmful to the environment, including recycled cashmere, organic cotton, and MIRUM, a plastic-free vegan leather. In a 2021 Vogue chat, Stella discussed her outlook on sustainability. 

"As an industry, we have to measure our environmental footprint, and at Stella, our goal is to reduce that footprint, not to replace it," Stella said. "In order to be truly sustainable in any business, your model has to have self-imposed limitations. We aren’t perfect by any means and we are always looking to improve our means of sourcing. Right now, for example, we are running regenerative farming pilot tests."

4. Mara Hoffman

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Mara's label began making moves toward sustainability in 2015 and has since collaborated with various organizations in order to reach sustainability goals. This eco-friendly business model led to Mara earning the Repreve Champions of Sustainability Leading the Change Award from Unifi in 2019. The designer has explained how she and her colleagues outline how to continue improving their sustainability efforts.

"On a sustainability level, we have monthly action plan meetings to talk over how much energy we use in the office, our recycling initiatives, any workshops we can do or films we can watch to learn more about how we work and how we can work better," Mara said in a past interview with Rêve En Vert. 

5. Eileen Fisher

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Eileen started her clothing brand in 1984 and is a pioneer of sustainable fashion. She uses sustainable practices like incorporating regenerative wool into the items of her collections. As stated on the company's site, using this wool helps tackle climate change; the farmers who benefit from it are dedicated to improving the well-being of sheep and the quality of the earth.

6. Katie Jones

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The colorful clothing designed by Katie Jones is crafted through the environmentally-friendly processes of knitting and crocheting. This was initiated by Katie's interest in knitwear which dates back to her teen years. The designer upcycles and uses leftover fabric, and she received the Selfridges Bright New Things Award in 2016 to recognize her devotion to sustainability.

7. Alejandra Alonso Rojas

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Alejandra is loyal to sustainable techniques like naturally dyeing clothing and making cashmere using recycled fibers. She has spoken about placing emphasis on hand-making fashion items for her brand.

"For me, it’s important that our sustainability is all about developing everything by hand and going back to artisan practices, rather than having machines everywhere," Alejandra told the Frontlash in a past interview.

8. Gabriela Hearst

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This brand was started by Gabriela with a focus on practicing sustainability and creating long-lasting wardrobe pieces. Past runway collections from Gabriela Hearst have used sustainable materials like deadstock fabrics and aloe-treated linen.

As of 2019, the brand is plastic-free, and the next aim Gabriela has set for her company is to forgo the use of virgin materials.

9. Morgane Sézalory of Sézane

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Three-fourths of Sézane's materials are eco-friendly, and the brand is B Corp certified. This authentication is given to corporations that fulfill guidelines consisting of "high standards of verified performance, accountability, and transparency," via B Lab. One requirement to earn the certification is that a company must have a strong social and environmental performance upon evaluation. In 2019, the label's founder, Morgane Sézalory, opened up about the importance of creating clothing that helps the environment.

"I want to be a part of this revolution. We are trying to make sure all of the fabrics we source are ethical and environmentally friendly," Morgane told Wardrobe Icons before adding, "At the beginning everyone was afraid, they said it wasn’t possible, but I was convinced it was. For me, it was an absolute priority."

10. Alexandra Sipa

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Alexandra Sipa reworks discarded clothing and fabrics to make inventive new fashion designs. Her collections often feature lace detailing that has been made from discarded electrical wire. Sustainability has been a hallmark of the company from the beginning, Alexandra revealed in 2021.

"The business was founded on the principles of transparency; ingenuity; and environmental, economic, and social sustainability," Alexandra said to World Wide Generation. "We started small, allowing us to control every step of the production cycle and have complete oversight of our environmental and social impact each step of the way."

11. Emma Hill of Damson Madder

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Damson Madder fashion items are made from recycled fibers, leftover fabric, or organic cotton. In addition, the brand monitors the factories they collaborate with to make sure that its workers are in a safe and ethical atmosphere. Founder Emma Hill named sustainability as an enduring focus of hers in a 2021 Because Magazine interview.

"[An ongoing goal of mine] is to learn about all aspects of sustainability within fashion, and ensure as a brand that we are always exploring the best sustainable options for fabric bases, trims and printing techniques," Emma said. "It’s something that changes all the time but it’s so important to keep evolving with it."

12. Teodora And Pavel Lozanov of Bogdar

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Sustainability has remained at the forefront since Teodora And Pavel began Bogdar. Now, more than half of Bodgar collections are created with eco-friendly textiles. Furthermore, their products are produced in a family-owned and operated atelier made up of 16 employees who follow a made-to-order business model.

"You can’t forget the people who make the clothes," Teodora said to Drapers in 2021. "A lot of brands out there claim to be sustainable as they’re using sustainable fabrics, but it’s about the people who work for the brands, too. We have transparency in our production."

13. Kevin Germanier of Germanier

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Upcycling is carried out in order to create the stunning luxury items featured in Kevin Germanier's collections. These garments convey that sustainable fashion can be just as glamorous as garments made by alternative designer labels.

"I want to show people that sustainable fashion isn’t just about organic linen, but it can also be a beautifully beaded dress," Kevin told Tatler Asia in 2019.

14. Roopa Pemmaraju

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Only natural fibers and recycled materials are used to bring Roopa Pemmaraju's vibrant designs to life. The brand promotes the work of artisans and funds hand weaving, digital printing, and hand block printing techniques for their collections. Eco-friendly fashion has been featured by Roopa Pemmaraju since Roopa's very first collection was revealed in 2012, which included only sustainable fibers.

15. Conner Ives

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Conner's clothing is made mainly using deadstock and vintage materials. From these pieces, he creates looks that call upon memories of the fashion worn by the women he knew during his childhood. The designer has detailed how sustainable fashion is vital in today's world.

"I think to not work sustainably in some way in the 21st century is highly dismissive of the current state of the world," Conner said to Tatler Asia in 2022. "I only do what I do [design] because of the way in which we do it [ie upcycling]; I wouldn’t be making clothes if I wasn’t making them from other things."

16. Misha Nonoo

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In 2017,  Misha relaunched her brand as an on-demand company. The Misha Nonoo site states that this reduces the amount of waste that is generated from bulk production by 90%. Later, the business stopped using plastic for domestic orders and has since begun unveiling new wardrobe items made from natural fibers and knit production. Misha told Vanity Fair in 2020 that she and her team are "trying to become more and more sustainable incrementally."

“We started with our manufacturing, went on to packaging, then moved on to looking at fabrics," Misha said. "We are now looking across our entire supply chain and our processes.”

17. Christy Dawn

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Christy Dawn was founded as a sustainable company and not only uses repurposed fabrics, but has also started a farm-to-closet initiative. Through this initiative, the company has financed land regeneration in India. In 2018, Christy talked about embracing sustainability in regards to the environment and the working conditions of employees.

"With Christy Dawn, we try to optimize for longevity, and we don’t limit 'sustainability' to solely environmental considerations. We look at the human impact of what we are doing," Christy told the Good Trade.

My reaction to these designers creating elegant and guilt-free fashion:

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