20 Best Ethical And Affordable Slow Fashion Brands

Slow fashion brands offer an alternative to fast fashion. They respect the well-being of people making your clothes and limit fashion's impact on the planet as a whole.

The slow fashion movement started in 2007 with the definition of textile consultant Kate Fletcher:
"Slow fashion is about designing, producing, consuming, and living better. Slow fashion is not time-based but quality-based (which has some time components). Slow is not the opposite of fast – there is no dualism – but a different approach in which designers, buyers, retailers, and consumers are more aware of the impacts of products on workers, communities, and ecosystems."
Luckily, slow fashion isn't necessarily expensive. It's possible to live sustainably on a budget with better and simpler choices.

You can buy fewer and higher quality clothes, shop for second-hand clothing, swap pieces with friends, or subscribe to a clothing rental.

To reduce the ecological footprint of your wardrobe, you can even donate, sell, or upcycle some of your clothes. And when you shop for new pieces, choose fashion designers and brands that implement fair and responsible practices.

To help you build a conscious and sustainable wardrobe, here are some of the most ethical and affordable slow fashion brands.

Panaprium is independent and reader supported. If you buy something through our link, we may earn a commission. If you can, please support us on a monthly basis. It takes less than a minute to set up, and you will be making a big impact every single month. Thank you!

1. Organic Basics

Category: Basics, underwear, activewear, accessories
For: Women, men
From: Copenhagen, Denmark
Values: Organic, recycled, local, give back
Prices: $30-$80

Organic Basics is an eco-friendly brand making underwear, activewear, and essentials ethically in Europe with organic cotton, Tencel, recycled materials.

Organic Basics is committed to sustainable fashion production and puts sustainable thinking at the center of everything it does. Sustainability is its core mission.

The clothing label invests in quality fabrics and workmanship and designs its apparel with simplicity and function in mind. It also has a fund that supports grassroots activists and organizations that address environmental crises.

SHOP ORGANIC BASICS

2. Outerknown

Category: Basics, outerwear, swimwear, sweats, bags, accessories
For: Women, men
From: Los Angeles, United States
Values: Organic, Fair Trade, recycled
Prices: $50-$160

Outerknown is a slow fashion brand established from an understated approach to design and an overstated approach to quality and material.

The clothing label makes effortless, casual beach styles for women and men rooted in sustainability and transparency. It creates versatile essentials with the most planet-friendly fibers.

Outerknown keeps strict sustainability rules and aims to raise the standard for sustainable design in the global fashion industry. It uses organic, recycled, or regenerated materials to reimagine design and embrace circularity.

Accredited by the Fair Labor Association (FLA), Outerknown invests in the livelihoods of over 5K workers through Fair Trade USA. Three of its partners are Fair Trade Certified.

SHOP OUTERKNOWN

3. Tentree

Category: Basics, sweats, outerwear, bags, accessories
For: Women, men, children
From: Vancouver, Canada
Values: Organic, B Corp, recycled, give back
Prices: $40-$80

Tentree is a slow fashion brand designing clothing for a healthy, sustainable world with recycled materials and organic fabrics such as cotton and hemp.

The sustainable clothing brand is B Corp certified and partners with charitable organizations across the world to plant trees and rehabilitate natural ecosystems.

Tentree aims to guide you on your journey and empower you to do your best when it comes to the environment. It already planted over 30 million trees and restored land in over 8 countries.

SHOP TENTREE

4. Made Trade

Category: Clothing, bags, accessories, shoes, home decor, furniture
For: Women, men
From: Portland, United States
Values: Organic, Fair Trade, recycled, vegan, BIPOC, made in the USA
Prices: $30-$150

Made Trade beautifully, sustainably, and ethically makes goods for the modern wardrobe and home. It offers apparel, accessories, and footwear for women and men.

Made Trade is committed to true transparency and making a positive impact on the world. The curated online marketplace sells a great selection of ethical products handcrafted in the USA and around the world.

Made Trade adheres to sustainable and fair practices that support both artisans and the Earth's natural resources. It strives to make the world a more beautiful place through higher ethical standards.

