The 12 Best Sustainable and Ethical Clothing Brands for Men

1. Patagonia

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A fearless outdoor brand that acts as the voice of nature. In 2017 Patagonia became a force to be reckoned with as it sued the government over President Trump illegally demolishing Utah’s Bear Ears National Monument by 85%. The breathtaking landmark lost over 2 million acres of beauty for oil, coal, gas, and uranium. The case is still ongoing, but you can trust Patagonia won’t go down without a fight.

When they’re not busy with activism, they’re making clothes tough against the elements and gentle on the planet. 35 tons of plastic waste was removed from oceans last year by transforming fishing nets into hat brims. 78% of its line uses recycled materials, and 100% of Patagonia’s virgin cotton is grown organically.

Setting an incredibly high standard, Patagonia also donates 1% of all annual sales to nature preservation charities and groups. While this doesn’t seem like much, the brand’s popularity means they’ve already donated a whopping $89 million.

2. Kotn

New to the scene is Kotn, founded in 2015. But this doesn’t mean they aren’t making big moves. The brand’s organic cotton is hand-picked on small, family-run farms in Portugal and Egypt, where some of the highest quality cotton is produced.

Egyptian cotton, in particular, is luxe, silky, and resistant to fraying, pilling, wrinkling, and breaking from all of the nutrient-rich soil the Nile Delta region supplies to the land.

Kotn is nothing short of transparent. When it comes to direct trade, the brand works straight with their farmers which benefits everyone involved. Without the middleman, farmers can earn better, fairer wages, and consumers are met with beautiful, minimalist pieces at reasonable prices.

3. Organic Basics

If you’re looking for socks, tee-shirts, underwear – basically basics – you don’t have to look any farther than Organic Basics. This brand is blowing fast fashion out of the water by streamlining innovation, using sustainable materials, and keeping its eyes on ethical production.

Organic Basics (OB) refers to the fast fashion industry as a “dirty bastard” that you wouldn’t want to get into bed with. They only choose fabrics, materials, and partners that share their values. The factories that produce their clothing are free of child labor and forced labor.

It’s a safe, loving, and respectable workplace that pays employees a livable wage and offers workers social benefits like free lunch and childcare. Sustainability for OB isn’t just another trend created by the fashion industry. Sustainability and its practices are the only way to move forward for our species, other species, and the planet’s wellbeing.

4. Tact & Stone

Created by Landon Nash, Tact & Stone is a brand born from Nash’s desire to fill a gap in the sustainable marketplace. Before he started his brand, Nash wanted sustainable, high-end basics that could function as office wear or put-together, semi-professional looks. Nash believes you shouldn’t have to sacrifice style for sustainability, so is 100% committed to sustainable practices.

And committed he has. Tact & Stone uses a circular strategy that relishes quality over quantity. Starting its lifecycle with regenerative farming practices, a garment can loop around, extending its lifecycle through recycling and upcycling. After you’re done wearing a piece of clothing, you can even send it to Tact & Stone, where they’ll upcycle it for you.

5. Faherty

Faherty is like taking in a breath of fresh air. It’s crisp, chill, and natural. 64% of the brand’s men’s collection is made from sustainable materials. By later this year, they aim to have that number up to 85% and we have no doubts about it.

By focusing on the sensation and natural qualities of materials such as organic cotton, hemp, and ethically sourced cashmere, and alpaca, you can feel the brand’s love and appreciation for the environment vibrate through every piece.

The brand’s core values are to be the best you can be, stay authentic, spread good vibes, deliver on promises, and lead consciously, bravely, and inclusively. Faherty donates 10% of all sales from their Indigenous-inspired prints to organizations that support Native communities.

Soon to be replaced with original artwork from Indigenous designers. Watch this space.

6. Outerknown

Co-founded by professional surfer Kelly Slater, who spent his life in the ocean surfing and racking up 11 World Titles, with Outerknown you can feel the salty breeze through your hair and sand between your toes. The brand grew from a desire to protect the planet and centers around the importance of sustainability. From its beginning in 2015, Outerknown has abided by the Fair Labor Association’s strict standards.

Outerknown creates causal beach and streetwear made from over 90% of organic, recycled and regenerated materials. The APEX trunks, in particular, are champion-approved and made from recycled water bottles.

It continues to push the boundaries of what sustainable fashion brands can do, outlining their 2030 sustainability plan that includes step-by-step strategies and commitments from advancing worker rights to continuing to innovate and prolong a garment’s lifecycle.

