The 25 Most Sustainable and Ethical Luxury Fashion Brands

Image credit: Bite

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Luxury fashion is a tough term to define. It could mean something different for everyone.

It could refer to a high price, exclusivity and uniqueness, high-quality materials, design, or craftsmanship. Because of these associations, and the assumption that people will naturally buy fewer luxury items than mass-market items, luxury fashion can appear inherently conscious. But is it really? 

Well, beyond just selling products, these brands sell an identity, and consumers typically partake as a way to be a part of the perceived affluent elite. That desire for the appearance of luxury can sometimes outweigh the factual quality of so-called luxury products.

For many, the label “Made in Europe” has been synonymous with very high ethical standards. But a series of investigative reports (with the latest in 2020) by the Clean Clothes Campaign found “an immense gap between the legal minimum wage and the estimated minimum living wages” in European countries where Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, and Armani produce their collections. Essentially, brands in Europe aren’t paying their employees a living wage.

It turns out that paying more for clothing and accessories doesn’t directly correlate with higher pay for workers on assembly lines and in cotton fields. In Italy, the head of a company was arrested in 2019 on charges of allegedly employing “dozens” of undocumented garment workers for luxury brands, including Armani, Saint Laurent, and Fendi. (All brands associated denied they had contracts with this factory, and the outcome of the trial remains unknown). 

In 2018, the New York Times exposed Italy’s luxury sector for having seamstresses produce fashion garments on a piece-rate basis from their homes for local factories without a contract or insurance and paid in cash monthly. There is no statutory minimum wage in Italy, but roughly €5-7 per hour is considered an appropriate standard. “In extremely rare cases, a highly skilled worker can earn as much as €8-10 an hour. But the homeworkers earn significantly less, regardless of whether they are involved in leatherwork, embroidery, or another artisanal task.” According to Expatica, a resource for wage statistics, the average salary in Italy in 2020 was €41,081, which is slightly lower than the average salary in 2010 — a step back for workers considering the current global economy.

In some instances, luxury goods are no different than mass-market ones. Some luxury products are expensive because the material is rare and luxurious, and the craftsmanship takes hours or even days. (Loro Piana’s vicuña sweaters come to mind.) But some “luxury” items are just plain t-shirts. As HighSnobiety reported, a $15 t-shirt isn’t so different from a $500 one with a luxury logo — same materials, wildly different price.

So, is it possible to buy clothes that are both luxurious and responsible? Yes. 

More fashion-forward buyers are holding brands accountable for their clothes’ impact on the planet, as they view brands as an extension of their values and identity. A growing number of ethical and sustainable luxury brands are offering both high-quality and beautiful pieces. And pioneers such as Stella McCartney are demonstrating that you can be a pioneer in sustainability and luxury — and use that higher margin to invest in innovative sustainable fabrics and transparency initiatives.

Today, most luxury businesses are now rethinking their value chain and trying to ensure their product is environmentally and ethically sound. This goes beyond conscious materials to the work of embedding inclusivity within the brand DNA while empowering consumers to shop luxuriously but responsibly.

Here’s what truly sustainable luxury fashion looks like.

Brands that rely on skilled artisans and traditional craft hold a significantly higher interest in not just preserving traditional customs and heritage, but also promoting sustainability by making handmade works that don’t require an entire factory to produce. The use of luscious natural materials, such as silk, alpaca, vicuña, cashmere, camel, wool, yak, and traceable cotton is far less detrimental to workers, consumers, and the environment than petroleum-based materials dyed with toxic chemicals– and supports small family farms and businesses.

But sustainable luxury also depends on the post-consumer fate of its products, especially in the context of the ultimate question: will that luxury handbag end up in a landfill someday, or can it be recycled? Luxury fashion doesn’t have to be this way, though, and many retailers and brands like Harvey Nichols offer services for care and repair of heavily used and worn items. This can also reduce the volume of purchases by reducing returns and ensuring you keep each purchase for a decade or more. 

Sustainable luxury brands should also use eco-friendly recycled and recyclable materials for packaging. It’s unlikely that a new pair of heels needs to be packaged in a box that won’t fit in your recycle bin, yet we still see a lot of packaging waste in luxury brands that feel the need to preserve their lux brand image. Look for brands that only use biodegradable materials.

Many luxury brands have faced scrutiny due to their insensitive messaging that have offended and excluded communities. For example, Prada settled with New York City to increase its diversity after being called out on its culturally insensitive imagery. And Dolce & Gabbana offended all of China with its racist advertising. Pay attention to both the brand’s messaging and its hiring practices — do they reflect the mistaken belief that only white people deserve luxury fashion? Or do they balance price exclusivity with image inclusivity? 