SHOP MADE TRADE



5. ASKET

Category: Clothing, accessories
For: Women, men
From: Stockholm, Sweden
Values: Organic
Prices: $50-$120

ASKET focuses on creating a range of  essentials, timeless basics for every wardrobe. It offers a permanent collection of ethically produced, quality, and timeless garments designed to last.

Since 2015, ASKET encourages its customers to invest in timeless wardrobe-essentials. Its prices are fair, its manufacturing ethical, and its products designed to outlast the current standards.

ASKET wants to eradicate fast consumption with pieces that stand the test of time. It envisions a world with less clutter, less waste, less smoke, and mirrors.

SHOP ASKET

6. Toad&Co

Category: Basics, outerwear, loungewear, knitwear, accessories
For: Women, men
From: Santa Barbara, United States
Values: Organic, recycled, vegan
Prices: $50-$100

Toad&Co is a slow fashion brand making socially and environmentally committed clothes that are equally suited for the rigors of the trail or the tavern.

Toad&Co aims to make a difference and clean up a dirty apparel industry, educate people on sustainable practices, and inspire folks to live their fullest lives.

The brand believes in sustainability and spontaneity because every day is an adventure. It uses eco-friendly materials such as organic cotton, hemp, Tencel, and recycled fabrics.

SHOP TOAD&CO

7. Thought

Category: Clothing, bags, accessories, jewelry
For: Women, men
From: London, United Kingdom
Values: Organic, recycled, give back
Prices: $30-$90

Thought is a slow fashion brand based in London, United Kingdom. It creates ethical and sustainable collections for women and men with organic materials, such as cotton and hemp.

Thought creates timeless pieces that work wherever you are, including, leggings, loungewear, socks, accessories, underwear, jumpsuits, and dresses.

The organic brand is committed to considered design, responsible sourcing, and fostering change. It aims to show that there are more sustainable ways to live, dress, and be.

Thought supports TRAID, a UK charity that works to minimize, improve, and transform the environmental impact of clothing manufacturing. Send your clothes back to TRAID to support the people and places making your clothing.

SHOP THOUGHT

8. Girlfriend Collective

Category: Clothing
For: Women
From: Seattle, United States
Values: Organic, recycled, inclusive
Prices: $20-$150

Girlfriend Collective is a sustainable activewear brand that makes clothing out of recycled materials, such as recycled polyester from PET bottles and regenerated nylon.

Created by husband-and-wife duo Ellie and Quang Dinh, the brand launched in 2016 to create flattering, comfortable, and supportive leggings.

Girlfriend Collective aims to make luxurious, responsible activewear and be as transparent as possible. It fosters a community of people who care about beautiful designs as much as the people making their clothes.

The sportswear label makes eco-friendly and high-quality textiles from recycled materials in its facility in Taiwan. It offers leggings, bras, shorts, track pants, sweatpants, jackets, tees, and intimates.

SHOP GIRLFRIEND COLLECTIVE

9. Kotn

Category: Clothing, bags, accessories
For: Women, men
From: Toronto, Canada
Values: Organic, B Corp, give back
Prices: $30-$80

Kotn is a Canadian sustainable brand that ethically and sustainably makes clothing from Egyptian cotton in the Nile Delta. It's committed to supply-chain transparency and give-back initiatives.

The eco-friendly label creates products around the principles of considered design, relentless quality, honest value, and positive impact. It aims to set the standard for conscious creation and consumption.

Kotn working with an Egyptian NGO to build schools and provide every child in its farming communities with safe, convenient, quality education.

SHOP KOTN

10. PACT

Category: Clothing
For: Women, men, children
From: Boulder, United States
Values: Organic, Fair Trade, recycled
Prices: $20-$70

PACT is a leading sustainable fashion brand using organic fabrics and Fair Trade factories to design stylish essential clothing. It creates ethical apparel for women, men, kids, and babies.

PACT offers a change you can wear, organic cotton clothing, and home goods, sustainably and ethically made. It strives to inspire change by doing better and being better.