7. Asket

Asket is dedicated to making essential pieces that are every bit worth the investment and made to last. Developed by Swedish duo Jakob Dworsky and August Bard Bringéus in 2015, Asket was inspired by the timeless basics pertinent to every man’s wardrobe. From there, they created a permanent collection that didn’t sway with the trends and seasons but remained timeless.

Asket, which means ‘Ascetic’ in Swedish, refers to someone that lives without material excess or indulgence, one who would instead focus on inner values. The Asket vision is one of improvement, innovation, increased quality, and most of all, a world with less clutter and waste.

In addition to their permanent collection, Asket makes zero compromises on their pieces’ ethics, qualities, and standards. They’re a fully transparent brand that tells the story behind each piece: its origin, its impact, and its cost.

Asket also addresses the problem with e-commerce packaging by reducing their CO2 emissions by 47%, using 88% recycled content, and reducing total material usage by 22%.

8. Taylor Stitch

Taylor Stich is a contemporary men’s lifestyle brand on a mission to create long-lasting, responsible menswear. Their garments are made from durable, sustainably sourced fabrics, and boy are they built to last. Taylor Stitch has considered all the F’s: fiber, facts, fabric, fit, factory, functionality, and forever, creating menswear that can handle any task from workwear to woodwork.

The brand began as a shirting company, learning from America’s finest and oldest family shirt makers that understood every detail’s importance. Over the past decade, they have grown and expanded to crafting knits, denim, footwear, outerwear, and accessories that use less water and are made from recycled and regenerative fibers without nasty chemicals and pesticides.

And they continue to do more, from cleaning up trash, helping small farmers, and devoting themselves to building an earth-conscious community.

9. Amendi

Created by powerhouse couple Julia and Andreas Åhrman, Amendi is a progressive, contemporary, transparent brand specializing in creating denim and a more sustainable world. Amendi, inspired by the word “amendments,” focuses on giving customers the facts behind each garment to let the consumer make their own decision through transparency and traceability.

Traceability, or keeping track of every step in the supply chain, verifies everything from fair worker treatment to CO2 emissions – basically all of the things that can get lost in the large and complex supply chain from when a seed in the ground is made into a pair of jeans. Amendi openly shares details of each garment’s fabric, seams, labels, tags, water usage, margins, freight costs, and much more.

10. Nau

Nau merges high-tech design with eco-friendly materials that are made to perform. As one of the first sustainable performance brands, Nau has created a world in which the use of much-needed fabrics and processes exist.

Merging innovation with sustainability, Nau uses only 10 materials to make their durable performance wear: recycled polyester, organic cotton, merino wool, recycled down, alpaca wool, PFC-free DWR, hemp, linen, micromodal, and Tencel – but they are open to inventing others.

Not only is Nau passionate about sustainable design and innovation, but they also give back by donating 2% of every dollar directly to grassroots environmental causes such as The Conservation Alliance and Mercy Corps.

11. Everlane

Everlane is quickly becoming one of the world’s go-to brands for sustainable clothing due to its exceptional quality, contemporary silhouettes, ethical factories, and radical honesty. When it comes to their factories, the Everlane team spends months looking for the best around the world, building relationships with the owners, and evaluating how workers are paid and treated.

For a modern brand, Everlane stays away from trend pieces and keeps its eye on those materials and shapes that will last for years to come in your closet.

Everlane makes transparency easy, as customers can simply browse their website to find the true costs of every piece, from materials and labor to buttons and hardware. Oh, and the retail markup? Everlane is far superior to the traditional retailer; offering fair, transparent margins that are less than half of what other retailers charge.

12. Naadam

Naadam was born out of the Mongolian Gobi Desert, where founders Matthew Scanlan and Diederik Rijsemus saw first-hand how traditional cashmere traders made their wages from brokers. If they cut out the middlemen, Scanlan and Rijsemus knew that they could pay these cashmere herders much more while still selling quality pieces for less.

Since this idea in 2013, Naadam has established itself as a brand committed to transparent and ethical practices and supports environmental sustainability and cultural preservation.

Naadam works directly with cashmere goat-herders to make the world’s finest and most sustainable cashmere. Not only that, Naadam cares for the goats by hand combing them, making sure they have veterinary care and ethical living conditions where they can roam, play, and enjoy clean water.