SUSTAINABLE FASHION PRODUCTS
What clothing and accessories we buy has a big impact on our ability to live sustainable lives. If you must buy, explore these eco-friendly and sustainable fashion products you can get behind on the road to conscious consumerism.
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Explore the Sustainable Fashion Directory by category. If you don’t find anything you like at this point, keep coming back. The directory will be continually updated.
Sustainable Fashion Product Directory
More Categories and Brands to Come
Cosmetics
Men’s Clothing
Women’s Clothing
Bags, Luggage & Accessories
Take the Guesswork Out of Shopping
Eco-friendly, Socially Ethical & Sustainable Fashion Products
Thank you for visiting the Sustainable Fashion portion of being a Conscious Consumer.
If you have been reading up on the six environmental sustainability initiatives and wondering if they are related to fashion, then you’re right.
How our clothing and accessories are made definitely have an environmental and social impact. If you have landed on this page and wish to learn what products or services you can use to do your part to purchase your clothing sustainably, then congratulations!
You’re making strides to reducing your eco and carbon footprints and towards living a more sustainable lifestyle.
Sustainable Fashion 3rd Party Certifiers
More Certifiers to Come
Here are hard-working, U.S. and international 3rd party product certifying organizations that take a lot of the sustainable-buying guesswork out of your purchasing. Look for their labels when you make your next purchase.
Click on each logo to see their certified product listings that hold with their mission to make the planet a sustainable place to live.
Move over C and S Corps… Certified B Corporations (B Corps) are redefining how business is done. “Certified B Corporations are businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose.” If you see this label on a brand, that’s a brand you can get behind as a conscious consumer. Full stop. Read more about B Corps and what companies must do to get B Corp certified. Search their directory to see who is a certified B Corp.
Fair Trade USA certifies and promotes fair trade products to enable “sustainable development and community empowerment by cultivating a more equitable global trade model that benefits farmers, workers, fishermen, consumers, industry, and the earth”. Read more about Fair Trade USA.
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is a U.S. based independent, non-profit organization whose mission is to protect forests through setting sustainability standards in promoting environment, social and economic management forestry management. Read more about FSC.
The USDA Organic label is for agricultural products certified to have been “grown and processed according to federal guidelines addressing, among many factors, soil quality, animal raising practices, pest and weed control, and use of additives. Organic producers rely on natural substances and physical, mechanical, or biologically based farming methods to the fullest extent possible.” Agricultural products can be certified USDA Organic if it was grown on soil that had no prohibited substances applied for three years prior to harvest. Learn more about prohibited substances and find certified organic farms businesses.
The Rainforest Alliance seal means a product (or a specified ingredient) was, “produced by farmers, foresters, and/or companies working together to create a world where people and nature thrive in harmony.” The Rainforest Alliance is an international non-profit organization working to provide a new normal of business by building an alliance to protect forests, improve the livelihoods of farmers and forest communities, promote their human rights, and help them mitigate and adapt to the climate crisis. Learn more about the Rainforest Alliance and the issues they are tackling or search for a certified product.
COSMOS is a for-profit, international and independent association that started in Europe in the 1990’s as the standard for organic and natural cosmetic products. The COSMOS-standard defines the criteria companies must meet to ensure consumers their products are genuine organic or natural cosmetics produced to the highest feasible sustainability practices, including responsible use of natural resources, respect of biodiversity, and recyclable packaging. The COSMOS ORGANIC signature goes to those products complying with the COSMOS-standard in all respects and contain the required percentages of organic ingredients as specified in the COSMOS-standard. The COSMOS NATURAL signature is for standard COSMOS-complying products but do not meet the required minimum organic percentages as specified in the standard. Learn more about COSMOS, the COSMOS certification bodies, or find a certified product.
When you see the MADE SAFE seal, it literally means that a product is made with safe ingredients. MADE SAFE is a non-profit organization providing America’s first comprehensive human health and ecosystem-focused certification for nontoxic products of all types. Their goal is to goal is to change the way products are made in the USA to ultimately eliminate the use of toxic chemicals altogether. Learn more about MADE SAFE and its certified products.