PACT promotes organic clothing for everyday use. It designs clothes that are affordable, practical, comfortable, and easy. It offers organic alternatives that fit the lifestyle of conscious consumers because doing good should be easy.

SHOP PACT

SHOP PACT ON AMAZON

11. People Tree

Category: Clothing, accessories, jewelry
For: Women
From: Tokyo, Japan
Values: Organic, Fair Trade, recycled, artisan craft, give back
Prices: $10-$120

People Tree is an online garment retailer making clothes from environmentally-friendly materials, including Fair Trade, certified organic cotton.

In 2013, it became the first fashion company to be awarded the World Fair Trade Organisation (WFTO) product label, guaranteeing dedication, and compliance with the principles of Fair Trade.

People Tree offers a wide range of organic basics for women, including jumpsuits, trousers, dresses, skirts, knitwear, denim, and more. It also sells sleepwear, activewear, accessories, and jewelry.

People Tree is also committed to working with disadvantaged farmers and workers to promote fairer trading conditions. It helps combat poverty and employs people in underserved communities around the world.

SHOP PEOPLE TREE

12. Everlane

Category: Clothing, bags, accessories, shoes
For: Women, men
From: San Francisco, United States
Values: Organic, recycled
Prices: $30-$90

Everlane is a slow fashion brand creating modern and beautiful essentials, at the best factories, without traditional markups. It's a great destination to buy high-quality, eco-friendly, fair, ethical, and sustainable fashion.

The clothing retailer is headquartered in San Francisco, California, and sells primarily online. It uses a high proportion of sustainable materials such as organic cotton and recycled fabrics.

The brand offers ethically made and designed to last denim, dresses, activewear, basics, shoes, accessories, and intimates for women and men. It believes in exceptional quality to make a difference.

Everlane is widely known for its radical transparency. It educates consumers on its supply chain, factories, employees, and the price breakdown of each product.

SHOP EVERLANE

13. Reformation

Category: Clothing
For: Women
From: Los Angeles, United States
Values: Organic, recycled, made in the USA
Prices: $30-$350

Reformation makes sustainable women's clothing and accessories. It offers a large collection of basics, denim, dresses, swimwear, and intimates for petite up to extended sizes.

The clothing retailer designs effortless silhouettes that celebrate the feminine figure with the most beautiful and sustainable fabrics possible. It pays attention to minimize its social and environmental impacts.

Reformation uses sustainable materials such as organic cotton, recycled cotton, linen, and Tencel. It makes some of its clothes with recycled fabrics as well, such as regenerated nylon or deadstock fabrics.

SHOP REFORMATION

14. Amour Vert

Category: Clothing, bags, accessories, shoes
For: Women
From: San Francisco, United States
Values: Organic, made in the USA, give back
Prices: $40-$220

Amour Vert is a sustainable fashion brand that makes classic staples like striped t-shirts in timeless colors like navy, white, black, heather gray, and more.

The slow fashion brand creates clothes in limited quantities to contribute to a more eco-friendly future. Its pieces are chic, comfortable, and better for the planet.

Amour Vert is committed to making fashion thoughtful, versatile, and sustainable. You'll want to keep its timeless pieces in your wardrobe forever.

The eco-friendly label has been planting trees in North America since it first opened its doors with its partner American Forest. It promotes sustainable practices and positive environmental impacts.

SHOP AMOUR VERT

15. Boody

Category: Clothing, accessories
For: Women, men, children
From: San Diego, United States
Values: Organic, vegan, give back
Prices: $20-$80

Boody is a slow fashion label making everyday soft and comfortable clothing essentials. It uses bamboo viscose to produce most of its beautiful, sustainable, and ethical clothes.

Boody aims to deliver easy-to-wear pieces you can feel good about. It offers loungewear, underwear, activewear, and accessories for women, men, and kids.

The brand ensures that lawful, humane, and ethical work conditions with the WRAP certification. And all bamboo involved in its production chain comes from FSC-certified sustainably managed forests.

