The best sustainable brands to shop this autumn

Luke breaks down some of the best places to shop sustainably and revitalise your wardrobe for the colder months. 

Image courtesy Asket 

Asket

Stockholm brand Asket was founded in Stockholm, Sweden in 2015. Its philosophy is underpinned by their mantra ‘the pursuit of less,’ aiming to help consumers reduce the size of their wardrobe with long-lasting, versatile pieces. 

Transparency is at the heart of Asket’s mission: each garment on the label’s website is displayed alongside the monetary cost of its production, the percentage traceability of its origin, and the CO2e impact of the piece’s creation. 

“Our promise is to create only meaningful essentials,” says the brand’s website. “We can’t live without clothing, but we can live with a lot less and a lot better clothing, by choosing better and making the pieces we invest in count.”

Asket’s aesthetic is decidedly minimalist, but the broad range of colours and fabrics available means there’s something for everyone. Our favourite styles are the merino zip cardigan (£165), the heavy wool sweater (£110) and the flannel shirt (£115). 

Shop here.

Pangaia

Pangaia has fast become the industry standard for planet-friendly sweats. The London label was named among British GQ’s top ten affordable, sustainable menswear brands, and has launched various different initiatives in efforts to “solve an environmental problem of the industry” with each product it creates. 

Pangaia markets itself as a material science brand and works with a number of innovative materials and production methods. These include Colorfix’s bacteria-based dying process as well as what Pangaia describe as “the world’s first biofabricated hoodie.” 

The hoodie, made in collaboration with biotech company Spiber, is made from 12% brewed protein fibre. The process for making the hoodie includes the synthesis of new DNA, which is inserted into microbes. Sugars are then fed to the microbes in order to produce polymers, which begins a fermentation process. 

When polymers are separated from fermentation residue, protein powder is left. The brewed protein is then spun into staple fibres, which are blended with cotton to make the hoodie. 

The final product, named the ‘NXT GEN’ hoodie, comes in at a hefty £460, but bares great potential when it comes to the future of garment production.

 The 365 hoodie (£130) is surely Pangaia’s calling card and may be the best within its price range on the market. Available in a huge range of colours, we love it in cobalt blue and foliage green. 

Shop here.

Conner Ives

New York-born, London-based designer Connor Ives uses sustainable techniques to create unique and distinctive pieces. His eponymous label’s offering includes reconstituted dresses and long-sleeve tees made from vintage graphic t-shirts. 

The Central Saint Martins graduate has also collaborated with Dazed magazine to produce a series of 1-of-1 reprinted graphic tees.

Speaking to Wallpaper magazine for its January 2023 issue, Ives said “‘I really admire the identity that vintage clothing has […] We are trying to change so much. I tried to blow apart our idea of what sustainability is because there is no textbook definition. Every aspect of what I do, and every aspect of my job, is in some way confronting the question.”

Shop here. 

Everpress

East London-based Everpress offers a wide and impressive range of tops and accessories, supporting independent creators and reducing waste in the process. 

Garments, designed by independent makers, are available on the brand’s website for a limited time, during which customers can pre-order them. Once the campaign has finished, Everpress produces and ships only the pieces that were ordered during that time, meaning production is less wasteful than traditional ready-to-wear models. 

“Traditional retail is based solely on profit margins resulting in questionable ethics and huge amounts of waste” says founder Alex Econs via the Everpress website. “I saw we could do things better, and so we do.”

elliott’s favourites include Paul.M23’s ‘Moka-club’ design (£28) and Aley Wild’s ‘Mullet Society’ t-shirt (£20). 

Shop here.

Vinted

Lithuanian marketplace Vinted is the internet’s answer to the car boot sale; there’s a huge amount of clothes to browse on the platform, and more often than not there’s diamonds to be found in the rough. 

Finding great pieces takes more trawling than on Depop or Vestiaire Collective, but in many cases Vinted’s hidden gems offer better value. Buying second hand reduces the number of new clothes being consumed and produced, and helps to reduce your carbon footprint. 

Shop here.

elliott works with UOcean and Greenr to make sure that our carbon-positive status is expertly and measurably delivered. If you recycle your elliotts, we’ll offer you 15% off your next pair. Shop our range of timeless, planet-friendly footwear here