The luxury fashion industry is filled with problems. The sector is responsible for roughly 10% of global carbon emissions, using 79 trillion liters of water annually and contributing to plastic and chemical pollution. That’s where sustainable luxury brands hit the catwalk to strut their stuff.
From sustainable luxury jewelry brands to ethical luxury bag brands, these companies have a lower environmental footprint through environmentally friendly materials, low-waste production practices, and ethical working conditions.
But which luxury brands are sustainable?
We have a whole list we’re placing right in your lap (of luxury), but as we refresh our articles in coming months, we’ll be revising this list using our new Brand Rating System. This extends what we look for in fashion brands to 22 criteria, such as what materials are used, how they’re sourced, and how the brand takes responsiblity for what happens to them once clothes are no longer wanted. Read up on our new methodology here.
We independently research all featured brands and we ask them to confirm their claims. In many cases we personally review recommended products. This post contains affiliate links which means we may earn a commission if you buy something. Learn more here.
The Most Ethical Luxury Brands For Guilt-Free Glamour
MALAIKA New York hits the runway with a small supply chain, deadstock fabrics, third-party certifications, and low-waste techniques.
For ethical luxury brands that are cruelty-free, check out Stella McCartney. The iconic vegetarian brand features a vast list of vegan fabrics backed by transparency, ethical business practices, and certifications.
Index: Most Sustainable Luxury Fashion Brands
- Malaika New York Jump to brand
- Eileen Fisher Jump to brand
- Santicler Jump to brand
- Stella McCartney Jump to brand
- One Vintage Jump to brand
- Gabriela Hearst Jump to brand
- Maria Mcmanus Jump to brand
Malaika New York
About MALAIKA New York
Price Range: $39–$299
MALAIKA New York is topping sustainable luxury clothing brands with 90% of its collections and garments made from low-waste techniques with an average waste well below the 30% average. As one of the most ethical luxury brands, they have a wide range of dresses, tops, skirts, vests, jackets, and accessories.
One of the high-end sustainable brand’s most stunning pieces is the Knee Length Black Dress, which features upcycled bike tube detailing to secure the snaps. The dress is designed to flatter any body type with a versatile five-snap design for multiple looks.
MALAIKA New York’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
MALAIKA implements as many upcycled and sustainable materials into its garments as possible. They only use GOTS or OEKO-TEX certified cotton, and most pieces contain at least 5–10% deadstock fabrics and the regenerative material ECONYL® yarn made from discarded nylon waste.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Their luxury clothing is manufactured at Kopenhag Studio in Izmir, Turkey, ensuring fair working conditions and fewer carbon emissions.
The factory focuses on sustainable production, ethical working conditions, and traditional craftsmanship. MALAIKA works closely with its partner to monitor production and working environments. All Kopenhag employees are paid well above minimum wage and receive maternity leave and additional holiday time.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
Through various sustainable initiatives, MALAIKA is changing the fashion industry’s standards. They purchase second-hand equipment in their studio, like sewing, cover-stitch, and overlock machines. This reduces waste and the need for raw materials.
Samples are developed in-house to lower CO2 emissions. They also utilize LED light bulbs and renewable energy sources, like wind and solar power, and incorporates mostly biodegradable and/or recyclable packaging materials.
Inclusivity:
The sustainable designer brand offers women’s sizes between XS–XXL.
Eileen Fisher
About Eileen Fisher
Price Range: $68–$798
Eileen Fisher maintains a simple motto: “A simple wardrobe. A simple life.” This shows in the luxury sustainable fashion brand’s catalog of elegant and minimalist sweaters, cardigans, dresses, sleepwear, shoes, outerwear, pants, and accessories.
You can select from any number of their elegant pieces or go for something a bit more chic, like the hand-knit Peruvian Alpaca High Collar Cardigan.
Eileen Fisher’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Eileen Fisher utilizes many sustainable materials, such as organic cotton, hemp fabric, linen, FSC-certified TENCEL™ lyocell and modal fabric, RDS-certified down, LWG-certified leather, chlorine-free wool, recycled polyester, nylon, and ethical cashmere.
Supply chain & labor practices:
The ethical luxury fashion brand is a Certified B Corp with suppliers and manufacturers across the globe, showing where their partners are located and what standards they adhere to. The brand prohibits child and forced labor through its ILO-based Code of Conduct and seeks to mitigate human trafficking in the luxury fashion industry.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
As a Textile Exchange partner, EF reduces its carbon emissions for all its materials by using crop rotation and sustainable processing practices. Many of their stores and office buildings incorporate renewable energy to reduce their carbon footprint further.
Through Eileen Fisher Renew, they provide a take back and resale program, taking back over 1.9 million pieces since its inception. Their Waste No More initiative transforms unsellable garments and fibers into new items, like pillows and home decor.
