Fast fashion’s trendiness, low cost and overwhelming availability make it enticing to buyers, but as sustainable and green living moves to the mainstream, slow fashion brands are emerging as affordable, eco-friendly alternatives to the previous ecological harmful industry.

Slow fashion brands are taking over the marketplace by lifting the veil on the ugly side of fast fashion, with its toxic dyes, heaps of non-biodegradable waste, mass consumption of resources, and inhumane production. Affordable slow fashion labels are proving you don’t need to spend a fortune for long-lasting, earth-friendly, and ethically made clothes that look and feel wonderful.

Check out some of the best brands that are leading the revolution.

What is Slow Fashion?

While the fast fashion industry mass-produces clothing constantly to keep up with demand and trends, slow and non-fast fashion brands turn down the endless product churn. Instead of shady practices to make tons of cheap garments that wear out and end up in landfills, slow fashion stores make smaller amounts of quality items that last, reducing waste and strain on the environment.

Why We Rank This Best Among Slow Fashion Brands

For anything from basics and denim to intimates, swimwear, and black tie dresses, Reformation applies fashion sense and a sense of responsibility. Their clothes are made by fairly paid workers in certified green facilities using sustainable materials like organic cotton, recycled cotton, regenerated nylon, linen, and Tencel. Reformation further slows down their fashion’s life cycle by upcycling vintage clothes and deadstock.

This brand shows how much they value transparency by describing each item’s environmental footprint! (You can figure up your personal emissions by using an online ecological footprint calculator, and then reach out to one of the top carbon offset providers to learn how to erase our emissions using a tree planting carbon offset.)

What is Tencel?

Tencel, also known as Lyocell, is a form of rayon made of organic cellulose fiber. Tencel rayon is used as a blend in denim, dress shirts, underwear, and other products to make them soft, silky, airy, and moisture-wicking. Unlike traditional rayon, Tencel production does not involve carbon disulfide, which is toxic to people and the environment.²

What is Deadstock?

Deadstock is unpurchased merchandise that a company pulls from shelves when outdated. Sometimes, styles and pieces come back in style, and companies sell deadstock as vintage. Other times, slow fashion companies repurpose deadstock to reduce new production and improve sustainability.³

Why We Rank This Best Among Slow Fashion Brands

The ethical and sustainable fashion brand Kotn makes Egyptian cotton clothes in the Nile Delta and gives back to local communities. Kotn is helping build schools and has funded thousands of farms, impacting over 100,000 people. Their ethical and transparent slow clothing supply chain provides quality clothes for comfort, made with non-toxic dyes and packaged without plastic.

What is Wrong with Standard Textile Dyes?

Two-thirds of textile dyes contain toxic and acutely toxic chemicals, many of which linger permanently in waterways and devastate marine life.^5,6

Why We Rank this a Best Among Slow Fashion Brands

Mien makes woman-friendly clothes that are affordable, machine washable, and pre-shrunk to fit effortlessly before, during, and after pregnancy.

Their small-batch clothes come from custom-knit certified organic bamboo, modal, and linen to be easy on the environment. In addition, by eliminating drycleaning and cutting out plastics in favor of compostable, recyclable, or recycled materials, Mien makes clothes sustainable from production and shipping to garment care.

Why We Rank This Best Among Slow Fashion Brands

Whereas making a single pair of jeans typically takes 1,500 gallons of water, a pair of Warp+Weft jeans uses just 10 gallons. Warp+Weft also treats 98% of their water and implements Dry Ozone technology instead of bleach to color their denim. This affordable slow fashion brand is committed to ethical working conditions and wages, International Social and Environmental & Quality Standards compliance, and transparent manufacturing operations.

For every body of all ages, Warp+Weft makes stylish and well-fitting jeans from U.S.-sourced cotton, Lycra, and Tencel colored with high-quality dyes.

Why We Rank This Best Among Slow Fashion Brands

In 2013, People Tree was the first clothing company to get the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO) product label.

They work around the world for fair trade alongside underprivileged workers and farmers to empower communities. People Tree is taking over the UK fashion scene with luxurious slow clothing from environmentally friendly fabrics like organic, fair trade cotton.

7 More Chic Non-Fast Fashion Brands

In addition to the slow fashion brands that ranked on the list of best, there are more that are working from an environmentally responsible standpoint. The following brands offer chic styles and gorgeous looks… all with an eco-friendly fashion label.

