Sustainable fashion is now a priority for more brands than ever before. Whether it’s the idea of focusing on lowering the overall carbon footprint, experimenting with small batch production, choosing more ethical fabrics or even manufacturing locally, brands are making it their mission to be kinder to the earth without sacrificing style. Many labels, too, are outlining their initiatives to be more eco-friendly, and setting goals for upcoming years. If anything, it proves that there’s a demand for fashion that speaks to the greater good. Here, meet some of our favorite sustainable menswear brands, big and small.
Raeburn
The collaborative, sustainable brand Raeburn is based out of the heart of London, and constantly turns out new and exciting outerwear. Since the brand first presented at London Fashion Week in 2009, founder Christopher Raeburn utilizes deadstock military materials and utilitarian clothing, deconstructing and turning them into brand new creations such as wool field jackets or nylon coats. Raeburn also focuses on the four pillars of remade, reduced, recycled, and refound, emphasizing everything from having a minimal carbon footprint to working with special recycled materials. Because of that, each Raeburn piece is limited edition.
Phipps
Founded by Spencer Phipps in 2018, the DNA of Phipps is embedded with sustainability and environmental responsibility. Prior to founding the line, the designer worked on the teams of Marc Jacobs and Dries Van Noten. Expect everything from small batch production to new developments in sustainable textiles in the brand’s mix of merchandise, which is diverse and ranges from retro-inspired tees made of organic cotton, to brightly colored workwear pants and organic dyed bandanas.
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Nanushka
Hailing from Budapest, Hungary, Nanushka is a contemporary brand that recently launched menswear. Its minimalistic, cool approach takes inspiration from bohemian culture but doesn’t sacrifice on sustainability either; there’s plenty of vegan leather button-downs and jackets as well as locally made suit jackets and blazers made from recycled fabrics. Nanushka uses an in-house atelier and local manufacturing alongside a careful approach to opting for more sustainable materials as the brand grows. Those materials include eco-certified vegan leather and materials made through responsible forestry.
Ksenia Schnaider
Undoubtedly one of the most sustainable emerging denim brands, Ksenia Schnaider was founded in Kiev, Ukraine in 2011 by Ksenia and Anton Schnaider. The label produces sweaters, jackets, and tops, but is most well known for its unconventional denim, from flared jeans to patchwork hybrid jean-shorts, all made out of upcycled denim which the duo sources locally. According to the brand, they rework more than 500 pairs of jeans per month, and more than 3,000 per year to make each of their one-of-a-kind items.
Moncler
You know Moncler for its coats, but the well-known luxury brand also has major sustainable elements. Moncler focuses on sustainable pillars such as climate action, circular economy, fair sourcing, enhancing diversity, and giving back to local communities. In fact, the brand is aiming to be fully carbon neutral by this year, and also plans to use 100 percent renewable energy by 2023. That’s not all—80 percent of its nylon scraps will be recycled by 2023 and Moncler is also aiming for all finished products to be made from 50 percent sustainable nylon by 2025, among other eco-friendly initiatives.
Orange Culture
Orange Culture, based out of Laos, Nigeria, was founded by designer Adebayo Oke-Lawal in 2011. Taking inspiration from local life, Orange Culture prominently features Nigerian-inspired print fabrics, silhouettes, colors, and more. Expect colorful button-downs, sets, jumpsuits, and structured pants for men. Orange Culture focuses on sustainability by using only ethically sourced fabrics from local Nigerian fabric makers, and all pieces are manufactured locally in Lagos.
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Vitelli
As another brand that takes local sustainability seriously, Vitelli is a streetwear-inspired Italian knitwear brand that partners exclusively with Italian makers. Vitelli is produced by local craftspeople, family owned local businesses, and independent small-scale factories and labs. All garments are knitted, felted, looped, sewn, printed, or embroidered in Schio, an Italian knitwear capital since 1817. Beyond that, Vitelli uses almost exclusively upcycled and deadstock materials, using new techniques such as embroidering recycled silk fabric into a knit.
Bobblehaus
Founded by Ophelia Chen and Abi Lierheimer, Bobblehaus is the rising genderless brand that has deep roots in sustainability. You’ll find fun printed shirts, bucket hats, plaid suit sets, and recycled cotton sweats and tees from this label. Bobblehaus sources 100 percent of their fabrics from deadstock and certified recycled cotton mixes and TENCEL™ lyocell fibers. What’s more, the brand also uses 100 percent compostable plastics and consistently donates to One Tree Planted, planting up to 10 trees with each item purchased through the Bobblehaus website.
Brioni
Iconic menswear brand Brioni, too, has delved into sustainability. The label now offers organic cotton knitted tees and sweaters. The brand, which specializes in classic, tailored pieces, has also explored local production with special collaborations such as the KMZERO line, a selection of garments crafted with wool from the Abruzzo region, home to the brand’s atelier. Additionally, for Brioni’s spring 2021 collection, it featured stretchy and sustainable Japanese-made selvedge denim.
Tombogo
Designer Tommy Bogo creates experimental streetwear classics with a sustainable edge for his line Tombogo. Take, for example, Sherpa and fleece jackets and modular printed pants. The label approaches eco-friendly ideas with an unconventional spin, for example, reusing bubble wrap inside its puffer jackets, vests, or bags. With that in mind, Tombogo also only produces limited runs of each item to avoid waste.
