Sustainable fashion is a growing sector. Estimates put the industry size at over $7.3 billion in 2023 with expectations of a market capitalization of $30 billion by 2030 due to interest from ethical and eco-conscious consumers. The movement is seen as a pushback against “fast fashion” – purchasing low-quality garments (often containing plastic) and disposing of them after just a few wears.

This article discusses sustainable fashion, including current trends, the brands supporting it, and adjacent concepts, like organic clothing and fairtrade fashion. Reading this, you will gain deeper insights into sustainable fashion’s impacts and how eco-friendly clothing is the future for the entire industry. 

Sustainable fashion trends

Sustainable fashion is hotting up with the market growing at 9.58% annually. At the same time, various trends are emerging, challenging how we view the clothes we buy. Innovative companies are developing new concepts and enhancing style. 

1. Enhanced Fiber Recycling 

Most conventional garments are made of polyester, a crude oil derivative. The material is convenient, strong, and inexpensive, but it doesn’t biodegrade or compost, making it harmful to the environment. 

For this reason, sustainability champions are investing in enhanced fiber recycling. Improved techniques automate the separation of mixed materials and break down polyester molecular chains, allowing reconstitution into new forms. 

Currently, the aim is to perform “textile-to-textile” recycling to turn the garment industry into a circular economy. Such processes permit manufacturers to use more waste polyester in production, usually by blending it with other fibers and inserting it into fresh products. Top innovators in the space include Ambercycle, CuRe Technology, and Circ. 

1. Vegan Fashion

Vegan fashion is also a hot sustainable fashion trend for 2024. People who eat plant-based diets want clothing to reflect their ethical choices and preference for low-carbon technology. 

Already, numerous brands are making faux fur garments, like Stella McCartney, Unreal Fur, and House of Fluff. Moving forward, more brands will join these, making the material widely available and cruelty-free. 

By using non-animal materials, vegan fashion also reduces CO2 production. Avoiding animal production cuts energy usage significantly and frees land for other users. 

1. Upcycling

Upcycling is another sustainable fashion trend. It involves transforming old items of clothing into new ones. 

The idea behind upcycling clothing is to preserve the material while changing the design to fit current style preferences. It acknowledges that cotton and linen can last for years and are reusable. 

Upcycling reduces waste and emphasizes the “reuse” element in “reduce, reuse, and recycle.” It prevents old clothes from going into landfills or clogging up thrift stores. 

1. Print-On-Demand

Print-on-demand is another popular sustainable fashion trend. Here, manufacturers create clothes after customers order them to avoid overproduction. 

Numerous successful print-on-demand stores have grown to six- and seven-figure enterprises. Customers can create and design bespoke clothes to fit their preferences. 

1. Eco-Friendly Fabrics

Finally, eco-friendly fabrics are another hot trend for sustainable fashion. Manufacturers are searching for materials that reduce environmental impact and break down naturally in the ground. 

One promising concept is pineapple leather. Manufacturers make it from the tough, reedy core of pineapples most food producers discard or sell for animal feed. Brands can use it to make shoes, hats, gloves, and other accessories. 

Mushroom-based textiles are also a promising option. This material is made by extracting elements from fungal mycelium and weaving it into a weight-supporting fabric that looks like leather. 

Notably, these materials compost and break down in the ground. Bacteria can process their components, unlike polyester and other synthetic materials. 

Ethical clothing brands

The trends in the sustainable clothing space are exciting. But which companies let you indulge your passion for eco-friendly garments? Let’s take a look: 

Patagonia

Patagonia tops the list of ethical clothing brands. The company makes durable outdoor gear for hiking and camping while focusing on minimizing environmental impact. 

To achieve this, Patagonia uses recycled and Earth-friendly materials in its garments, including recycled nylon, polyester, and wool. Some of its clothes are made of disused fishing nets, waste factory material, and low-impact hemp. 

The company also believes in durable and long-lasting products and deliberately makes clothes to stand the test of time, fighting back against fast fashion. It even calls itself an “environmental advocate,” meaning it goes beyond reducing its carbon footprint and lobbies for more controls on the industry as a whole. The senior management team believes in pushing for positive change and raising awareness. 

Kotn

Canadian-based clothing brand Kotn is another company well-known for its sustainable fashion initiatives. The brand believes in using Egyptian-only cotton from small farmers.

To achieve sustainability, Kotn focuses on making clothes to last a lifetime. The fabric it uses is uniquely tough and capable of withstanding sustained abuse. It also supports the communities where it operates, paying fair wages and offering safe working environments to employees. Some profits go toward spending on additional infrastructure in the developing countries where it operates. 

While Kotn isn’t perfect, it is working towards a more sustainable future. It constantly improves its practices and reduces its environmental impact. 

