Best Sustainable Ethical Outdoor Clothing & Gear for 2023

Holland / The Netherlands

Maium makes rainwear from recycled materials and offsets their carbon via a tree planting project. They also use recycled and biodegradable materials for packaging and mailing. Sizes 2XS – 2XL (women), 2XS – 2XL (men)

France

Ice Breaker is a French company making outdoor wear mostly with natural fabrics (91%) and with some garments that are 100% merino wool and using plant-based dyes sourced from sustainable crops. They give details of all their suppliers and factories on their website, some of which they’ve been working with for over 10 years. Sizes XS – XL (Women), XS – 3XL (Men).

Picture Clothing is a French brand of clothing offering organic, recycled & bio-sourced products for snowboarding, skiing, surfing and the outdoors. They recover and re-use all production scraps and raw materials during manufacturing and integrate them into the linings of their jackets. 92% of the cotton they use is certified either GOTS or Organic Content Standard certified. The remaining 5% are made in India with recycled cotton. All of their technical products are made from a minimum average of 50% recycled polyester from plastic bottles and they use the Greenplus Taiwan certification to guarantee recycled rates of each product and Bluesign Approved Fabric to guarantee that they do not contain harmful chemicals. They state that their garments are PFC free and that the factories they work with have all signed the Picture RSL (Restricted Substances List), a list of chemicals that they have banned in their products. They also state that they carry out random tests to make sure the RSL is fully respected. The company is a certified B-corp and states that the factories they use are all engaged in an improvement process with Fair Wear Foundation and that they visit them 2-3 times a year. The company works to repair garments instead of replacing them and they work with several repair stations throughout the world to deliver that service. You can buy from the company directly or from online retailers. including Surfdome.ie in Ireland.

Germany

Vaude make a range of PFC, and fur-free clothing from materials that include organic cotton, recycled polyester museling-free wool. Their backpacks and bags are made in Germany. The company’s headquarters has been climate neutral since 2012 and the company has a raft of environmental certificates to their name includes. They auction off residual materials from their textile productions via eBay and donate proceeds to charitable organisations.

Deuter is a German company that makes PFC-free backpacks and sleeping bags, some with bluesign certification. They regularly test their products to make sure they’re free of banned chemicals, only use certified responsible down and 50% of the materials they use is recycled. In 2021 they launched their Infiniti range, made from manufacturing offcuts, donating 1% of the sales to the environmental organisation 1% for the planet. They offer a repair service and sell second-life bags with a 2 year warranty in one of their stores. They are members of the European Outdoor Conservation Association and the Fair Wear Foundation.

Sweden

Didriksons in Sweden offer PFC-free, timeless, long-lasting garments made with as few materials as possible to aid recycling. Their kids range include an Extend Size function in order to make them fit for longer, and they offer repair kits. They are members of The Swedish Textile Initiative for Climate Change. Their products are vegan friendly and claim to never use animal-dervived material like fur, leather or down. Sizes 6 – 26 (women), XS – 3XL (men).

Houdini (see top photo) make active and skiwear from natural and recycled fabric, which they cover with a lifetime guarantee and take back at the end of their life. Most of their production takes place in Europe using fabrics from Taiwan, Italy and Japan. company are a Bluesign member and lists their suppliers and factories on their website. Second hand items are available online. They also offer a rental service online and in store. Sizes XXS- XL (women), XS – XL (men)

Lundhags in Sweden make clothing that is free of PFCs and silver ions, from organic cotton, mulesing-free merino wool, recycled polyester and close-loop tanned leather. They offer a rental service and only produce one collection a year. They accept returns and resell second-hand items in store and online. They also offer a repair service on their boots and the company constantly monitors their carbon footprint and actively works to reduce it.

Fjallraven is an outdoor wear company for both men and women. They design to last and offer a limited repair service along with guides on how best to care and repair their garments. They use materials like recycled wool, recycled polyester, organic hemp and Tencel. They don’t use Fluorocarbons in their clothing and ensure that their down is not obtained using live plucking. They are members of Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), an industry-wide group of more than 80 leading clothing and footwear companies and NGOs, and the Fair Labor Association (FLA), which promotes workers’ rights and improves working conditions globally. They buy carbon credits for some of their garments and business travel and aim to be carbon neutral by 2025. Sizes 4 – 22 (women), XS – 3XL (men).

