Top 10 sustainable fashion startups
2021-05-26
Confido
8 minutes
This week in our series on cleantech startups, we’re shining a light on sustainable fashion brands.
The textile industry is the second most polluting industry in the world, emitting 1.2 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions every year. The UK alone imports £30.6 billion in clothing annually, with the fast-fashion industry producing over 92 million tonnes of waste per year!
With 48% of Millenials and Gen Z intending to buy more second-hand items after the pandemic, the tide seems to be turning against fast fashion. While charity shops and vintage outlets have been forced to closed during the pandemic, second-hand marketplaces like Depop have thrived. Since April 1st 2020, the company saw a 163 percent increase in new app signups, a 200 percent year-over-year traffic growth in the US and a 300 percent year-over-year increase in items sold.
While some established fashion brands are putting more emphasis on sustainability, like Stella McCartney’s adoption of mushroom leather, many still use unethical practices and polluting materials. However, there are a range of startups set on disrupting the fashion industry with ethical, sustainable solutions.
Here are our top 10 sustainable fashion startups...
About: Discover and access designer fashion at a fraction of retail price on By Rotation, the social fashion rental app. Created to transform the way we consume fashion by challenging overconsumption habits, By Rotation is more than just a fashion rental platform and app - they are a conscious and self-sustaining community.
Location: London
Company size: 1 to 10 employees
Funding: Unknown
About: Looking for sustainably created gym-wear? TALA have partnered with facilities across the globe to use the very best in sustainable technologies, processes and materials to bring you incredible sustainable styles that won’t break the planet or cost the earth. Each item’s tag is filled with seasonal seeds, meaning you’ll get a different plant with each tag you grow, and is bound with hemp twine making it fully biodegradable.
Location: London
Company size: 1 to 10 employees
Funding: Unknown
About: The fashion industry is broken and This Is Unfolded is here to fix it. They’ve created a new way to shop that removes waste and changes lives with the savings - all whilst making clothes you’ll love at fair prices. By only making clothes when orders are generated, they remove the 30% of products that end up in landfill. With the savings they change lives through funding education programs with their partners Pratham and by paying garment workers better through The Unfolded Worker fund.
Location: UK
Company size: Unknown
Funding: Unknown
About: Wardrobe of Tomorrow is a highly curated marketplace dedicated exclusively to sustainable luxury fashion designers from all over the world. Discover a unique world of sustainable clothing brands, sustainable jewelry, and slow fashion designers and their superb creations, relevant to the contemporary context - with respect for people, animals and the planet.
Location: London
Company size: 1 to 10 employees
Funding: Unknown
About: For Days are eliminating clothing waste. Americans throw away 81 lbs of clothing every year. So they built a system to fix that. You get guaranteed credits for your old clothes - no matter the condition. They then close the loop by turning your old fabrics into brand new clothes. Aka they’ll pay you to help them eliminate clothing waste.
Location: Los Angeles, USA
Company size: 11 to 50 employees
Funding: Unknown
About: Stay Wild is a premium brand with a focus on slow-fashion and sustainably sourced fabrics. Designed and made in London, their pieces have a purpose with every element considering people and the planet. Their swimwear is created from recycled materials – their ECONYL® is made from fishing nets pulled from the ocean and fabric scraps left over from industry.
Location: London
Company size: 1 to 10 employees
Funding: Unknown
About: Since 2005, VEJA’s goal is to create sneakers differently by mixing social projects, ecological materials and design. Using organic cotton and Amazonian rubber directly from producer associations based in Brazil and Peru. They also use innovative materials such as recycled plastic bottles to create a mesh.
Location: Paris
Company size: 51 to 200 employees
Funding: Unknown
About: Culthread’s overriding goal is to make quality coats and lifestyle products that you will want to wear and treasure forever. They are a SLOW FASHION brand. This is the most important goal for sustainability – a product that will continue to be worn and loved for years and years. They are also 100% animal-cruelty free and PETA approved.
Location: London
Company size: 1 to 10 employees
Funding: Unknown
About: BEEN London want to challenge what’s been done before. To rethink best practice, to innovate with new materials and to provide an alternative: a better, more beautiful sustainable bag. Handmade in London entirely from recycled materials and with a fraction of the carbon footprint, you will never have to choose between good design and ethics ever again.
Location: London
Company size: 1 to 10 employees
Funding: Unknown
About: Sassyspud believe clothes are a great billboard to promote Veganism and the positive impact a cruelty free lifestyle can have on the planet, the animals and your health. Their clothing is ethically produced in 100% Sweatshop free environments and shipped in recyclable and biodegradable packaging. They’re also printed using vegan, eco-friendly inks, using a printing process that uses seven times less water than standard fabric dyeing
Location: Ireland
Company size: Unknown
Funding: Unknown
We want to do everything we can to help support these fantastic businesses and the work they’re doing.
If you belong to a sustainable fashion startup and would like to have a chat about how we could scale your Product or Tech teams, do get in touch at contact@confidotalent.com.
Have we missed your favourites? Let us know on Twitter or LinkedIn, we’d love to hear from you!