We look at sustainable entrepreneurial brands that design clothes, hats and jewelry from recycled materials.
According to McKinsey Sustainability, which conducts research in the field of sustainability, approximately 100 billion pieces of clothing are produced in the world every year. With this volume of production, the fashion industry is responsible for about 4 to 10 percent of the greenhouse gases emitted to the environment, which points to a number that cannot be ignored for the danger of climate crisis. It is possible to reproduce and examine the data in depth, but despite all the negative data, sustainable fashion brands that are established one after another, the popularity of second-hand and re-wear, and the collections produced without the use of plastic and environmentally harmful materials are the refreshing side of the work. The nature-friendly brands we are talking about here also represent a part of this effort.
For days
Founded 2018, For Days is one of the first closed-loop (zero waste) clothing brands. According to the data shared by the brand, more than 85 percent of all textile products go to waste, including second-hand clothing for sale or donation. To prevent this, For Days designs all of its products to be recyclable. It also recycles discarded and unused fabrics and incorporates them into its production chain.
Collina Strada
Saying “Sustainability is a journey!”, Collina Strada is a sustainable fashion brand that produces collections with climate awareness and social sensitivity. The brand sometimes uses surplus fabric pieces, and sometimes produces fabrics from bamboo and rose bushes. Collina Strada, which has a wide range of clothing collections from daily wear to evening wear, has recently been producing sportswear pieces.
Gaala
Gaâla, a French brand, manufactures all of its clothing from recycled fabrics. Working with local artisans in a small business, this sustainable clothing brand uses leftover fabrics from Italian fashion houses as well as reuses linen from Belarus. The brand delivers its clothes from its workshop in Paris to all over the world.
Ahluwalia
Established in 2018, Ahluwalia produces the clothes in its collections from surplus fabrics and old clothes from fashion houses. On the one hand, designs reflecting Indian lines are important in terms of cultural transmission as well as being sustainable. The founder and designer of the brand, Priya Ahluwalia, brings traditional Indian craftsmanship to life in recycled fabrics.
Conner Ives
Conner Ives, who recycles old clothes and fabrics collected from a warehouse in Sheffiled in northern England; one of the most stylish sustainable fashion brands with its aesthetic knits, nostalgic American vibe and sexy evening dresses. Conner Ives, the founder of the brand, says it’s human to produce eco-friendly clothes.
Re/Done
Putting individuality at the center, Re/Done is a sustainable denim brand that aims to make its customers feel special with every piece it produces. And of course, the same sensitivity applies to nature. Producing new trousers by recycling tens of thousands of old Levi’s pants, Re/Done not only creates a vintage effect, but also saves more than 2.5 million gallons of water a year (an average of 2,500 to 10,000 liters of water is consumed to produce a single pair of jeans).
Selina Sanders
Slow fashion designer Selina Sanders designs tops, skirts and dresses using kitchen towels in her own brand. Turning tablecloths and old quilts into puff sleeve blouses, shirts, dresses and skirts, as well as kitchen towels, Sanders manufactures his clothes at his home in California. It is also possible to place bespoke orders by sending second-hand fabrics to Selina.
Girlfriend Collective
Girlfriend Collective, which produces home and underwear clothing, uses recycled fabrics from plastic bottles, fishing nets and all kinds of waste collected from the oceans in its collections. Arguing that health and wellness come in many forms, shapes and sizes, the brand also aims to destroy the standard perception of beauty based on the female body.
Indigo Luna
The story of Indigo Luna is somewhat romantic: This brand, dreamed of on the beaches of Australia, was brought to life in Bali. The source of inspiration is the indigo tree. Indigo Luna, one of the popular sustainable fashion brands of the last period, produces its clothes from recycled and environmentally friendly materials. Two of the three managers of the brand, which also attaches great importance to women’s employment, are women.
Storied Hats
Recycled-pet bottles, used coffee beans and fruit peels… Storied Hats manufactures its hats with sustainable fabrics made from recycled materials. With the organic cotton they use, they save 88% of water compared to the conventional cotton. The brand’s hats without logo are the kind that will appeal to every style.
Waterhaul
Waterhaul collects and recycles waste fishing nets from the seashore and brings it back to life as sunglasses. On the one hand, it’s a sustainability journey from the ocean to the sun. The durability of the glasses made of fishing nets, which can stay in the oceans for almost a century without getting lost, is also quite high.
SVNR
SVNR, a German brand, makes its jewelry from used and recycled materials. Founded in 2018, the brand produces fabrics as well as jewelry. Christina Tung, the founder of SVNR, defines her brand as a combination of aesthetics and ethics.
Alighieri
As the name suggests, Alighieri takes its inspiration from the great Italian poet Dante. Designing its jewelry inspired by personal stories and Dante, the jeweler is a sustainable brand as much as it is intertwined with art. Recycled silvers and bronzes are used in the collections.
