7 Sustainable Clothing Brands We Swear By

Finding sustainable travel brands is starting to feel like finding the right guy – it’s NOT easy. We’re constantly on the hunt for clothing brands that go above and beyond to prioritize the planet in their production practices. But researching companies to understand their ethics takes time. That’s why we’ve rounded up a list of our top 7 sustainable clothing brands – to help you make easy sustainability swaps and develop a relationship with your clothes.

Below, we share 7 ethical brands making waves in the sustainable fashion industry. And of course, these clothes are designed for girls on the go. If you love travel and the planet, these brands are your perfect match.

Did you know that the apparel industry is one of the most polluting in the world?

Sustainable swimwear on Martha's Vineyard

Heads up: Links in this post are affiliate links. This means that if you click the link and make a purchase, we receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. Your support helps us continue to travel the world and share our experiences, and for that we are forever grateful!

85% of the clothes we buy end up in landfills, even though the majority of it could be recycled or reused. – Imagine It! a handbook for a happier planet

Small sustainable brand Kenworthy

Sustainable Clothing Brands FAQs

What brands make sustainable clothes?

It’s easier than ever to support sustainable clothing brands! Brands like Dippin Daisy’s, Girlfriend Collective, and Vitality use sustainable fabrics, production practices, and recyclable packaging to create products that you can feel good about wearing. See below for our full list of brands that make sustainable fashion both affordable and stylish.

Affordable Sustainable Clothing brands

Dippin Daisy’s
ThredUp
Pura Vida jewelry
Save our Surf
Vitality

Our best tip to find affordable sustainable clothing brands is to shop sales of the sustainable brands you love. For example, Dippin Daisy’s and Vitality are two of our favorite brands that regularly offer great sales. We often wait for these sales to come around to purchase items for as little as half price.

Trendy Sustainable Clothing brands

Our favorite sustainable clothing brand for always on trend clothes is Nuuly. Nuuly is actually a clothing rental subscription service that allows you to rent clothes monthly and return them when you no longer have use for them! Participating in this circular model of fashion is a great way to enjoy following fashion trends without creating waste.

Fast Fashion brands to Avoid

Shein – Instead shop Dippin Daisy’s swim
Nike – Instead shop Vejas for shoes
H&M – Instead shop ThredUp to thrift your staple pieces
Zara – Rent trendy seasonal styles from Nuuly instead

Calling out specific brands sometimes feels like airing dirty laundry from past relationships – we don’t love doing it. But it’s important to understand the red flags that make a brand hard to support.

Fast Fashion Red Flags

Mass producing clothes
Failing to provide info on the website about how/where products are made
Encouraging constant purchasing of new styles and trends
Cheap clothes made of cheap materials and toxic chemicals (not made to last)

For more information about fast fashion, check out our post on how to Say Goodbye to Fast Fashion.

1. Dippin Daisy’s

As two girls who live on an island and love to travel to coastal destinations, swimwear is a staple in our wardrobe. For the longest time, we struggled to find sustainable swim brands we could actually afford ($100 per piece just wasn’t in the budget for us).

But then we found Dippin Daisy’s, and we fell in love with this female-owned, sustainable swim brand. Dippin Daisy’s is based out of California, and run by an amazing female founder and group of women who design, shoot, and sell swimwear that is comfortable, fun, and fit for everyone. Today, we pretty much exclusively wear this swim brand on our travels and during our summers on Martha’s Vineyard.

Dippin Daisy’s drops swimwear in collections and pieces are $40-50 right when they come out.

However, this brand has so many great discounts and sales throughout the year that you can shop if you’re searching for swimwear on a budget. We just purchased suits during their Labor Day sale for $15 (or less) a piece. Shopping out of season is one of the best ways to save money on sustainable clothing brands.

3 of Dippin Daisy’s Green Flags:

Female-founded company empowering and creating opportunities for women
95% of swimsuits are derived from recycled pre and post consumer nylon
Manufacture small batches, producing only what is needed to avoid landfill waste

Wearing Dippin Daisy's on Martha's Vineyard

2. Nuuly

We’re new to Nuuly but crushing on this brand already. Nuuly is perfect for travelers who love to have a new wardrobe for trips, and that’s precisely why we decided to try out this clothing rental subscription. We have an upcoming trip planned to Colorado this fall — but very little from our coastal wardrobes will work out west. We didn’t want to purchase a bunch of new clothes just for one trip, but we DID want to be able to have fun with our style in a new destination. So, we turned to Nuuly — a clothing rental service that allows you to pick 6 pieces of clothing for a month.

One of the hardest parts about sustainability is feeling like you can’t have fun with fashion anymore — because you don’t want to buy pieces that you won’t wear and love for a long time. Nuuly is the perfect remedy to that, allowing you to switch up your style and share clothes that you don’t plan to love forever. Plus, you can shop and select pieces from hundreds of popular brands, like Free People and Anthropologie.