Stella McCartney

Stella McCartney is another sustainable fashion brand, innovating on multiple fronts to protect the planet. The company is famously vegan-friendly, offering numerous animal-free products to replace leathers, furs, and feathers. 

Much of Stella McCartney’s sustainability efforts focus on minimizing waste. The company believes in reducing off-cuts in its production process to prevent virgin material from going to landfill. It also uses renewable energy sources to power its operations, including its head office and flagship store to reduce CO2 production. 

Ultimately, the brand wants to prevent uncontrolled deforestation in ecologically sensitive areas. By tightening up its production processes and putting proper supervision in place, it believes it can operate sustainably while offering customers fashion they love. 

Eco-friendly clothing

Eco-friendly clothing refers to garments made using non-conventional, environment-protecting processes. Innovations can occur anywhere in the clothing’s lifecycle, from extraction of raw materials to end-of-life. 

Natural, Recycled And Plant-Based Materials

Eco-friendly clothing manufacturing begins with sustainable materials usage. Manufacturers look for alternative fabrics that don’t involve extractive or non-renewable processes. 

For some, this means using natural crops that grow annually, like cotton, linen, and hemp. These materials have lower environmental footprints than their synthetic counterparts. For example, figures suggest cotton embodies 50% less energy and 75% less carbon emissions than polyester. 

For other eco-friendly clothing brands, sustainability means using more recycled materials. Companies use old silk garments, carpets, wood pulp, fishing nets, plastic bottles, and even old tires in their production processes to support the environment. 

Lastly, minimal use of animal products is another critical consideration. Sustainable brands want to reduce animal suffering and the toxic environmental consequences of pastoral agriculture. Reducing humanity’s reliance on animals decreases the space required to grow feed crops, preserving more natural habitats and reducing the risks associated with monocropping. 

Sustainable Production Processes

Eco-friendly clothing brands also invest considerably in sustainable production processes. These focus on reducing water and chemical use while promoting fair labor practices.

For example, the North Face uses recycled materials in its clothing, preventing dangerous plastics from entering the environment, meanwhile, Tentree plants ten trees for every item it sells. Swimwear brand MATE The Label takes plastics out of the ocean and incorporates them in its swimwear – a particularly original and compelling concept. 

Circular Economy

Sometimes, eco-friendly clothing embodies the circular economy. Brands make clothes for longevity and operate “take back” programs to recycle or upcycle used garments. 

Reformation’s take-back initiative pays customers for their old clothes based on the RefScale program. Everlane has a similar scheme for worn-out items with dozens of other initiatives to meet its sustainability goals. 

Organic clothing options

Given the increased interest in sustainable fashion, organic clothing options are expanding exponentially. Farmers are growing more input crops without pesticides and herbicides, and adhere to international organic certification standards. 

Several organic materials are already available and being used in mass clothing production, including: 

• Organic cotton – a soft, breathable material used in jeans, dresses, t-shirts and everything else
• Organic hemp – a slightly stronger but more wiry fiber with exceptional breathability and sweat-wicking properties for athletes, gym-goers, and sports enthusiasts
• Organic wool – a warm insulating material with a coarse texture

Top organic clothing brands include: 

• Pact
• Bibico
• Beaumont Organic
• Kowtow
• Harvest & Mill
• Patagonia
• Industry of All Nations
• TomboyX
• Brook There
• Thought
• Yes Friends
• Outerknown

Sustainable fashion for women

Numerous brands are also catering specifically to the women’s market. These companies offer a unique take on sustainability and use various practices to reduce their carbon emissions and environmental impact. 

For example, Aspiga sells dresses, accessories, and footwear made of the fibers of the flax plant. It uses this material because it requires fewer fungicides and pesticides than conventional cotton.

Baukjen is another eco-friendly brand with a focus on sustainability and responsible production. It makes long-lasting, ethically-sourced fabrics, meticulously crafted into pieces “you’ll love forever.”

Fair Trade fashion

Fair Trade fashion is another sustainability-oriented trend in the industry but with a different emphasis. It focuses more on ensuring the people who produce clothing work in satisfactory conditions and receive a fair wage. 

Currently, the International Labour Office estimates that 250 million children work in sweatshops, globally – nearly 20% of the child population. Sweatshop workers in countries like Bangladesh earn as little as $92 per month with many factories hiring people under 18 to boost margins. 

Fairtrade fashion corrects this by ensuring workers can function in safe working conditions and access social benefits. A certification system operates internationally to confirm participating brands follow strict economic and ethical standards to protect laborers. 

