Sustainable baby clothing is key to ensuring that even your little one’s closet is eco-friendly. Since kids quickly outgrow their clothes, fast-fashion baby clothing waste can be detrimental to the environment–2.2 billion pounds of consumer textile waste in American landfills is linked to children’s clothing.¹

Moreover, sustainable materials like organic cotton can be better for baby’s health, too. Not only does organic cotton produce 46% less CO2 emissions than regular cotton, it’s produced without harmful chemicals, leaving its fibers softer and less abrasive. This also means less of a health risk for factory workers who would otherwise be exposed to toxins.²

With a wide variety of adorable patterns and styles available online, eco-friendly baby clothing is a win-win. Check out these sustainable baby clothing brands:

What Is Ethical Baby Clothing?

Ethical baby clothing is made from sustainably-sourced materials through a fair and transparent supply chain. Fast-fashion factory workers are typically paid five times less than a living wage in their country and are often forced to work 14-16 hour days, seven days a week. Air in these factories is often unventilated and contains toxins, and the buildings themselves can be structurally unsound or prone to fires 3. It’s imperative to buy baby clothes sourced from factories with adequate work and wage standards in order to put an end to this tragic cycle.

Moreover, clothing made from sustainable materials is healthier for our bodies and the bodies of those making the garments, is grown using rainwater, promotes biodiversity, and decreases carbon footprint significantly.² It can be tempting to give into the fast fashion industry, especially as clothing for growing kids can feel disposable. Children grow so fast, that many pieces you buy are often only worn once or twice. But there are more environmentally-conscious ways to handle baby’s wardrobe refresh. You can try selling or buying secondhand, trading with friends, renting, donating, and more. There are tons of opportunities to make sustainable baby clothes a must have this year.

In the meanwhile, check out these adorable options:

Why We Love This Sustainable Baby Clothing Brand

All of Colored Organics’s pieces are made from 100% certified organic cotton, meaning its clothes are incredibly soft and free from toxic chemicals, and safer for the farmers that grow the fabric as well. The company is 100% sweatshop free, ensuring a GOTS-certified safe factory work environment, zero child labor, fair wages and medical benefits, and a capped eight-hour work day (Image: Colored Organics⁷).

Moreover, CO partners monthly with a different charitable organization that helps children in some way, from supporting a local children’s hospital to helping families in Afghanistan. Colored Organics pieces are not only adorable and soft, but have a lasting impact both socially and environmentally.

Why We Love This Sustainable Baby Clothing Brand

Pact offers a range of sustainable baby clothing in a variety of colors and patterns. Its clothing is made from GOTS-certified organic cotton in order to save water and negate the use of harmful chemicals in production. The company ships in recycled, recyclable packaging and offers a program that tells each consumer how to neutralize the carbon footprint of their order (i.e. purchasing a certain amount of wind energy credits). Pact also offers a “Give Back Box” program that allows customers to donate old clothing to nonprofits using re-used pact shipping boxes (Image: Pact⁸).

Moreover, Pact’s factories are Fair Trade certified, meaning safe conditions and sustainable livelihoods are ensured for workers, local communities are uplifted, and social, economic, and environmental standards are upheld company-wide.

Why We Love This Sustainable Baby Clothing Brand

Mon Coeur’s baby clothing is made from 100% recycled content. The brand pledges a portion of the profits to eco-friendly causes, like beach cleanups and the support of communities disproportionately affected by climate change. Moreover, the label’s New Again program upcycles baby clothing, turning it back into yarn through a zero-waste process (Image: Moncoeur⁹).

Mon Coeur features a stylish line of baby clothing, as well as outfits for children up to nine years old.

Why We Love This Sustainable Baby Clothing Brand

Estella’s luxury baby clothing, toys, and gifts are 100% organic and ethically sourced, created by a team of artisans who are paid fair wages. Estella’s rattles, baby blankets, and nursery accessories are created by a small team of knitters in Peru, and their knit layette collection and alpaca blankets are made by a fair wage, Fair Trade certified organization in Bolivia. All of Estella’s sustainable baby clothing is handcrafted using GOTS-certified organic cotton (Image: Estella¹⁰).

