11 Sustainable Brands That We LOVE!
Having a good quality product is really no longer enough to win a consumer's favor. Today we want products that come from brands that align with our personal values, especially when it comes to the social and environmental impact brands have on the planet - this is conscious consumerism.
We all know the fashion industry is one of the biggest offenders to pollution with more that 3.8 billion pounds billion pounds of textiles ending up in landfills every year, but other industries are just as culpable. However, by eliminating impulse buys and opting for retailers that use environmentally friendly materials, promote fair wages, value good working conditions and have a sustainable supply chain, consumers are buying into creating a better world and a more sustainable future.
In this article, we have listed a few of our favourite eco-conscious, sustainable brands, the products they sell, and their low-impact on the planet. 🌎
tentree
tentree is a Vancouver-based sustainable fashion line that sells comfy outerwear and activewear, including sweatshirts, shirts, leggings, and other basic apparel made from around 95% sustainable materials. Everything they do stems from how to do better by our planet—like planting trees. For every article of clothing they sell, they plant ten trees, hence their name.
They plant trees because it’s one of the best ways to create a more sustainable future. But over the years, they've realized that their journey doesn’t start and end with planting trees. For example, a tentree sweatshirt uses on average 75% less water to make than the other sweatshirts in your closet. Tentree also removed virgin plastic from its offerings and converted all its textiles to sustainable fabrics, for example cotton to organic, shifted all leather to cork, and swapped rayon fibers for TENCEL to be more eco-friendly.
So far, they planted over 50 million trees that have removed millions of tonnes of CO2 emissions from the atmosphere, lifted entire communities out of poverty, and reforested over 5,000 hectares of land (that’s equal to 12,000 football fields). The company is on a mission to plant 1 billion trees by 2030!
Shop tentree products here.
Londre Bodywear
Londre was dreamt up on a beach by Co-Founders, Ainsley Rose and Hannah Todd, while working on a photo shoot in Sayulita, Mexico. They were inspired to create high quality swimwear with the lowest possible impact on the environment.
To date Londre has recycled 100,000 plastic bottles off of the streets and beaches of Taiwan into their sustainable swimwear products. All water used in our process is able to be reused, and at the end of your suits long life, it is able to be recycled into new materials.
Creating positive change in our global community is at the heart of Londre. They use their small business to raise awareness and funds for women's health and environmental initiatives around the world.
Shop Londre products here.
Supercrush
Supercrush is a local, handmade hair accessory brand based in Vancouver, BC. Founded in 2018 by a mother/daughter duo, their mission is to make it easy to elevate your look with high-quality hair accessories that treat your hair with kindness.
All their hair accessories are handmade in Vancouver by a team of fairly-paid makers, they value sustainable practices like using recyclable packaging and minimizing waste during production and focus on sourcing local fabric. They also partner with brands and organizations that make a positive difference to the world.
Shop Supercrush products here.
Harlow Skincare
Harlow Skincare was born out of a personal need for thoughtfully and aesthetically designed, whole ingredient self care goods. Harlow is made with whole, real ingredients that work. Because they care about you and the planet, Harlow formulate products to reflect that.
Certain products contain bee bi-producs such as honey and beeswax, but Harlow has partnered with Hives for Humanity to ensure it is ethical and certified organic. Their products are 100-percent vegetarian and organic, with unrefined plant oils and crude raw butters as the main ingredients.
Shop Harlow Skincare products here.
bfree Cup
"A little cup created to end period poverty around the world."
The bfree cup is an antibacterial menstrual cup made of 100% medical grade silicone and developed by Women's Global Health Innovations. It provides menstruators throughout the world with the freedom to live their lives, combining innovations in the design of both product and packaging. WGHI is trying to end period poverty so that we can all bfree to live and thrive.
The bfree cup was not developed by men in suits and lab coats, but by a female entrepreneur who has seen first hand the effects of period poverty. After working in communities in the Global South, Leisa Hirtz founded Women's Global Health Innovations in Toronto, Canada to do her part in helping to eradicate period poverty.
bfree also works with NGOs and charitable organizations providing menstrual products to girls and women who need them most and maximize the social impact of their company by building educational programs as well.
Shop bfree products here.
Native
In 2019 Native introduced the world’s first fully compostable sneaker, made entirely from plant-based natural materials, without compromising style and aesthetic.
