I love the idea of buying British and trying to where I can but the truth is the high street is filled with fast fashion built in sweatshops.

It can take a lot of time and research to find good British brands as there are just so few to choose from, so I thought it would be good to put a discussion together for people to talk about any British brands they've used (Ideally made in the UK, but I know that's rare) to build our awareness.

Crossposting from r/ethicalfashion (with some extra context here) as I thought it might be something that folks here are interested in.

I started moving towards slow fashion last summer, I've been aware of the problems with fast fashion for a while but ultimately seeing that lots of big companies weren't paying garment workers for finished products during the middle of a pandemic really pushed me to give ethical fashion brands another try.

Common complaints about slow fashion are that it's boxy, shapeless and beige. Or, that it's expensive. These were my complaints too. I was determined to find out whether this was actually the case and through a lot of research and lateral thinking, I've found over 100 places to shop for ethical clothing that meet my standards.

There have been discussions on this sub about ethical fashion being boring and not worth the money. And having come out the other side of this journey, it's just not true, you just have to look a bit harder.

To note:

My priorities are fair wages/labour practices then the environment. Most of these are UK-based, some are European which means they aren't all shipping here right now but will hopefully be able to in the future. Lots of places do ship internationally.

Some indie shops listed don't accept returns which I personally think is an unethical practice and also illegal when selling online in the UK but I know some customers don't care if it's a small business so I've included some indie brands I wouldn't personally shop at.

Mostly women's clothes, cause that's what I wear.

General

• Project CeCe - directory to find an item and it will show you which brands are selling it

• Wearth London - online department store

• Sancho's - indie, black-owned business that stocks various brands

• 69b Boutique - indie shop that stocks various brands

• Marks and Spencer - all rounder, affordable but aimed at middle-aged and up group. They're now selling other brands so watch out for the fast fashion high street brands.

• The Good Apparel (Europe) - sells different brands

'Trendier' Clothing

What you're all here for. My picks for colourful, fun alternatives that gave me faith in ethical fashion!

• Lucy and Yak

• Fullalove

• Before July

• Olive and Frank

• Minga London

• By Megan Crosby

• Aym Studio

• Sisterhood

• Aesthetic Laundry

• Nude Ethics

• Blonde Gone Rogue

• Hoda London

• Vildinis

• Cariki

• G-Star

• Dedicated

• Burnt Soul

• Love ur Look Clothing

• Sugarhill Brighton

• Ilk and Ernie

• Manners London

• Damson Madder

• Nobody's Child - not 100% transparent on all suppliers, but still okay

• Joanie Clothing - not 100% there yet, but moving towards being more ethical/sustainable

• Harkel

• Grass-Fields

• Ocelot Studios

• Nour and the Merchant

• Sloe & Co

• Loud Bodies (Europe?)

• Nu-In (France but Zalando sells some stock in UK)

• Armed Angels (Germany)

• Dang Sthlm (Sweden)

• Thinking Mu (Europe)

• Ecoalf (Europe)

T-Shirt & Sweatshirts

• Literary Emporium

• To Be Frank

• Goose Studios

• Loskey

• Illustrate

• Good Tee Co

• Hundred Club

• Colorful Standard

• The Spark Company

• Tea Please

• Heiko Clothing

Activewear

This is a long list, mostly because ethical activewear tends to focus on yoga which I'm not the biggest fan of and in my search to find cute activewear that is also highly functional, I have come across far more brands than in the other sections (and still ended up buying some high impact bras from Under Armour). Enjoy.