Tretorn offers a few garments made from recycled plastic waste salvaged from the sea.

Italy

Bragoon is an Italian company offering colourful, unisex rainwear & gaiters in recycled PET, made in Italy. Items are shipped in a compostable poly bag in a recycled & recyclable cardboard box. Products are manufactured in Italy and Poland.

Swiss

Mover is a Swiss company that makes thermal regulating outdoor garments from natural fibres in Europe and Mongolia. The materials they use include Alpaca wool from Switzerland, non-mulesing wool from New Zealand and Australia, organic or upcycled cotton from Portugal, and horn buttons from Portugal. organic cotton cords, webbing and plastic-free zips from Turkey. Their woven labels are from Italy and their cardboard boxes are made in Switzerland. Transportation is all over land to minimise emissions and their minimal packaging is, as you’d expect, plastic free.

Swiss company Odlo makes outdoor and active clothing in Fairwear accredited factories in Romania, Portugal Germany using recycled materials, mulesing-free wool and ethical down. They reduced emissions from transportation by 70% by relocating some of their production to Germany, and they offset the carbon of every online order they ship directly to customers. Some of their stores have a Take Back programme to recycle clothing that can no longer be repaired or reloved.

Iceland

North 66 is an Icelandic brand of long-lasting, multi-functional clothing that’s been carbon neutral since 2019. They are a certified B Corp and offer a repair service for any garment they’ve ever made, and they’ll take back any of their garments for resale or recycling. They also have stores in Denmark.

UK

Endura is a Scottish company making outdoor garments that have been PFC free since 2018 and PTFE since 2014. They make their clothing in the UK, some of it from recycled materials. They provide a non-warranty repair service and a biodegradable product to help customers re-waterproof their garments.  They have also designed their packaging to be easier to recycle, planted 1.3million trees in Mozambique and 85,000 in Scotland.

Páramo is a UK company that makes it’s outdoor clothing that is completely free of PFCs, in a Fairwear accredited factory in Columbia that provides employment to women at risk of prostitution. They’ve designed their clothes to be long lasting and the waterproofing can be renewed with a water-based product that they sell. The company also offers a resale / recycling scheme for garments sent back by customers. They’ve been offsetting their carbon with the World Land Trust since 2007 and the company are active members of the European Outdoor Conservation Association. They partner with the Miquelina Foundation in Colombia to provide employment to vulnerable women and all products are guaranteed Fair Trade.

The New Zealand brand Kathmandu, who have stockists in the UK, buy carbon credits to offset their air travel and recycle 100% of their polybags in New Zealand. They also work with small cooperatives that provide employment to disadvantaged individuals and say that they’re working towards being Zero Waste. They have few garments made from recycled fibres and organic cotton, but some are blended fabrics, making them recyclable. They also have a range of hoodies, earth colour, dyed with plant-based dyes instead of petrochemical dyes. Sizes 6 – 18 (women), XS – XXL (men)

Millican makes long-lasting backpacks from natural and recycled materials including organic cotton canvas, leather, British wool and recycled polyester. They use long lasting aluminium fixtures instead of plastic and some of their bags are made in the UK.

The Level Collection uses natural, organic and recycled ingredients to create functional products in the UK that are designed to be enjoyed for many years. They hand-make backpacks from weatherproof Scottish waxed cotton, which they claim doesn’t crack or transfer onto your clothing or other surfaces. The leather detailing they use is vegetable tanned leather hand-cut in Britain, their strap and lumber padding are wool carpet fibres repurposed in Britain British and their stainless-steel buckles are laser cut and polished in their hometown, Sheffield UK. They’ll repair any materials or manufacturing faults free of charge within 3 years of your purchase date of one of their bags and offer a lifetime repair service and warranty on their goods. They pledge a minimum of 3% of annual profits to support charity partners.