Inclusivity:
Most of Eileen Fisher’s pieces are offered in sustainable plus-size clothing options ranging from XXS–3X.
Community & charitable giving:
Through the Eileen Fisher Foundation, the brand bolsters women fighting for environmental change among other non-profit organizations.
Santicler
About Santicler
Price Range: $130–$1,240
How can luxury brands be more sustainable?
By following in the footsteps of Santicler. The brand is leading the fashion world through eco-friendly dresses, bodysuits, t-shirts, bottoms, sweaters, cashmere, and accessories.
You can find timeless Organic Cotton Tees for every day wear or add some pizazz with pieces like the Cio Dropped Shoulder Pullover in vibrant blue ethical cashmere fabric.
Santicler’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Santicler’s eco-friendly cashmere features a GRS recycled content certification and is sourced from the family-owned Filati Naturali in Prato, Italy.
Natural fabrics, like merino wool, are ethically sourced by the Italian mill Tollegno 1900. It’s WOOLMARK Total Easy Care, RWS, OEKO-TEX, and ISO 9001:2015 certified. Other sustainable materials, like their washable viscose yarn, are FSC-certified and comply with the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (DHC) protocol.
Organic materials, like Santicler’s organic cotton, are bluesign® approved and GOTS and OEKO-TEX certified.
Supply chain & labor practices:
The sustainable designer brand works with a family-owned partner factory in Oradea in North-Western Transylvania and a female-owned hand crochet and knitting company in the same region.
Santicler ensures its partners pay living wages, limit environmental impact, respect employees, and share an ethical mindset. Their management team visits each site in person at least three times a year, conducting audits to ensure they meet their standards.
All of Santicler’s partners recycled all of their post-production waste, and as a member of REACH, there aren’t any heavy metals, mutagenic or reproductive toxicants, carcinogens, or other dangerous chemicals.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
Santicler partners with DHL Green Logistics, supplying eco-conscious shipping and delivery. This partner reduces greenhouse gas emissions through renewable energy sources and innovative technologies.
They don’t overproduce, either. Santicler produces small-run orders based on demand and ships everything in biodegradable and compostable packaging.
Inclusivity:
You’ll find women’s sizes between XS–L.
Community & charitable giving:
Santicler makes monthly contributions to SeaLegacy to support conservation and rehabilitation projects around the world.
They also support other sustainability initiatives, like Eden Reforestation, an organization responsible for restoring mangrove forests in Kenya. So far, they have planted 165 mangrove trees and four coral reefs and have removed 600 bottles of marine waste.
Stella McCartney
About Stella McCartney
Price Range: $65–$8,500
Stella McCartney is one of the most sustainable luxury brands on our list—not to mention one of the most iconic, being the brainchild of Paul McCartney’s daughter.
They feature an extensive list of items, including coats, cardigans, outerwear, shorts, bottoms, jumpsuits, sweatshirts, tops, shoes, accessories, and vegan handbags—all made from vegan, sustainable materials. Tops like the Chevron Stripe Cape Jumper offer a modern look but feature eco-friendly fabrics, like RWS-certified wool.
Each piece has sustainability notes, so you can find more information on the materials and their impact.
Stella McCartney’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Stella incorporates various alternative materials like Savian, NATIVA™ regenerative traceable wool, grape-based vegan leather, other fruit leathers, Mylo™, BioPuff®, and MIRUM®.
They also use staple eco-friendly materials, including recycled cashmere, forest-friendly viscose, organic cotton, wool, and recycled nylon and polyester.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Stella McCartney believes in a transparent supply chain, reporting, measuring, and tracking. They’re partnered with UNECE, a blockchain platform that provides detailed evidence of production practices. UNECE requires certifications and standards, like OEKO-TEX and the Better Cotton Initiative.
Stella also partners with SOKTAS and NATIVA™ to implement regenerative agriculture practices and traceable, regeneratively farmed wool.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
Since 2012, they have only used FSC-certified paper made from at least 50% recycled content in their packaging. They also signed the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastic Economy Global Commitment in 2018, pledging to reduce the plastic they use by 2025.
They fight for sustainability in many ways, like co-hosting the launch of We co-hosted the launch The Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s report, A New Textiles Economy: Redesigning Fashion’s Future.
Plus, their Product Restricted Substances List was developed to ensure all their direct suppliers, materials, and components adhere to health, safety, and sustainability regulations.
Inclusivity:
Stella McCartney provides women’s sizes in 34–50 and XS–XL. They also have unisex sizes ranging from XXS to XXL.
Community & charitable giving:
They have been a cruelty-free, vegetarian retailer since 2001 and contribute to multiple charities, like ASPCA, Animals Asia, and the Children’s Action Network (CAN).