In the end, if a luxury item is worth it or not would depend on your discretion. It comes down to the cost-per-wear, and if you consider the expense a smart investment. Knowing all that, if you only wear the very best, here are some of our favorite sustainable luxury fashion brands:

What we love: Another Tomorrow creates modern, sensual, high-quality, and timeless products with only organic natural materials that support soil health, ecosystems, and communities. It’s B-Corp certified, prioritizing materials with either a Global Recycled Standard or Global Organic Textile Standard label. It uses forest-based fibers from responsibly managed forests with zero net contribution to deforestation. The brand also offers resale to further extend its garments’ life and reduce raw material usage. 

Price range: $95 to $1,950

What we love: Nicholas K creates timeless designs that are made in a socially and environmentally responsible way, inspired by a mix of cultural heritage and inclusivity. It chooses natural and renewable materials over synthetic alternatives. The brand does not use fur and uses eco-friendly, low-impact certified dyes. 

Price range: $126 to $1,032

What we love: Since 2006, B-Corp brand Arnsdorf has been creating ethical clothing in their own factory in Melbourne using only organic and biodegradable fibers. Each product description includes not only the material breakdown but also a cost breakdown to help customers understand the real cost of ethically made clothing. You can also find out the machinist and wider team involved in making each Arnsdorf piece. Every collection is produced in limited runs that can be tailored in their Melbourne store to fit precise measurements. Arnsdorf also offers lifetime repairs on all its products. 

Price range through Undone: $129 to $1,250

What we love: Founded in 2012, VOZ is a B-certified ethical fashion company that pays living wages for every textile and sewn garment. It uses sustainable fibers and processes to create its elegantly cut and free-spirited apparel and accessories collections. The company collaborates with politically and economically marginalized women to create fashion collections and provide design leadership, training, and opportunity for indigenous women in the rural regions where they reside.

Price range: $250 to $2,495

What we love: So Good To Wear creates luxury, cashmere essentials by employing artisans in a fair-trade knitting factory in Nepal. The brand uses GOTS-certified non-toxic dyes. Its cashmere knitters are well-trained, well-compensated, and work under fair and safe labor conditions. A portion of each item’s sale is saved in a special fund, contributing to Nepal’s rebuilding after the earthquakes. 

Price range: $89 to $854

What we love: Each of Roopa’s vibrant, one-of-a-kind clothing pieces is designed as a future heirloom, to be thoughtfully handed down from one generation to the next, reinterpreted over and over again. All manufacturing processes occur under one roof in Bangalore, India, where skilled artisans collaborate on each collection and ensure the skills and craftsmanship like beading, embroidery, weaving, dyeing, and printing continues to grow, flourish and evolve. Natural fabrics, such as silk and recycled cotton, are dyed and block printed using natural, eco-friendly dyes.

Price range: $120 to $1,800

What we love: Lauren Manoogian’s knitwear collections are ethically crafted in Peru, where traditional craftsmanship intersects with experimental techniques. Offering small, specialty-focused seasonal collections, Manoogian’s focus ranges from signature hand-loomed wool, cashmere, and organic cotton knits to vegetable-tanned leather accessories.

Price range through La Garçonne: $250 to $950

What we love: Angel Chang is a zero-carbon womenswear line handmade by indigenous mountain tribes in China that follow ancient techniques. Its traditional craftsmanship includes organic and all-natural raw materials like cotton, ramie, flax, and hemp, making its wastewater chemical-free and non-polluting.

Price range:  $875 to $1,280

What we love: Gabriela Hearst launched her eponymous label, a luxury women’s and men’s ready-to-wear and accessories collection, in 2015. Each garment is constructed with conscientious materials, including silk, cashmere, linen, and wool from her family’s Uruguayan ranch. The brand uses biodegradable TIPA packaging and is committed to being plastic-free and investing in zero-waste stores.

Price range through Yoox: $388 to $5,505

What we love: Founded in 2016, Ziran uses Xiang Yun Sha silk to create its sustainable garments. The founder discovered this type of silk while researching ancient Chinese techniques in college and instantly fell in love with its luxurious beauty and cultural significance. The silk is natural, wrinkle-resistant, and its production is only made four months out of the year. All of the Zian pieces are hand-cut and sewn in Downtown Los Angeles.

Price range: $30 to $1,100

What we love: Autumn Adeigbo designs colorful, fashion-forward clothing for women who like to stand out in a crowd. As a proud, Black, female business owner, Autumn is devoted to positively impacting women’s lives across cultures by utilizing female-owned production facilities in the U.S. and providing global artisans with meaningful employment and fair wages. From sourcing to delivery, Autumn embraces sustainable practices by purchasing in limited quantities and producing only what is ordered, minimizing fabric waste, excessive manufacturing, and surplus stock. Which means her collections are eco-friendly and exclusive.

