6 Fashion Labels That Marry Great Design With Sustainability

In the midst of one of the most destructive hurricane and typhoon seasons in recent memory, there’s no better time to revisit the inextricable bond between fashion and the environment. Repeatedly cited as the second most environmentally damaging industry in the world behind oil, fashion remains painfully backwards in its efforts to become more sustainable despite the efforts of pioneers such as Patagonia, which has been advocating environmental stewardship since as early as the 1970s. While fashion’s biggest names such as Nike and H&M are slowly but surely making moves to reduce their environmental impact through manufacturing innovation and recycling initiatives, the efforts of decidedly smaller labels to effect positive change are no less valuable. Here, we highlight 6 of the best.

Christopher Raeburn: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Ræburn

For British designer Christopher Raeburn, sustainability is much more than a mere byword or trend, having become so ingrained into his brand’s aesthetic that it has defined each and every one of his collections. His REMADE capsule collection is most famously known for reusing everything from fabric for emergency life rafts to parachute silk into wearable and desirable garments and accessories. Additionally, Raeburn’s role as art director for Victorinox has seen him bring the same conscientious approach to materials to the Swiss heritage brand, repurposing vintage Swiss military fabrics into outerwear and backpacks. Apart from reusing and recycling, Raeburn also broached the idea of designs that can be continually renewed to keep up with the ever-changing trends in fashion — his Spring 2017 menswear presentation saw sweatshirts and parkas that incorporated velcro panels so the user could customize and update their look using their own patches.

Olderbrother: Slow Clothing Movement

When founding Portland-based label Olderbrother, designers Bobby Bonaparte and Max Kingery approached the production of their garments with the same mindset as they would make their food — thus the concept of the slow clothing movement was born. Speaking to The New York Times, Bonaparte explains, “We were exposed to eating natural and organic foods at a young age, and we were taught to ask where these things came from. We’re thinking about all of this stuff that we put into our bodies, now let’s think about what we put onto our bodies.” To this end, Olderbrother uses eco-conscious textiles such as California-derived organic cotton and renewable plant-based synthetics, alongside all-natural dyeing processes utilizing natural pigments like madder root and turmeric. The brand’s “Hand Me Downs” line also repurposes unsold product by dyeing it indigo, then distressed and patched for a unique aesthetic.

G-Star RAW: Recycled Ocean Plastic

Throughout his long and illustrious career, hip-hop and fashion icon Pharrell Williams has built his image on positivity in body, mind and environment. As creative director of innovative textile startup Bionic Yarn, Williams championed the company’s technology of converting recycled ocean plastic into fabric to be used in garments. Bionic Yarn received its big break when it partnered with G-Star RAW to create the “RAW For The Oceans” line, which consisted of a range of denim products based on the eco-friendly fabric, using a total of nine tons of ocean plastic to produce. Inspired by Patagonia’s own breakthrough in creating fleece jackets from recycled plastics, Bionic Yarn has since struck up partnerships with the likes of adidas, Timberland, Gap and Cole Haan; while Pharrell’s onboarding as G-Star RAW’s creative director earlier this year ensures that his environmental campaigning will be represented on an ever-larger platform within fashion.

Drutherswear: Start From the Basics

Every man has to own a few pairs, so why not begin by making an impact there? Or so the thinking goes at New York-based basics brand Drutherswear, which builds its range of boxers and knit socks to exacting environmental and ethical standards from the ground up. To do this, the label sources Recover Yarn — a fabric made from recycled cotton and plastic bottles — for its garments, as well as donating to several carbon-neutral initiatives to offset the shipping of products made in Japan, which are packaged in 100% post-consumer Eco Enclose packaging. Drutherswear’s more eye-catching designs are also cut from found fabric rolls, which make for unique garments that don’t require creating new cotton fabric that needs to be dyed and printed, thus saving on a ton of resource consumption and environmentally degrading byproducts.

Heron Preston: Trash to Treasure

Designer Heron Preston has consistently drawn from themes of authority and subversion throughout his various ventures with Nike, YEEZY Season and Been Trill, but for his latest collaboration, the online native went where no other fashion figure has gone before. Partnering with none other than New York City’s Department of Sanitation (DSNY), Preston upcycled and repurposed a number of donated DSNY uniforms to create a one-of-a-kind streetwear capsule collection, titled “UNIFORM.” Preston initially gained inspiration for the collection after an unenviable encounter with a trash bag while swimming in the ocean, hence the capsule’s eco-friendly slant – with these clothes, he hopes to promote the department’s 0X30 initiative, which aims to eliminate all waste sent to New York City landfills by the year 2030. “I knew that fashion was a tool to communicate powerful messages,” commented Preston. “When you step outside of your circle, you can achieve true breakthrough.”

Nudie Jeans: How Can You Mend A Broken Jeans

Perhaps inspired by Patagonia’s robust Worn Wear repairing and recycling campaign, Swedish denim label Nudie Jeans has made repairing a pillar of their business model, with each Nudie Jeans boutique offering free-of-charge mending and alteration services. Operating on the belief that idiosyncrasies are what makes a pair of jeans desirable, Nudie allows its customers to choose whether they want the mend to be inconspicuous or eye-catching, thus reflecting a bit of the owner’s personality with each repair. Customers can also donate a pair of second-hand jeans for a discount on a new pair, while the used pair will be washed, mended, and sold in the brand’s second-hand programme, creating a sustainable closed loop of manufacturing. Meanwhile, Nudie also upcycles used jeans by transforming them into innovative products such as a floor rug, as part of its Post Recycled Jeans initiative.