Best Sustainable Canadian Brands to Patronize
Sustainability can’t be overemphasized in today’s world. More than ever, more Canadian sustainable brands are seeking ways to limit their impact on the planet, understandably. And if we ever want to promote sustainability, such brands need our full support.
Sustainable Canadian fashion is all the rage, and homegrown brands are at the forefront of this development. It’s an impressive movement– one worth exploring.
So, we’ll check out the ethical fashion brands in Canada.
What Makes a Brand Sustainable?
Before we dive into the top Canadian sustainable brands in the fashion industry, we’d love to unravel what makes a brand sustainable.
Factors that serve as metrics for sustainability include:
- Materials used in production
- Working conditions of employees
- Impact on the environment
- Social responsibility of the company.
One of the key factors in sustainable fashion is the use of eco-friendly materials like organic cotton, bamboo, or recycled fabrics.
These fabrics are often produced without harmful chemicals which have a lower impact on the environment.
Furthermore, sustainable brands prioritize fair labor practices and ensure workers are paid fairly and work safely.
Top Sustainable Canadian Clothing Brands
Here are the top Canadian brands that are environmentally conscious.
1. Frank and Oak
Frank and Oak is a Canadian fashion brand that was founded in 2012. This brand commits itself to sustainable and ethical practices. That’s why it designs its clothing to minimize environmental impact.
Frank and Oak achieve this sustainability using eco-friendly materials like organic cotton, recycled polyester, and Tencel.
2. Kotn
This Toronto-based fashion brand creates high-quality basics from sustainable materials. Kotn sources its cotton from small-scale farmers in Egypt. And they pay above-market prices to ensure the farmers receive fair compensation for their work.
Moreover, it partners with local factories to produce ethical clothing. The best part about this brand is that it reduces waste by only creating what they need.
3. Encircled
Encircled is a Canadian fashion brand that produces versatile women’s clothing. It reduces waste using eco-friendly materials like Tencel, Bamboo, and Organic Cotton. What’s more, these pieces are made in Canada.
Focusing on creating timeless pieces, Encircle manufactures fashion staples that can not be worn in various settings.
4. Triarchy
Triarchy is a Vancouver-based sustainable clothing brand that specializes in sustainable denim. The company uses eco-friendly materials, including organic cotton and recycled denim.
Triarchy also strives to reduce water waste by using a low-impact dyeing process that limits water consumption by 90%.
5. Miik
Miik is a sustainable fashion brand known for its sustainable fabrics. This ethical fashion brand uses bamboo and Tencel. To further boost sustainability, ensures that all materials are sourced from sustainable sources.
6. Omi Woods
Thriving as a Toronto-based fashion brand, Omi Woods creates sustainable clothing from ethically sourced and recycled materials.
The brand focuses on making versatile, timeless pieces that serve numerous purposes. By using eco-friendly materials like Tencel, organic cotton, and recycled polyester, they leave less impact on the environment.
Most importantly, Omi prioritizes ethical practices, making sure that its clothing is produced by artisans who are paid fair wages.
7. Hilary MacMillan
This brand is famous for promoting ethical products. It’s a sustainable Canadian clothing brand that produces clothing made from eco-friendly and cruelty-free materials.
Hilary MacMillan focuses on creating stylish and sustainable clothing with a strong emphasis on moral and eco-friendly practices.
It works with bamboo, Tencel, and recycled polyester to minimize their environmental impact during production.
8. Ninety-Eight
Ninety-Eight is a sustainable fashion brand that crafts clothing from eco-friendly materials like organic cotton and Tencel. The brand’s focus is on creating fashionable clothing sustainably.
Ninety-Eight minimizes its environmental impact through its production process and partners with local factories to produce clothing ethically.
9. Tara Davis Studio
As one of the top Canadian sustainable clothing brands, Tara weaves clothing out of upcycled materials. It creates unique and one-of-a-kind pieces that are stylish without risking the environment. Tara uses materials like vintage fabrics and recycled denim to produce classy pieces.
10. Cossac
Cossac switches up its creation process using eco-friendly materials like Tencel, organic cotton, and recycled polyester. The ethical clothing brand crafts stunning fashion pieces that stand the test of time, reducing the need for constant consumption.
11. House of Nonie
The best thing about House of Nonie is how creative their creations are. This brand uses nothing but eco-friendly materials like organic cotton.
The company creates ageless chic outfits without taking straying from ethical boundaries. Thus, House of Nonie is committed to sustainable practices, partnering with other factories for sustainable production processes.
12. Mary Young
Mary Young designs sustainable lingerie and loungewear from eco-friendly materials such as bamboo and Tencel. It focuses on creating comfortable, elegant, ethical, and sustainable pieces for a wide range of customers.
13. Smythe
Smythe’s does a great job at creating professional, classy outfits. Its high-end jackets and blazers are from Tencel or recycled polyester. Smythe sustainably manufactures unique outfits.
14. Reformation
Being a sustainable clothing brand, Reformation’s pieces are crafted from Tencel and recycled polyester. It creates classic wear that is sustainable and accessible to everyone. Reformation adopts ethical and sustainable practices for fair production that leaves less impact.
15. Emma Knudsen
Emma Knudsen makes clothing made from eco-friendly materials like linen. The brand focuses on piecing together creative clothes that are versatile and timeless.
16. DAVI
Davi is one of Canada’s best sustainable fashion brands for all the right reasons. It uses Tencel and recycled polyester to craft stunning fashion staples.
The brand thrives by creating high-quality, versatile pieces designed to last. DAVI commits itself to operate under ethical and sustainable practices. And to foster sustainability, it works with local factories to drive ethical production processes.