Price range: $32 to $2,200

What we love: Burberry made the top of Remake’s 2022 Fashion Accountability Report, and for good reason. The brand’s transparency goes beyond its carbon footprint and into its holistic land management practices for its material sourcing, from grazing to farming. Burberry’s Regeneration Fund is dedicated to protecting biodiversity, anti-deforestation projects, and neutralizing carbon-negative environmental impacts. 

Price range: $110 to $6,900

What we love: Founded in 2016, BITE is a contemporary, luxury womenswear label with a mission to create sustainable yet thoughtfully designed clothes. Each piece is handcrafted and tailored to ensure the perfect fit. It sources natural, organic fibers such as GOTS-certified cotton, as well as recycled and low-impact fabrics with environmental and social certifications. 

Watch out for: There’s no transparency within the brand’s website that offers information about its labor practices, although it does trace its supply chain from the beginning to the end of production.

Price range: $190 to $1,990

What we love: As one of the world’s most desirable fashion houses, Gucci claims that its “eclectic, contemporary, romantic products represent the pinnacle of Italian craftsmanship.” The brand is committed to environmental benchmarks and guarantees that it will make 95% of its raw material traceable. Gucci is also committed to the sustainability objectives set out by the parent company Kering, which states several sustainability strategies including reducing its environmental footprint and choosing responsible and well-managed supply sources. According to Fashion Revolution’s Transparency Index, it is the most transparent brand in the luxury category, coming in 28 out of the 250 large brands assessed. If you’re looking for a recognizable luxury logo that is more ethical than the rest, then Gucci would be the way to go. 

Watch out for: The brand doesn’t provide any evidence that it ensures a fair wage for workers along its supply chain, and still uses some animal materials including exotic animal fur, leather, and exotic animal skin.

Price range through Matches: $195 to $11,500

What we love: Stella McCartney’s eponymous label designs ethical and high-end clothing, shoes, and accessories with a responsible and modern ethos. Its cruelty-free designs lead the brand to pilot new alternative materials, pushing towards circularity and sustainability (though very few of these test garments and accessories have ever made it beyond the hype stage.) Stella McCartney measures and reports its direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions with an approved science-based target to reduce them.

Watch out for: As a cruelty-free brand, Stella McCartney relies heavily on polyurethane leather alternatives, which are commonly known to not last as long as real leather — frustrating given the high price of the luxury items. It’s not a vegan brand, either — responsibly-sourced wool is on the menu. 

Price range: $195 to $8,500

What we love: Caravana’s versatile, free-spirited and Mayan-inspired resort wear is handmade in Mexico by artisans honoring traditional techniques, each taking many hours to create. The brand uses a homemade dye manufactured in Mexico, which means less of an environmental impact on nature. 

Watch out for: The brand uses calf leather in some products, so be on the lookout if you’re looking for cruelty-free options.

Price range through Farfetch: $127 to $587

What we love: Founded in 1952, Chloé is a ​B-Corp certified ​French luxury brand that creates free-spirited femininity bags, shoes, ready-to-wear apparel and accessories. The brand plans on increasing its lower-impact materials (organic, recycled and deadstock) and fair trade sourcing across all categories by 2025.​​ ​100% of its product teams​ are trained on lower-impact materials and circularity.​

Watch out for: While the brand uses some eco-friendly materials, it is not transparent about labor practices along its supply chain including livable wages and safety measures. 

Price range through Farfetch: $228 to $8,660

What we love: Ganni is perhaps better known for its size inclusivity, offering sizes up to 4X. The brand offers a huge selection of statement pieces in a variety of colors, patterns, and fabrics. It recently became B-Corp certified, publishing a transparent annual responsibility report outlining the brand’s sustainable measures, goals, and areas for improvement. 

Watch out for: Not all of the brand’s products are made from 100% natural materials, but it still offers a wide selection of products that are. 

Price range: $30 to $1,295

Marketplaces

What we love: YOOXYGEN is a division within YOOX that is dedicated to featuring a curation of responsible fashion. It chooses its selection based on the brand’s transparency, and if its products are created while being mindful of the planet, people, and animals.

What we love: One of the best ways to make luxury items that weren’t made sustainably in the past more sustainable is to reuse them. Part of sustainability in luxury fashion is shopping vintage or out-of-date items, which helps keep these once-loved pieces out of landfills and oceans. The RealReal offers everyone a chance to do just that: love a piece that was no longer wanted by its original owner. You can find all your favorite luxury brands and more in this incredible secondhand marketplace, which has a constantly-changing inventory of luxury clothes, handbags, shoes, and accessories for a reasonable price. All of the items listed are checked by its experts for authenticity, so you can be sure your vintage finds are real.

Watch out for: Some vintage luxury products were made using materials that could illicit an acute skin or other allergic reaction, so be cautious if you’re someone who has a sensitivity to certain chemicals used historically in fashion (think formaldehyde and adhesives). It’s not the platform’s fault, but it is something to keep in mind as you shop!