As well as their current planet-friendly offerings, Native pledges that by 2023, every pair of shoes the brand produces and sells will be 100 percent lifecycle managed, with old pairs of Native shoes being recycle into a versatile material mix that can be used for playground flooring and insulation, amongst other purposes.
Live Lightly™, their purpose in both footwear and philosophy, is a sentiment passed along from "soul to sole" since 2009. Through their simple formula of innovation, sustainability, originality, and the key ingredient, lightness, they strive to simplify our day, beautify our environment and lighten our carbon footprint on the world.
Shop Native products here.
FREITAG
Recycling used materials, adopting a circular economy and transparent production processes are some of the principles by which, Zurich-based Freitag operates. In 2009 they began their journey of turning multi-coloured truck tarpaulins and other pieces of scrap into waterproof messenger bags. Now the label sells around 550,000 items per year internationally, including a wide selection of bags and accessories as well as a clothing line.
Also, everything inside their HQ - NŒRD - is recycled. From collecting rainwater on the building’s rooftop for the tarps’ washing process, to taking half its heat from waste power plants and using hydro and solar electricity, the factory takes care of the environment by respectfully reusing its resources. In a single year, Freitag save 4 million litres of rainwater, enough to cover half of the usage for the tarps’ washing process.
Shop FREITAG products here.
ApiAfrique
ApiAfrique is a social business focused on zero waste. In 2010, Marina Gning and Jeanne-Aurélie Delaunay created ApiNapi because they wanted to raise awareness about washable nappies and natural care products for babies.
Two years later they began designing washable hygiene products and after travelling to Senegal for several years with her husband, Abdoulaye, Founder Marina quickly realized that their products were very well suited to Senegal, so ApiAfrique was born.
Today, ApiAfrique is a Senegalese social business that offers solutions that are innovative, local, and respectful of the environment for women and baby care. Their vision is to promote sustainable solutions that contribute to women’s emancipation, reduce waste, fight against exclusion, and create jobs.
Shop ApiAfrique products here.
Veja
French fashion brand Veja makes sneakers with raw materials sourced from organic farming and ecological agriculture that the founders say avoids chemicals and polluting processes. They use natural rubber that is directly tapped from Amazonian trees (not rubber derived from petroleum), organic cotton, have a vegan shoe line and have the fair trade certification.
For the last five years, Veja has used “fish leather” from tilapia in their shoes. Usually discarded by freshwater fish farms, the skin gets upcycled through a handcrafted process involving vegetable dyeing. Another example of their upcycling includes B-Mesh fabric made entirely from recycled PET plastic and J-Mesh fabric from a combination of jute, recycled cotton, and recycled PET.
Veja say they have one foot in design and the other in social responsibility. This means protecting the Amazon, upcycling materials, and being transparent about everything from their company's chemical testing to wages.
Shop Veja products here.
Nkuku
Working with artisans around the world, Nkuku is all about transparency, ethics and sustainability. The brand works with independent businesses, social projects and co-operatives, frequently visits its suppliers, and adheres to the globally recognised 10 Principles of Fair Trade. What's more, everything is handmade from natural or recycled materials, and we can't get enough of these beautiful pieces!
We work natural and recycled materials with a focus on sustainable methods of production, and this shapes our collections. We keep air freight to a minimum, and review our packaging regularly. We are constantly evaluating our processes and looking at ways we can improve. Many of our products are handmade from recycled materials. We gather the waste leftover from other industries including; cotton from discarded t-shirts, leather, metals and glass as well as recycled saris. Recycling allows us to create new and beautiful products with less impact on our environment.
Shop Nkuku products here.
Kilig Candle Co.
Vancouver-based Kilig Candle Co. creates eco-friendly soy candles. They only use environmentally friendly materials that good for us, our home and mother earth. Their candles contain soy wax, lead and zinc free cotton wicks, non-toxic fragrance oils and recyclable glass jars.
Founder Sean, is the person behind the entire business model. She makes the candles, packages them and answers all her customers questions. She has been truly inspired by her Phillippino heritage, everything from the business name to the scents have been inspired by her home away from home. Giving back is a very important part of her business which is why she partnered with Canadian non-profit Adhika to provide meals for children in need in the Philippines. Every one candle ordered purchases one meal for an impoverished child in the Philippines.
Shop Kilig Candle Co. products here.
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