One Vintage
About One Vintage
Price Range: £60–£2,800
One Vintage is one of the best sustainable luxury brands for upcycled, antique fabrics. Founder Marcelle Symons and her team release new collections weekly, featuring one-of-a-kind blouses, skirts, knitwear, kimonos, trousers, and outerwear.
Pieces like the Stella are genuinely unique, featuring embroidered silver stars throughout the top for a stunning look.
One Vintage’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
One Vintage reworks vintage garments and accessories using the finest antique fabrics. Each piece will vary but can include fibers like wool, synthetics, cotton, denim, and more.
Supply chain & labor practices:
All of the repurposed vintage clothing at One Vintage is crafted by a small team of talented tailors and sustainable designers. They allow anyone to visit their studio in London with an appointment.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
All of One Vitange’s textiles are antique, and they use recycled packaging whenever possible.
Gabriela Hearst
About Gabriela Hearst
Price Range: $250–$21,000
Gabriela Hearst is a sustainable luxury bag brand with several accomplishments in their bag.
Born in Uruguay, Gabriela Hearst spent her time on a large ranch surrounded by horses, cattle, and sheep. She spent more than a decade in New York, launching her first collection in 2015 to reflect slow fashion, attention to detail, and intentional design.
Their collections feature a wide array of jackets, blouses, dresses, skirts, sweaters, trousers, handbags, accessories, and more made from innovative materials.
The Nina Handbag is one of their original pieces, named after artist and activist Nina Simone. It features a round pouch made in Italy from high-quality Nappa leather.
Gabriela Hearst’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
The ethical luxury bag brand produces premium apparel and accessories from sustainable fabrics, like certified natural fibers, aloe-treated linen, silver material to prevent cell phone radiation, deadstock fabrics, wool, cashmere, twill, and more.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Most of Gabriela Hearst’s garments, accessories, and jewelry are made in Italy. Working with EON, a leading digital platform for tracking the apparel lifecycle in the fashion industry.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
In 2018, the brand opened its flagship store in New York without any synthetic materials or chemicals. The conscientious approach, natural materials, and design choices allowed them to recycle 90% of the material waste generated through construction.
Gabriela Hearst uses TIPA flexible packaging, a bio-based alternative to conventional plastic materials that are fully compostable within six months. By 2019, the company achieved plastic-free for their front and back-of-house operations through this material and recycled cardboard hangers.
They were also the first brand to introduce a carbon-neutral runway show in 2019.
Inclusivity:
The ethical designer brand offers women’s sizes between XS–L and men’s sizes between XS–XXL.
Community & charitable giving:
Gabriela Hearst’s impact has exceeded the fashion industry. After witnessing the atrocities of climate change firsthand on a visit to rural Kenya for Save the Children (on which serves on the board of trustees), she pledged $600K to support over 1,000 families in the area.
For the fifth consecutive year, she has partnered with Save the Children for the holidays, with 100% of net proceeds across all ready-to-wear, handbags, and accessories to be donated to support the Children’s Emergency Response Fund (CEF).
She was also awarded as an Environment Honoree by the British Fashion Council in 2020.
In 2022, she participated in the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (CoP27) to examine how fusion power can help fight global warming.
Maria Mcmanus
About Maria McManus
Price Range: $120–$1,990
Sustainable luxury fashion brands like Maria McManus are helping us enter a more sustainable future through eco-friendly fabrics and responsible sourcing. Owner Maria was born in Dublin, Ireland, and lived across five continents before landing in New York City.
You’ll find a comprehensive catalog of tops, sweaters, trousers, blazers, jackets, dresses, skirts, hoodies, and outerwear. But their best-seller is the Oversized Shirt, a boxy garment with a refined elongated fit made from Italian merino wool and plant-based Corozo buttons.
Maria McManus’ Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Maria McManus loves recycled fabrics, like recycled cashmere, as it uses less water, electricity, chemicals, and carbon.
All of their cotton yarns are GOTS-certified to contain at least 95% organic cotton, and are not treated with chlorine bleach, formaldehyde, or other harmful toxicants. McManus also uses GRS-certified nylon fabrics and finer details like buttons are made from plant-based Corozo materials.
Supply chain & labor practices:
All of Maria McManus’ materials are thoughtfully sourced from Europe and Japan, using the highest quality partners available. The recycled cashmere, for instance, is produced in Italy, where a factory gathers second hand cashmere sweaters worldwide.
Because Maria McManus’ fibers are certified, their suppliers adhere to strict standards regarding worker rights, working conditions, wages, traceability, and sustainability.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
Maria McManus emphasizes sustainable practices, like using less water and chemicals and creating less waste. All of their production is traceable, ensuring everyone who works on a garment is treated with respect and paid a living wage.
Inclusivity:
Maria McManus carries luxury women’s wear in sizes XS–L.
Community & charitable giving:
They partner with organizations like Every Mother Counts to help make pregnancy and childbirth safe, respectful, and accessible for every mother across the globe.