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) started tracking chemical safety in products since 1993 and calls out bad chemicals and the companies that use them for consumer safety. When you see the EWG VERIFIED seal, you know it’s free from “EWG’s chemicals of concern and meets our strictest standards for your health”. Read more about EWG and the 1674 products they have verified.
The EPA Safer Choice program helps consumers, businesses, and purchasers identify and find products that perform and contain ingredients that are safer for human health and the environment. Look for the Safer Choice label, now on over 2000 cleaning and other home products to choose safer for you, or browse the product certification list. Read more about the Safer Choice program.
The USDA BioPreferred Program’s goal is to increase the purchase and use of biobased products to increase the use of renewable agricultural resources while reducing the U.S.’s reliance on petroleum. Labeling is voluntary but when you do see this label, know it indicates that a product or package is USDA Certified Biobased. Search the certified product directory and read more about the program.
Since 1996, the Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics (CCIC) has been promoting a comprehensive standard and internationally recognizable Leaping Bunny Logo so companies and consumers can easily shop animal-friendly cosmetics and household products. Find certified brands and read more about the Leaping Bunny Standard.
Since 1993, the Australian non-profit Choose Cruelty Free (CCF) organization has been advocating, “for the rights of animals who live with us, not for us” by promoting only those products made by ethical, morally-sound companies that don’t test on animals, even when required by law, so Australians can shop consciously. Even in the U.S., you check out the Choose Cruelty Free List for cosmetics, toiletries and household cleaning products to purchase and read more about CCF’s efforts.
With more than 6.5 million members and supporters, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is the largest animal rights organization in the world. In addition to public education, cruelty investigations, research, animal rescue, legislation, special events, celebrity involvement, and protest campaigns, PETA also provides its highly recognizable Cruelty Free logo so all consumers know how to shop consciously to protect animals. Find companies that do and do not test on animals as well as those products made from vegan resources.
The harvesting of palm oil, used in 50% of home and food products, has seen the slashing and burning of thousands of acres of natural habitat, which is causing deforestation, climate change effects, and is leading cause of orangutan extinction. Starting in 2017, the International Palm Oil Free Certification Trademark (POFCAP) is an international, non-profit organization operating in 20 countries, and counting, working to thoroughly assess and certify products to ensure they are palm oil free. Look for the Palm Oil Free logo when you shop so you know which products do not falsely claim to be “palm oil free’. Learn more about POFCAP’s goals and operation.
Also working to protect orangutans from extinction, the Orangutan Alliance is an independent industry-based, non-profit organization promoting the sustainable palm oil harvesting for consumer products through its Palm Oil Free Certification Program. Also look for this seal when shopping food, home and beauty products. Read more about the Orangutan Alliance’s mission.
Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) is the worldwide leading textile processing standard for organic fibers, including ecological and social criteria, backed up by independent certification of the entire textile supply chain. GOTS’ standard mission is to, “define world-wide recognized requirements that ensure organic status of textiles, from harvesting of the raw materials, through environmentally and socially responsible manufacturing up to labelling in order to provide a credible assurance to the end consumer.” Read more about the GOTS certification process. Look for this seal when shopping for clothing and home products or search their producer and product database.
Comprised of 18 independent research and test institutes in Europe and Japan, OEKO-TEX® is responsible for the joint development of test methods and values within the textiles industry. Label recognition lets consumers and companies know a product guarantees their testing and certification standards for consumer safety. OEKO-TEX® has multiple standards covering textiles and leathers to the chemicals used in manufacturing. Look for the OEKO-TEX® seal when shopping for clothing and home products, do a label check, or search their Buying Guide.
BLUESIGN is focused on sustainability within the textile industry supply chain. It traces each textile’s path along the manufacturing process, making improvements at every stage from factory floor to finished product. The bluesign® seal provides consumers knowledge the product has passed the BLUESIGN criteria of reaching the highest degree of safety for the consumer, and it was manufactured with the lowest possible impact on people and the environment with responsible use of resources. When shopping for clothing or other textile products, look for the bluesign® label or search their list of product partners.
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