5 Big Brands Making Sustainable Collections

Sustainability is becoming mainstream and large fashion brands are releasing sustainable collections in response to consumers wanting more sustainable options. Around 88 percent of consumers want brands to help them be more ethical. We’ve compiled five large brands that have come out with sustainable collections or introduced sustainable practices into their company. This doesn’t mean all of these companies are automatically carbon-neutral and ethical. However, it does exemplify that large corporations are interested in becoming more attractive to more conscious consumers. 

Adidas x Parley 

Parley is an organization that focuses on conserving oceans and the billions of aquatic animals that live in them. They’ve teamed up with Adidas to make a collection of shoes made from Primeblue, “a high-performance recycled material made in part with Parley Ocean Plastic.” Some shoes are made with more Primblue than others, but none of the footwear contains virgin plastic.

The Men’s Alphaboost Parley Running Shoe is one of several options available from the recycled ocean plastic collection. 

Stella McCartney

It’s not often that you can buy a luxury handbag that isn’t made from leather. Luckily, all of Stella McCartney’s bags are made from vegan leather. The recycled polyester is surprisingly realistic. McCartney said, “one of the biggest compliments is when people go in and buy a Falabella bag and they have no idea that they’re not real leather.”

In March of 2021, McCartney introduced the world’s first lab-grown mushroom leather called Mylo™️. It’s not for sale but will hopefully make its way into the commercial market sooner than later. 

The Black Mini Falabella U is one of the brand’s classic styles. 

H&M

H&M isn’t known for being very sustainable or ethical, however, it is important to acknowledge their effort. Hopefully, drawing more attention to and applauding certain aspects of their Conscious Line will make them appreciate the demand for ethically made and sustainably sourced clothing. Every piece in the line is at least 50 percent “more sustainable materials, like organic cotton or recycled polyester.” However, recycled cotton will only make up 20 percent of a product from the Conscious Line “for quality reasons.” While we wish they would be more specific for the percentages of recycled fibers in each specific garment, we appreciate the gesture. Pieces are similarly priced to garments in other collections. 

Nike

Nike offers a recycled polyester piece and a few sustainable blends. Some garments, like certain soccer jerseys, are made from 100 percent recycled polyester. Nike’s integrated this sustainable practice into several lines, not just one isolated collection. On their website, Nike says, “recycled polyester produces up to 30% lower carbon emissions than virgin polyester. Nike diverts an average of 1 billion plastic bottles annually from landfill and waterways.” 

Zara 

Zara’s Join Life Collection is similar to H&M’s Conscious line. Zara isn’t known for being ethical or sustainable. They promote trend cycles and overconsumption. However, like with H&M, acknowledging their effort might make them appreciate how important making more systematic changes to the way they make their clothes and compensate their workers. The cellulose fibers used in the collection are “sourced from controlled growth forests, respecting old-growth and protected forests.” Lyocell, viscose, and modal are all used. Zara also uses less water in production for their line and has a closed-loop system to conserve and reuse water. 

On their website, information about the textiles and why they are sustainable is available next to each piece from the Join Life Collection.

What do you think? 

Do these sustainable collections and practices make these big brands more appealing to you? Is it all greenwashing or are there sincere intentions behind these actions? Navigating the eco-friendly fashion world can be tricky, and we’d love to hear your thoughts on the changes some of the richest fashion brands in the world have made. 

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• A Boom in Second Hand Clothing is Reducing Fashion’s Impact on the Planet
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