17. Tamga Designs
Tamga Designs creates the best clothes out of eco-friendly materials. The brand creates colorful, playful, sustainable, ethical, and lively pieces. And it adopts a transparent supply chain, ensuring its materials are sourced from sustainable sources.
Bonus:
18. Veja
Veja stuck out in the fashion industry for its reliable and eco-friendly production approach. Founded in 2005, it made a name for itself by creating stylish and sustainable sneakers.
The company is dedicated to creatively using eco-friendly materials like organic cotton, wild rubber, and recycled plastic bottles to create its sneakers.
These materials not only reduce the fashion industry’s environmental impact but also provide consumers with an innovative and stunning look.
19. Poppy Barley
Poppy Barley has been making waves in Canada for one main reason. It has a stellar approach to ethical shoemaking.
It was founded in 2012 and has since committed itself to creating high-quality, sustainable shoes while promoting safe production practices.
What sets Poppy Barley apart from other sustainable brands is its focus on creating shoes that are made to last. The brand uses quality leather and works with skilled artisans to create durable, comfortable, stylish shoes.
Poppy Barley also offers a range of sizes and widths to ensure every customer can find a shoe that fits perfectly.
Best Sustainable Canadian Activewear Brands
1. Tonic Active
Tonic Active is a sustainable Canadian brand that makes beautifully crafted activewear from recycled polyester and organic cotton. The apparel company was inspired by the west coast lifestyle. Thus, it focuses primarily on helping people lead a healthy lifestyle. With its fashionable and functional designs, Tonic Active proves that sustainability and style can go hand in hand.
2. Respecterre
Respecterre is one of the eco-friendly local apparel companies in Canada. Its primary production materials are organic and comprised of hemp and bamboo.
The brand manages all the creation processes, from sizing to patternmaking, grading, etc. Hence, it makes all its activewear in Canada.
With its focus on sustainability and ethics, Respecterre proves that the fashion industry can be beautiful and responsible.
3. Inner Fire
Inner Fire favors high-quality yoga apparel carefully crafted with natural materials like recycled polyester and organic cotton. It adopts ethical production practices to promote a healthy environment. It never fails to deliver gorgeous, functional designs to its loyal customers.
4. Daub + Design
When you need sustainable unique, everyday activewear, you can turn to Daub + Design.
Working in small production runs, this Canadian fashion brand offers limited edition prints. Moreover, they make all their activewear from natural stuff like bamboo and organic cotton.
5. Karma Athletics
Karma Athletics is an activewear brand producing top-notch yoga apparel in Canada. Looking to make less impact on the environment, Karma uses recycled polyester to make its pieces. Karma provides the basics to Canadians in a way that doesn’t come at a cost to the environment.
Top Sustainable Canadian Bags and Purses Brands
1. Matt & Nat
Matt & Nat crafts premium cruelty-free bags and purses sustainably. This Canadian label makes pieces with recycled nylon, rubber, and cork. The brand was birthed in 1995 in Montreal. Ever since the company has focused on creating the statement vegan bags never puts the environment at risk.
2. Hoi Bo
The brand called Hoi Bo, was created to thoughtfully produce lasting accessories and clothes in Toronto. The classy bags from Hoi Bo are often a product of organic materials. The brand manufactures minimalistic and functional bags and sustainable and stylish purses.
3. Pixie Mood
Pixie Mood inspires shoppers through the stylish vegan bags that form its collection. It crafts sustainable bags and purses made from eco-friendly materials like recycled plastic bottles and cork.
Some of its designs are inspired by vintage classics. Pixie Mood’s products are intentional pieces, carefully made with the least impact on the planet. Thus, the brand commits itself to transparency in its supply chain.
4. Brave Soles
Brave Soles features impeccable shoes with unmatched creativity. Its mission is to foster beautiful fashion that is kind to people and the planet at an affordable price. Therefore, it makes products made from eco-friendly materials like recycled tires and upcycled leather.
Driven by ethical production, it makes products grounded in modern style and sustainable creativity. Brave Soles believes in full transparency in their supply chain, thus, their materials are from fair sources.
Sustainable Fashion Trends
Obviously, several sustainable fashion trends have sprung up in the last couple of years.
One trend is using eco-friendly materials like recycled fabrics, bamboo, and Tencel. Another trend is the rise of circular fashion, which involves reducing waste by using recycled materials. Sometimes, companies design products that are easy to repair and recycle.
How to Support Sustainable Canadian Brands
There are several ways to support sustainable Canadian brands. Firstly, consumers can shop from these brands directly or at stores that carry sustainable products.
Researching and selecting brands that prioritize eco-friendly and ethical practices is also essential.
In addition, consumers can support sustainable brands by sharing their products on social media and spreading awareness about the importance of sustainability.
Luckily, Canada is flooded with a plethora of skilled sustainable fashion brands. So, you can effortlessly patronize a local brand.
Supporting Sustainable Canadian Brands on a Budget
Shopping for sustainable brands can sometimes be more expensive than buying fast fashion or non-eco-friendly products.
However, there are several ways to support sustainable brands on a budget. One way is to shop for products on sale or during discount periods. Besides that, you can check out secondhand or vintage items.
Finally, you may invest in high-quality, long-lasting products to save money in the long run.
In A Nutshell
Sustainable Canadian brands lead the way in eco-friendly, ethical fashion. By supporting these brands, you can reduce their environmental impact and contribute to a more sustainable future.
Whether you’re in the clothing or home goods market, there are plenty of sustainable Canadian brands to choose from.
So next time you’re shopping, choose a sustainable option and make a positive impact on the world around you.