• Jilla Active

• BAM Bamboo Clothing

• Contur

• On-running

• Dermis

• Born Nouli

• Asquith London

• Nitara London

• Kami

• Kiht Collective

• Vivida Lifestyle

• Evamoso

• SOS Activewear

• Phantom Apparel

• Gym+Coffee

• TALA - added with the note that lots of trustpilot reviews say that the leggings are bad quality and quickly split at the crotch

• Lando Studio

• Silou

• League Collective

• Girlfriend Collective (US but lots of UK stockists)

• P.E. Nation (Aussie, but UK stockists include My Gym Wardrobe, Sports Edit, Zalando and Net-a-Porter)

• Olly Olly & Co (Ireland)

• Nine-Pine (Sweden)

• Pure by Luce (Europe)

• Mandala (Germany)

• Caur Paris (France)

• Oyster Active (Lithuania)

• Dharma Bums (Australia, but available on the Sports Edit)

• Gymnation (Finland)

• Weekend Bee (Europe) - sells lots of different activewear brands

• Hine Collection (New Zealand)

Swimwear

• Stay Wild

Outdoorsy Brands

These range from proper outdoorsy brands made for people who like hiking, skiing etc to people who just like nature and functional clothes.

• Acai Outdoorwear

• Finisterre

• Passenger Clothing

• Patagonia

• Kathmandu

• Howie's

• Icebreaker

• Odlo

• Ten Tree

• The Level Collective

• Rapanui

• Findra Clothing

• High Hope

• BAM (see above)

Outerwear

• Deadwood Studios - recycled leather jackets

Denim

• Denim & Bone - upcycled denim jackets

• Boyish Jeans

• Nudie Jeans

• Monkee Genes

• Mud Jeans (Netherlands)

• Kuyichi (Europe)

Pyjamas and Loungewear

Not a lot of options for pyjamas and often quite boring too.

• Noctu

• Walker and Walker - really lovely waffle and velvet co-ords

• Stalf

• Unoa

Basics

• Zola Amour

• Organic Basics

• Honest Basics

Bras, Underwear and Tights

It's basically impossible to find ethical bras that have support (underwire/cups) so have accepted that ethical bras are not for me, but here you go.

• Cosabella

• Boody

• The Nude Label

• Stripe and Stare

• Luva Huva

• Brighton Lace

• Hey Girls - sell period pants, also a charitable org that sells other menstruation products and is aiming help end period poverty in the UK

• Heist Studios - offer multiple shades of nude underwear!

• Billi-London - biodegradable tights

• Better tights

• Do You Green (France)

• Vatter (Germany)

• Organic Basics (Europe, but UK stockists available)

Shoes

• Veja

• Po-Zu

• Ethletic

Jumpers

• Nearly New Cashmere

• Sheep Inc.

Children's Clothing

• Polarn O Pyret

Brands That Don't Excite Me or Are Out of My Price Range But Might Have Gems

This is where most of the traditional ethical clothing list brands belong but I don't hate everything they sell 😅

• Seasalt Cornwall

• Komodo

• Know the Origin

• Thought Clothing

• People Tree

• Baukjen

• Two Thirds (Spain)

• Prana (US)

Miscellaneous

• Sandqvist - backpacks

• HolliBerries - reclaimed leather bags

• Been London - bags and accessories, vegan and recycled leather

• Fab Rap - reusable cloth gift wraps

• Ucon Acrobatics (Germany) - backpacks

Vintage & Secondhand

• Rokit

• Brag Vintage

• Beyond Retro

• True Vintage

• Blue Rinse Vintage

• Micolet

• Cloak Vintage

• Lady K Loves

• Thrift Plus

• Thrifted

• Re-fashion

Disclaimer: please do your own checks for ethics/sustainability. I usually look for clear pages on websites about sustainability, whether they show transparency on their factories, production line and workers and I often email smaller businesses to see where garments are made.

And to add, despite having all of these options, I still don't shop 100% ethically because these websites are still limited in scope. Ethical activewear brands in the UK don't offer high impact sports bras. I am not interested in bralettes so I won't be buying ethical underwear anytime soon. I'm allergic to wool and nothing fits the trio of cosy, affordable and doesn't irritate my skin better than acrylic so my jumpers are fast fashion. But at least I know I have lots of ethical options to look at first!

ETA: Forgot about Cosabella which actually does have supportive bras, so have added that! Have added a couple new brands and removed a couple according to comments.

With the USD and GBP approaching parity, British goods are a very good deal these days. I picked up some Wolford wool tights for a little over half the price they would be in the US. What other premium-ish British brands should I look into that ship to the USA for a reasonable price?