SHOP BOODY

16. MATE

Category: Clothing
For: Women
From: Los Angeles, United States
Values: Organic, recycled, local, made in the USA
Prices: $40-$130

MATE makes clean essentials for women sustainably in Los Angeles with non-toxic, natural, and organic materials. It aims to keep the people it works with and the products it sells safe.

MATE uses sustainable materials such as organic cotton, linen, and Tencel to offer women everywhere clean products that are just as beautiful as they are sustainable.

The clothing label cuts, sews, dyes, packages, and ships all its products from Los Angeles in a localized supply chain to minimize its carbon footprint.

17. ARMEDANGELS

Category: Clothing, accessories
For: Women, men
From: Cologne, Germany
Values: Organic, Fair Trade, recycled, vegan, give back
Prices: $30-$120

ARMEDANGELS is a slow fashion label based in Cologne, Germany, and founded in 2007. It creates timeless, sustainable clothing for women and men without compromise.

The company designs a variety of clothes made from eco-friendly organic and recycled materials. It offers ethically made basics, sportswear, denim, knitwear, and accessories.

ARMEDANGELS produces its clothes under the Global Organic Textile Standard, the highest ecological, sustainable, and social standards for organic fibers.

The brand is also a member of the Fair Wear Foundation that ensures permanently good working conditions and fair wages for all workers in textile factories worldwide.

18. Patagonia

Category: Clothing, bags, accessories
For: Women, men, children
From: Ventura, United States
Values: Organic, recycled, local, second-hand, give back
Prices: $30-$150

Patagonia is an American clothing company that markets and sells outdoor clothing and gear for the silent sports: climbing, surfing, skiing and snowboarding, fly fishing, and trail running.

Its first store opened in 1973, and since then, the brand has quickly expanded its product line. Patagonia is a Certified B Corporation and commits 1% of its total sales to environmental groups.

The outdoor label is committed to higher quality, integrity, and environmentalism. It's highly successful and a leader in the sustainable outdoor market.

Patagonia encourages repairing, sharing, and recycling through its WornWear marketplace of second-hand gear. It's committed to making high-quality products that last for years, so you don't have to buy more.

SHOP PATAGONIA

19. Alternative Apparel

Category: Clothing, bags, accessories
For: Women, men, children
From: Atlanta, United States
Values: Organic, recycled
Prices: $30-$90

Alternative Apparel is a popular American brand making and selling fashion basics for a sustainable future. It creates apparel and accessories for women, men, and children from organic and recycled materials.

Alternative Apparel is a fashion lifestyle brand best known for comfort, simplicity, and its commitment to sustainability. It's one of the most recognizable names in the sustainable fashion movement.

It offers eco-friendly shirts, tanks, skirts, dresses, leggings, pants, hoodies, polos, sweaters, vests, coats, caps, backpacks, purses, scarves, and more.

Alternative Apparel is mindful of the impact it makes on the planet and its people. It uses biodegradable mailer bags and recycled materials. It adheres to the Fair Labor Association (FLA) guidelines and most of its facilities are WRAP certified.

SHOP ALTERNATIVE APPAREL

20. ABLE

Category: Clothing, bags, accessories, shoes, jewelry
For: Women
From: Nashville, United States
Values: Organic, artisan craft
Prices: $10-$50

ABLE is a sustainable clothing brand working with communities all over the world to stop the cycle of poverty by producing slow fashion and paying a living wage to women.

The label makes updates classics and brand new styles designed to be the one you keep coming back to. It uses eco-friendly materials such as GOTS certified organic cotton, Tencel, and linen to make its clothes.

ABLE believes in progress over perfection and aims to be transparent as well as accountable to end poverty in the fashion industry. It publishes on its website the lowest worker wages of its manufacturing partners.

SHOP ABLE

Was this article helpful to you? Please tell us what you liked or didn't like in the comments below.

Alex Assoune (MS) is a global health and environmental advocate. He founded Panaprium to inspire others with conscious living, ethical, and sustainable fashion. Alex has worked in many countries to address social and environmental issues. He speaks three languages and holds two Master of Science degrees in Engineering from SIGMA and IFPEN schools.