Online shopping has made it easier than ever to buy what you want, anything from clothes to tennis racquets shipped to your doorstep with just a few clicks. Even better, it has made it easier for us to buy from the brands we want. Here is a list of my favorite eco-friendly clothing brands for your next online shopping splurge:
PACT
I adore PACT's clothing--it's durable, cute, and comfortable. I've bought several pairs of the Go-To Legging and I practically live in them. PACT's clothing is made from organic cotton with no toxic dyes or chemicals. Their decision to use organic cotton means the production uses 91% water.
PACT also gives customers the options to purchase wind or solar credits to offset the carbon impact of shipping. Not only that, but PACT is also Fair Trade certified, showing that they're committed to their workers just as much as their customers.
TenTree
TenTree's focus is on replanting trees and restoring forests on a global level. With each item purchased, you get a token and a code which, when entered online, plants ten trees in Madagascar, Indonesia, Senegal, Canada, or any other of their dozens of worksites.
All of TenTree's clothing is made from a combination of either Tencel, recycled polyester, organic cotton, or hemp. Tencel is a fabric made from wood pulp fiber; I can personally assure you that it is the softest material you will ever wear. TenTree is also Fair Trade certified.
TenTree's goal is to plant 1 billion trees by 2030 to offset the effects of climate change, and with every individual piece of clothing bought and registered, 10 trees get planted towards that goal.
​Threads 4 Thought
Threads 4 Thought (T4T) focuses on sustainable materials and using their profits to help in-need communities globally. T4T clothing is made of organic cotton, recycled polyester and nylon, and lenzing modal. Lenzing modal is a sustainably made, wood pulp based fabric.
The recycled polyester and nylon use plastic from recycled water bottles and fishing nets. This combination of fabric materials allows T4T to use less than half of water used in other companies' production. T4T's fabric models eliminates any use of insecticide, herbicide, or pesticide and reduces the amount of plastic entering our ecosystem.
Girlfriend Collective
Girlfriend Collective sells 100 percent recycled material activewear for women. Not only does Girlfriend Collective use recycled plastic, but they are also Fair Trade certified and believe in accurate representation of women. Girlfriend Collective took it a step further with a certification from Oeko-Tex that assures that their plastic is coming from already used plastic.
This certification is combating the trend of certain "recycled" fabric producers buying unused water bottles to increase profit. The Okeo-Tex certification assures customers that Girlfriend Collective is doing its part to reduce the amount of plastic that is clogging oceans and waterways.
Cariuma
Cariuma produces eco-friendly shoes for men and women. Based in Brazil, Cariuma uses organic cotton, naturally harvested rubber, and leather exclusively sourced from areas that weren't deforested for cattle farming and uphold strict local and international environmental standards.
Cariuma's rubber harvesting process ensures that the tree is not harmed and can continue to both produce rubber and continue converting carbon dioxide into oxygen. Taking it a step further, Cariuma also ensures that all shipping materials are made from recycled materials and are 100 percent able to be recycled again.
Similar to PACT, Cariuma ensures a carbon-neutral shipping process, but this time, Cariuma purchases the credits for you for no extra cost.
Allbirds
Allbirds sells sustainably made sneakers for men and women. Their shoes are made from combinations of energy efficient Merino wool, recycled plastic bottles, Tencel, sugarcane, and recycled nylon. Allbirds packages are also made from 90% recycled cardboard.
Allbirds prioritizes the preservation of the environment in the business approach through sustainable harvest and uphold high standards for land management and animal welfare for the sheep producing the Merino wool.
Article22
Article22 sells artisan-made jewelry that is crafted from the metal from unexploded munitions. This company pays local artisans five time their local minimum wage to create hand-crafted, beautiful jewelry from the reclaimed metal. Article22 has received national recognition for their jewelry from big names such as Emma Watson, VOGUE, and The Wall Street Journal.
10% of profits are donated to a Village Development Fund to lend micro-loans to villagers and increase electricity accessibility.
EcoRight Bags
Looking for a cute bag? EcoRight bags has cute and durable bags. They use a combination of jute and recycled cotton to produce their bags, highlighting their commitment to using environmentally friendly materials. Their bags are long-lasting and comfortable to carry. EcoRight's bags have funny and quirky designs on them, mostly centered around the environment.
All of EcoRight's production facilities are held to SEDEX4's ethical, social, legal, and environmental certification standards. Even though EcoRight is just a start-up, they are already doing amazing things to help curb the disastrous effects the fashion industry has on the environment.