Why We Love This Slow Fashion Brand

Beautiful practices yield beautiful fashion pieces through Christy Dawn’s sustainable growing and production. They repurpose old things into new clothes using deadstock fabrics.

When they grow natural cotton fibers, Christy Dawn replenishes soil to deplete carbon, promoting biodiversity and healing. A little pricey, but definitely comparable with national ‘fast’ brands.

Why We Love This Slow Fashion Brands

Body positive slow fashion brand Sotela is changing the industry by making highly adaptable garments. Their universal and durable pieces are hand-made from sustainable fabrics like Tencel, modal, and linen.

Sotela’s clothes are comfortable, work for any occasion and last a long time, making perfect staples in a capsule wardrobe. All shipments come in recycled packaging.

Why We Rank This Best Among Slow Fashion Brands

Since 2009, Eileen Fisher has upcycled millions of unused and old pieces into elegant new clothes. This slow fashion brand works with families and artisans throughout their global supply chain, from organic, local cotton growing to weaving and dying. Eileen Fisher also sells recycled cashmere, polyester, and nylon, and regenerative wool products.

They detail green garment care instructions and encourage recycling clothes. This non-fast fashion store designs a cohesive and circular system of clothes that enables capsule wardrobes and eliminates waste. The Eileen Fisher brand supports human rights, fair trade, local workers, and women artisans.

Why We Love This Slow Fashion Brand

Organic Basics produces functional and straightforward everyday looks from ethically sourced and produced organic cotton, Tencel, and recycled materials in Europe. They also back environmental activism and sustainability and lead transparency through their item Impact Index and Impact Reports.

Why We Love This Slow Fashion Brand

Carbon-neutral from the start, Two Days Off sells near-new returns instead of throwing them out. They craft clothing from deadstock and recyclable, locally-sourced natural fibers. Cutting and sewing their made-to-order basics in small batches and shipping their orders without plastic are some of the ways they commit to reducing waste.

Why We Love This Slow Fashion Brand

Tradlands offers long-lasting and well-fitting pieces in inclusive sizing. Durability through deliberate stitching and natural textiles like linen and cotton allows them to extend garments’ life cycles in the Worn-Well Exchange program.

They employ fairly treated and paid employees in a production process that is specialized for added sustainability.

Why We Love This Slow Fashion Brands

Valani strategically cuts fabric to use as much as possible. The label’s light and flowy styles are all made from plant-based and organic fibers like hemp, Tencel, and banana viscose, non-toxic natural dyes, and shipped with packaging made of straw, hemp, jute, and recycled fabric.

More of the Best Slow Fashion Brands: Affordable Looks, Sustainable Style

Curating a durable and flexible capsule wardrobe can be a significant monetary investment. But truly fighting cheap fast fashion requires affordable clothing options that make slow fashion accessible to more people and more budgets.

How to Find Non-Fast Fashion Brands Near You

Finding slow fashion brands near you is the best way to limit the carbon footprint that’s generated by your purchase. The following brands are located around the country, and you can also perform a simply google search to check for brands and local shops in your area.

And, if you’d like to erase your entire yearly emissions, reach out to a carbon credit provider for a tree planting carbon offset program.

Try These Slow Fashion Stores and Slow Fashion Companies

• Amour Vert

Out of San Francisco, this slow fashion brand makes clothes from sustainably harvested beechwood fibers, GOTS-certified organic cotton, non-toxic silk, and eucalyptus.

• ARMEDANGELS

For eco-friendly organic and recycled basics, sportswear, denim, knitwear, and accessories, look to this Fair Wear Foundation Member.

Search These Slow Clothing and Non-Fast Fashion Stores Online

• Made Trade

Based in Portland, Made Trade is a BIPOC-owned online non-fast fashion store that creates fair trade, recycled, vegan looks handcrafted in the U.S.A.

• Alternative Apparel

This online vintage-inspired slow fashion store uses eco-friendly packaging, organic and recycled materials, and low-impact dyes. Alternative Apparel follows Fair Labor Association (FLA) guidelines, and most of its facilities are WRAP certified.

The public is learning how shopping habits hurt people, animals, and the environment. Slow fashion is finally taking over due to the massive demand for gentler, kinder, and responsible business practices. Now, there are countless slow clothing brands and unique styles. So anyone can do their part striving for a cleaner, healthier, more equitable future by supporting the best slow fashion brands.