Affordable Sustainability: 6+ Student-Friendly Eco-Fashion Brands and How to Spot Them, Featuring Everlane, Reformation, Quince, and More

Updated: September 12, 2023
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Affordable Sustainability: 6+ Student-Friendly Eco-Fashion Brands and How to Spot Them, Featuring Everlane, Reformation, Quince, and More

 

The fashion industry has become a huge environmental problem in recent decades. The issue has become so extreme that whole new study curricula are developed—colleges of arts and fashion offer BA and MA in a sustainable fashion. If you are seeking a degree in the creative industry, you must have heard about this problem and researched it. 

 

Sure, most students do not miss the opportunity to buy essays from the writing service EssayHub, but it doesn’t mean they don’t care. Most who have at least once addressed an essay writing service don’t have time for such minor assignments. 

 

Some promote eco- or social-friendly initiatives, some just try to keep up with their problems, and others look for the work-study-life balance, sometimes combining more than one job with studies. Whatever reasons the last type of people is guided by, it’s evident that they can’t afford to purchase clothes from brands with heavy prices. 

 

The problem with low prices is that those are usually guaranteed due to using a cheap labor force and low-quality materials that pollute the environment and become unusable quite quickly. It is the price of fast fashion. But what if we tell you that you don’t have to break the bank to get sustainable clothes of decent quality?

 

How Do You Recognize Sustainable Clothing Brands?

 

Any modern essay writer working for the best research writing services has dealt with topics connected to sustainability and fashion. Along with other researchers, most of them separate the following qualities of a sustainable fashion business:

 

  • Promotion of the use of organic materials

 

  • Recycling

 

  • Upcycling

 

  • Use of renewable energy

 

  • Use of technologies that reduce the use of water for manufacturing

 

  • Extensive use of vegan materials

 

  • Locally manufactured goods

 

Below, we’ve collected the brands that often meet several criteria. So, welcome the 6+ sustainable brands students can afford!

 

 

Everlane

 

The company’s goals are not those abstract stories about vision and mission people are used to seeing. They are guided by the Paris Agreement and strive towards realistic goals. By 2021, Everlane will have eliminated the use of virgin plastic in manufacturing clothes

 

What concerns footwear, 45% of its plastic components are recycled materials. The packaging is made only of recycled plastic. 

 

Denim can be bought here for up to $100. Tanks, tees, and intimates average price is $25. However, the sales section offers from 30% to 70% off. So, it’s easy to find jeans of good quality under the $40 price tag.

 

Reformation 

 

It is another brand that gives promises and shows proof that it lives up to those. The company is climate-neutral certified. It uses eco-friendly chemicals and renewable energy resources in the manufacturing process. It provides numerous tips on its website on how to take care of your clothes sustainably. Also, Reformation accepts their old apparel and recycles it. 

 

Here, jeans are a bit more expensive than in other shops on the list - around $150, tank tops cost $30-40, and hoodies and sweatshirts cost around $70. In comparison to its counterparts, Reformation may seem rather pricey, but there are three buts:

 

  • Ref’s clothes are made to last longer than ten washes; they are much longer.

 

  • There are a lot of items under $100; there is even a unique collection for them - you can find it on the website.

 

  • And finally, discounts still exist.

 

Quince

 

Cashmere scarfs and sweaters for $50, bottoms for $40, lightweight yet pretty warm, jackets and vests for up to $50 - Quince’s got it all. Of course, there are pricier items, but the majority have low-to-moderate price tags. 

 

The company can afford it due to the reinvented supply chain algorithm without cutting quality. The brand uses organic cotton and cashmere as well as eco-friendly packaging, and it’s been on its way to eliminating the use of virgin plastic in its products.

 

Sustain

 

The company aspires to eliminate its carbon footprint. It might not be possible these days, but their striving for perfection bears fruit. All the dyes for clothes are extracted from plants, and the materials used for manufacturing are organic and plastic-free. They include mainly:

 

  • Tagua nut

 

  • Cotton

 

  • Hemp

 

  • Paper

 

  • Pigments from plants and herbs

 

  • Natural rubber

 

Besides, Sustain also sells natural lake pigments that can be used in painting and naturally dyed threads for those who’d like to create a sustainable piece of clothing themselves! The prices are up to $100, but the average for clothing items is $50.

 

Yoga Democracy

 

For those who look for budget athleisure clothes, `Yoga Democracy will be one of the best choices. The brand is committed to using recycled plastic bottles, fishing nets, and a no-water dyeing technique. Here, hoodies cost around $50, shorts - around $40, and bottoms with the boldest patterns - up to $90.

 

Is There Something Else?

 

Well, it’s hard to mention all the worthy brands in one article without making a listicle out of it. So, here are some extra options for you:

 

  • Brook There

 

  • Outdoor Voices

 

  • Rey Swimwear

 

  • Arielle

 

  • American Giant

 

  • Made Trade

 

  • Outerknown

 

 

What is more, we’ve got one more recommendation all online shopping fans will love. For those who still struggle to find a suitable brand based on the lists above, there is an Otrium website. Its founders believe that every piece of clothing should and can be worn and shouldn’t be left to rot in landfills. They have three categories of goods:

 

  • Smarter for the wardrobe - a special Conscious section will narrow your search for sustainable brands.

 

  • Smarter for the wallet - the discounts here reach up to 75%.

 

  • Smarter for the industry - you can buy unsold fashion items at the end of their season.

 

The company also provides regular reports on the carbon footprint of its business and the impact of its conscious steps toward a more sustainable future. And we hope you will be one more person making the same steps to preserve our planet!