When Estella was founded in 2002, its owners (married couple Jean Polsky and Chike Chukwulozie) noticed that NYC’s luxury children’s fashion was centered around big box retail and muted, conservative styles. The pair sought to change that with Estella’s bright colors and bold designs, created by craftspeople rather than corporations.

Why We Love This Sustainable Baby Clothing Brand

Finn & Emma’s line of organic, naturally-dyed baby clothing features their trademark whimsical graphic designs. Fabrics must meet a standard of at least 95% organically grown cotton and are free from toxins like nickel, heavy metals, PVC, and formaldehyde. All inks, dyes, and process chemicals are held to toxicity and biodegradability requirements as well (Image: finn+Emma¹¹).

The label’s factory workers are paid a fair wage and kept in safe, humane conditions at every step of the production process. Finn & Emma even offers baby-safe rattles made by a women’s collective in Peru, finished with vegetable seed wax and filled with beans.

What Materials to Look for When Choosing Ethical Baby Brands

Ethical baby brands primarily use organic cotton (look for the GOTS certification). However, certain brands use other sustainable materials such as recycled polyester or rPET (made from upcycled plastic bottles). Any organic or recycled material is a safe sustainable bet!

Help the Environment with Recycled Baby Clothes

Baby clothes are such a huge contributor to landfill waste because of the limited use they get before they’re outgrown. Just looking at the sizes from the brands we’ve mentioned implies that your baby may need a whole new wardrobe every three months! One way to combat this dilemma is by recycling your baby clothes. Donating or trading with other new parents is a way to extend the life of a  piece of baby clothing and saves money for both parties. Even donating to a thrift store or vintage shop could help out a local child in need. It’s only natural that your growing baby will cycle through clothes quickly–just be sure you don’t dispose of what’s left behind!

More Sustainable Baby Clothing Brands

Why We Love This Brand

BOROBABI has its sustainable system down to a science. Parents take an online quiz, and a team of real mom stylists curates new or pre-owned pieces they think will match your sense of style. The items are shipped to your door, and you have five days to decide if you’d like to keep, lease, or return them, notifying BOROBABI of your decision via text. Each bundle comes with a prepaid return shipping label (Image: Borobabi¹²).

Leasing baby clothes is up to 75% cheaper than buying them retail – a BOROBABI onesie is $50 to purchase, or just $3.49/month (for an average of 4-6 months, totaling $13.49-$20.94). It’s a genius system and the first of its kind!

Why We Love This Brand

Mom-founded, Monica + Andy uses only the softest, safest organic materials free from flame-retardants, lead, and phthalate. Its fabrics are wash-tested high-quality. Moreover, the brand offers mix-and-match pieces so you can build and bundle outfits with their various sweet patterns (Image: Monica+Andy¹³).

Why We Love This Brand

Storq carries primarily maternity and postpartum clothing and essentials, but is worth mentioning here for its adorable, luxurious First Days at Home Gift Set, including an adorable onesie, socks, blanket, hat, and bunny toy. The set is made from GOTS and Oeko-Tex certified organic cotton, using natural fibers and no dyes, and it all comes in an organic cotton drawstring pouch (Image: Storq¹⁴).

Your little one will be dressed in the utmost comfort and style for their first time in their new home (and so will you if you check out Storq’s other collections)!

Why We Love This Brand

Made in ethical, eco-friendly factories in Lithuania, Bulgaria, and India, Nui Organics clothes are GOTS, Oeko-Tex, and bluesign certified. The brand is a member of the Responsible Packaging Movement, actively seeking to eliminate single-use plastics and virgin forest fibers from their packaging, and the brand’s newest collection ships in recyclable paper bags. All of Nui’s products are made from Merino Wool,Merino Silk, Merino Tencel, or organic cotton, making them cozy and warm as well as Earth and body-friendly (Image: Nui¹⁵).

Frequently Asked Questions About Eco Baby Clothes