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The best environmentally friendly clothing brands for men
You don’t have to wear hand-me-downs or a hessian sack to be eco anymore. From clothes made of recycled plastic bottles, to jeans that help victims of modern slavery, these online retailers will have you looking good – and feeling even better. Words: Anna Kristofcova.
Finisterre
If Cornwall was a clothing brand, it would probably look something like this nautically-inspired label, which specialises in casual shirts, finely tailored chino shorts, hoodies, jeans and bright coloured tees.
Founded in 2003, and with nine stores across the UK, Finisterre uses only organic cotton and other environmentally products (think buttons made from corozo nuts instead of plastic), and, to cut down on the amount of fashion going to landfill, will even repair your old clothes, from £12 an item.
Some of the company’s pieces are a bit on the pricey side (they sell a pair of “hybrid” hiking/swimming shorts for £75), but most their clothes are about the same as you’d pay at a decent, mid-range store, like Hollister, Levi’s or Fat Face, with T-shirts starting from £30, sweatshirts from £45, and jeans costing between £70 and £95 a pair.
Komodo
If you like orangutans, you’ll love this ethical fashion brand, which donates an amount from every purchase to the Sumatran Orangutan Society, to help restore the animals’ rain-forest home.
Komodo’s ethical credentials don’t just end with its cheque book. Most its clothes are vegan and cruelty free; they’re manufactured by small family-run businesses in Indonesia and India (rather than the sort of Dickensian mega sweatshops many high street retailers use); and the company is currently in the process of reducing the single use plastic in its supply chain to zero.
What makes Komodo’s range of shirts, tees, and sweaters really unique, though, is that they’re all made from either recycled plastic bottles, organic cotton, bamboo, or hemp – which, FYI, captures very high levels of carbon dioxide.
If it all sounds a bit too woke, check out their Hemp Jacket with faux fur trim. One of the nicest quilted jackets we’ve seen.
Thought
"While looking good feels great, protecting the planet feels even better,’’ says fashion brand Thought, which specialises in casual shirts, loungewear, trousers and quirky socks.
Two per cent of Thought’s 2020 collection is made from recycled polyester, the rest is made from either organic cotton, hemp, bamboo or modal, a fabric made from beechwood fibres.
If you’re under 30, Thought’s shirts and trousers probably won’t be up your alley (they’re definitely more comfy than cutting edge).
But do check out its Loungewear collection (pictured); they’ve got some great long sleeve tops, and T-shirts.
Outland Denim
Denim production may be one of the most toxic for the environment – and the people dyeing your jeans – but there are some ecologically friendly brands out there, if you’re willing to pay a little extra for your jeans.
Outland Denim, which sells jeans from £155, is one of them.
Thanks to innovations to the dyeing process, the brand makes denim that kills on the catwalk – but not anywhere else. Its range of jeans, shirts and jackets are also made from organic cotton, which requires up to 90 per cent less fresh water than some non-organic plants.
While, best of all, Outland’s clothes are made by girls that the company has saved from sex trafficking in Cambodia.
Triple denim all round...
