Sustainability is becoming more and more important when it comes to our everyday lives, especially when it comes to fashion. Luckily, North America is home to many fashion brands that are leading the charge when it comes to creating stylish, high-quality, and sustainable clothing. From up-cycled prints to eco-friendly dyes, these North American sustainable fashion brands are giving us the unique styles we crave with the eco-friendly production techniques we need. So get ready, here are the North American sustainable fashion brands you need to know!
1.The Earth-Conscious: North American Sustainable Fashion Brands
One of the most inspiring things happening in the fashion industry today is the surge of growth in sustainable fashion brands across North America. From minimalist labels to luxury chic, sustainable fashion is making its way to the mainstream, and it’s changing the way brands are doing business.
As our world moves away from the days of disposable fashion, North American sustainable fashion brands are embracing a more thoughtful approach to design. Here are six sustainable fashion brands making waves on both sides of the border.
- Groceries Apparel: This U.S. fashion brand’s mission is simple: Reduce the use of natural resources. They specialize in producing clothing from completely biodegradable and non-toxic materials, using processes that minimize their negative environmental impact.
- Zeagoo: This Canadian label is all about synergy: Combining street style and sustainable materials. They use upcycled and recycled materials when designing garments and are big advocates for investing in better quality, long-lasting pieces, rather than disposable fashion.
- Thought: This British brand is dedicated to creating high quality, stylish clothing using only sustainable materials. Their increase in popularity is due to their timeless, classic pieces that have a European flair.
Sustainable fashion is becoming more accessible and is popping up around North America, in city boutiques, independent retailers, and online stores. It’s a great way to shop ethically and support smaller brands making positive steps in bringing sustainability into the mainstream.
From Canadian labels using local resources to American brands embracing slow fashion, these sustainable fashion brands are showing us the beauty of zero waste creations. North America is creating eco-friendly, fashion-forward looks with timeless style and modern flair.
2.Reducing Waste & Maximizing Sustainability
- Optimizing Resources: Companies can strive to minimize consumption of natural resources through utilizing energy-efficient technologies, improving operational efficiency, and implementing recycling initiatives. This will reduce the usage of new resources as well as the amount of waste generated. Additionally, investing in renewable energy sources to reduce dependency on non-renewable resources is a key step towards sustainability.
- Cutting Down on Food Waste: Food production is a major contributor to environmental damages and well as a large consumer of natural resources. Food waste can be reduced through efficient production, closer monitoring of food supply chains, reducing kitchen and restaurant waste, etc. Restaurants can serve smaller portions or introduce re-fillable dishes to reduce the need for single-use dishes.
- Reducing Chemical Wastes: Companies that produce a large amount of waste chemicals can look into ways to reduce or reuse these chemicals instead of disposing them. This can be done by reusing organic solvents, packaging chemicals in reusable containers, collecting and reusing rainwater, and identifying alternative processes that have a lower environmental impact.
- Optimizing Transportation: Companies can reduce their carbon footprint by optimizing transportation, for example by introducing telecommuting, encouraging the use of public transport, providing carpool opportunities for employees, and switching to electric or hybrid cars for business use. Additionally, companies can use technology to make their transportation operations more efficient, reducing fuel consumption and unnecessary journeys.
- Recycling & Upcycling: Companies can obtain materials from sustainable sources and commit to recycling and upcycling wherever possible. This can be done through implementing sorting systems for recyclable materials in offices, encouraging employees to upcycle at home, as well as introducing incentives for recycling. Companies can also partner with vendors who use sustainably-sourced raw materials and sell recycled goods.
3.Rethinking the Rules of Fashion with Upcycled & Repurposed Materials
In the world of fashion, rules are changing rapidly. What was once considered passé is now being reinvented with upcycled and repurposed materials. Designers are experimenting with ways to rethink old wardrobe staples and create new fashion statements.
Reinventing from what’s Already Around
Designers have become fond of creating new and exciting fashion from items that were previously discarded. This is an important step in adopting a sustainable way of living. Rather than buying new fabrics, a designer can source from thrift stores, vintage outlets, and donations, all of which can be turned into something chic and stylish. Moreover, the creativity that’s unleashed in this kind of creativity allows for truly unique fashion that stands out more than ever.
Repurposing Precious Fabrics
The most beautiful and luxurious fabrics are often discarded in the fast-paced fashion industry. To ensure that these exquisite materials are not wasted, many designers have opted to turn these into one-of-a-kind statement pieces. By reviving clothing and materials that have already seen a lifetime of use, designers are doing well in their effort to help reduce their carbon footprint.
Making Magic with Upcycling
Upcycling is another way to reinvent fashion and give it an eco-friendly twist. By taking an existing garment and adding something new to it, a designer can create something entirely new. Whether it’s adding different fabrics, prints, or embellishments, it’s possible to give an item a completely different look and increase its lifespan.
Sustainable Style
Today, many designers are firmly focused on making fashion more sustainable. By using upcycled and repurposed materials, they are making serious strides in limiting their reliance on new materials. With these new and inventive designs, fashion is being made more further sustainable – and stylish.
4.Supporting Ethical & Ecologically Sound Practices
Ethical and ecological practices are essential to sustaining our precious planet. We’re proud of our commitment to doing business with a positive impact on the natural world.
We’ve implemented a number of practices to ensure that no harm comes to the environment:
- We use sustainable materials wherever possible, from responsibly sourced wood to recycled paper.
- Where possible, we use renewable energy sources like solar and wind.
- We’ve embraced green manufacturing practices, from energy efficient machinery to water-saving processes.
We’re doing our best to ensure our production process is as responsible as possible, with careful consideration of the environmental consequences. We strive to make informed decisions that lead to lower levels of emissions, waste, and pollution. This includes:
- Reducing packaging, therefore limiting the amount of resources used and waste generated.
- Avoiding hazardous chemicals and substances wherever we can.
- Continuously monitor our production process to ensure adherence to our sustainable practices.
We’re proud to say that we’ve achieved a number of awards for ecological and ethical practices, including the Sustainable Supplier Award, the Green Product Award, and the Ethical Producer Award. Our goal is to continuously evolve our practices so that we can build upon these awards.
Whether you’re an environmentally conscious creator or consumer, you’ll want to pay attention to the incredible sustainable fashion brands showing up in North America. Shopping with these labels not only helps to promote a healthier and greener future, but also guarantees some seriously stylish threads. Put simple – if you’re a fashion lover, these sustainable North American fashion brands should be on your list.