Numerous clothing brands are already part of the Fairtrade scheme. These businesses provide consumers with more ethical choices. For example, White Stuff uses Fairtrade-sourced cotton in some of its clothes. The company is currently the largest in the UK to use the material. Marzipants is another instance. It sources its fabrics from a Fairtrade cooperative in India. 

Low-impact fashion practices

So, what can you do personally to reduce the impact of your love of fashion on the planet? Let’s take a look: 

Avoid Animal-Based Clothing

First, you can improve sustainability by avoiding anything from a farmed animal, like leather, fur, and feathers. By avoiding these materials, you can reduce animal suffering and cut down on harm to the environment (as explained earlier). 

Some clothing brands hide their connections to the animal production industry, so always do your research. Look for brands certified vegan or sustainable for peace of mind. 

Avoid Garments That Contain Synthetic Chemicals

Another way to practice low-impact fashion is to look for garments made of 100% natural materials (not synthetic chemicals). Sometimes, labels can add dangerous dyes, flame retardants, metals, phthalates, and even lead to their clothing (and not reveal doing so on the label). 

Again, your best defense against this is to choose a brand you trust. Reputable, eco-friendly companies regularly check their products for these substances. 

Wash Clothes Less

You can also make your fashion habits low-impact by washing clothes less and air drying them where possible. Sometimes, wearing the same garment for several days is okay, or leaving it in the sun to dry (instead of using a dryer). 

Use cold water if you don’t want to wash your clothes less. It reduces energy consumption significantly and can make your garments last longer. 

Most washing machines have a cold water setting (usually between 10°C and 30°C). These cycles won’t clean as thoroughly, but drying clothes immediately in the sun can also help reduce odors and make them more pleasant to wear. 

Repair Old Clothes

Another low-impact fashion practice is to repair old clothes, similar to top brands like Patagonia. Fixing or upcycling them makes them last longer and can even add character (think patches on jacket elbows). 

Use Natural Materials

Using natural materials can also help. Linen, cotton, and hemp can come from sustainable farms and provide a biodegradable alternative to conventional crude oil-derived polyester. 

Rent Clothes For Special Occasions

Finally, you can rent clothes for special occasions or swap clothes with friends. Not buying things in new reduces the demand for conventional garments and reduces their impact on people and the environment. 

Sustainable fashion tips

Here are some more sustainable fashion tips for living your best life: 

• Look for garments made of recycled materials (such as plastic bottles or old tires)
• Shop for clothes in second-hand stores, including thrift shops, army surplus stores, and online platforms offering preloved apparel
• Invest in the highest-quality materials you can buy to ensure clothing lasts longer
• Support local designers and artisans 
• Join companies like Patagonia in advocating for change on the regulatory and political level
• Try the #30 Wears challenge (wearing the same garment at least 30 times before throwing it out)

Don’t worry if you can’t do everything on this list. Even small lifestyle changes can have an outsized impact. 

Sustainable fashion impact

The impact of sustainable fashion on people and the environment is considerable. The movement is a force for good in an industry tarred by exploitative practices. 

Economic impact

The economic impact of sustainable fashion is tremendous and can improve economies instead of damaging them. For example, paying a fair wage increases demand for goods and services in developing countries, bolstering domestic economic conditions and increasing the supply of foreign exchange (for purchasing high-value capital and equipment). 

It also leads to job creation. More innovative production technologies drive diversity across verticals, creating more interdependent systems that drive stability and growth. 

Sustainability can also reduce long-term company expenses and enhance brand value. Firms adhering to eco-friendly practices can decrease waste and optimize their resources. 

Social Impact

At the same time, sustainable fashion is having a powerful social impact. Fair labor practices are bettering the lives of millions of people by increasing wages and improving safety. 

These effects are spreading out into the community. When workers at large employers do well, that income capitalizes the rest of the local private sector, allowing more independent businesses to thrive. Some commentators go as far as to argue that a living wage is essential to sustainable fashion because it reduces inequality. 

Environmental Impact

Finally, sustainable fashion impacts the environment. Enhanced working practices reduce ecosystem degradation and protect landscapes for generations to come. 

Brands are reducing climate risk by reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Currently, the industry is responsible for 8% to 10% of all emissions but that could change with the switch to more sustainable practices. Research suggests moving from conventional to recycled polyester shirts can reduce carbon emissions from 5.5kg per garment to only 2.1kg, a 60% reduction. 

Brands are also tackling waste head-on. Circular economy initiatives and take-back programs allow textiles to reenter use after minimal processing (and zero fresh extraction). 

Of course, challenges remain. There are still difficulties for garment companies looking to avoid charges of greenwashing. And higher costs (at least in the short term) remain problematic. Companies can’t always compete effectively when adhering to strict ethical and sustainable principles. 

With that said, sustainable fashion is on the rise and becoming part and parcel or more top brands’ approach to business.