There’s hardly a better sustainable clothing brand for frequent travelers. Next time you think about taking a shopping spree before a big trip, give Nuuly a try and get access to thousands of pieces that you can style uniquely for any travel destination.

3 of Nuuly’s Green Flags:

Designed to help you change your relationship with clothing
Reduces the waste of one-off purchases and offers secondhand items a new life
Packages arrive in reusable rental totes – and each tote replaces approx. 40 cardboard boxes!

Wearing Nuuly in Colorado

3. Duffle & Co

Duffle & Co is a New Zealand based brand that makes leather travel bags that last. While not technically a sustainable clothing brand, bags are every travelers best accessory.

We dig Duffle & Co’s Beeby Bumbag — this crossbody bag is the perfect way to keep all of our valuables safe while traveling. You can use our code BAGGAGE for 15% off your entire order.

3 of Duffle & Co’s Green Flags:

Empower artisans and their families from Indonesia and India
Uses Pineapple leather (or Piñatex) – a natural leather alternative made from the cellulose fibres of pineapple leaves
Each purchase plants 5 mangrove trees in the fragile ecosystems of islands that make up Indonesia

4. ThredUP

ThredUP is for those who love thrifting. This brand is the world’s largest online thrift store. Not only can you purchase from hundreds of great brands on their website, but you can also send your owns clothes in when you’re done with them to receive store credit. Sending in your used clothes for someone else to love is an easy sustainable practice that doesn’t cost you a thing.

This circular model of clothes is a game changer for the fashion industry. Giving clothes a new life is always a great idea.

3 of ThredUP’s Green Flags:

Circular fashion model
Buying (and wearing) secondhand clothing instead of new reduces carbon emissions by an average of 25%
Empowering more consumers to adopt a “secondhand first” mindset

Wearing ThredUP in Costa Rica

Wearing ThredUP in Costa Rica

5. Vitality

Vitality is one of our favorites for sustainability and the fact that it’s run by two sisters from Colorado.

This activewear brand, formerly known as Balance Athletica, creates buttery-soft, and size-inclusive activewear with a sustainable mission that goes beyond what competitors like Lululemon and Nike have done for the environment.

We’re always inspired by brands that are founded on principles of sustainability from the start and Vitality is a perfect example of that. Their leggings, joggers, sports bras and jackets are the perfect altheisure to wear on long travel days. We lift, run, and do yoga in their pieces, proving that these sustainable clothes are made to cover all your needs, and to last.

3 of Vitality’s Green Flags:

Extend the life of each item by promoting mix-and-matchability across product lines, collection launches, and seasons
Resell pre-loved pieces you no longer wear with Vitality Revitalized
Over $1.5 million worth of donations (so far) to groups that make a difference

Wearing Vitality in Hawaii

Wearing Vitality in Hawaii

6. Save our Surf

If you love the ocean and surfing this brand is made for you. Save our Surf is a sustainable swim brand that removes trash from the ocean and creates comfortable clothes for a cause. One of our favorite ways to feel a part of something bigger than ourselves is to support small brands like this.

What you wear makes a statement, and when someone complements your crewneck and you get to tell them how it’s made from a sustainable brand working to save the ocean, that’s a story you can be proud to tell. What’s more, this brand is created by female entrepreneur and traveler, Amy Timmerman, who brings followers along on her business and sustainability journey on TikTok.

3 of Save Our Surf’s Green Flags:

1 pound of plastic removed from the ocean for every item purchased
Zero-plastic supply chain
Facilitate community beach cleanups and activism in coastal communities

Santa Teresa, Costa Rica

Santa Teresa, Costa Rica

7. Vejas

VEJA sneakers cost 5 times more to produce than big brand sneakers. Why? Because this shoe brand employs sustainable practices including fair trade and organic raw materials, fair wages for workers, and investments in research and technology.

3 of Veja’s Green Flags:

Organic certification
Chemical transparency – Vejas don’t contain toxic or polluting elements
Certified B Corp

Our Job as Consumers

To be clear, corporations themselves must make significant changes to their operations in order for us to drastically reduce the carbon footprint of the fashion industry. But we also have a vital role to play as consumers. At Baggage, we believe that the small choices we make add up to have a big impact.

This is especially true when it comes to the clothes we purchase. Each purchase you make is a big fat YES. You’re saying Yes to a company’s fabrics, shipping materials, inclusivity stance, labor practices, etc. – whether you realize it or not.

Wrap It Up

Choose to say yes to brands you believe in and learn the story behind your clothes. Fall in love with sustainable clothing brands whose mission aligns with your own values. Wear clothes that are better for your body and the planet. Challenge fast fashion brands and the status quo that says we should constantly be purchasing new clothes to be on trend and in style.

Let’s build lasting relationships with our clothes and share the stories behind the products we buy and the companies we support. We’ll all be better for it.

xoxo,

Baggage girls