Best ethical clothing brands for sustainable summer style

At Natural Collection we’re committed to bringing you the best in sustainable fashion and ethical clothing brands in the UK and beyond. You can focus on finding your style and rest assured we’ve got everything else covered.

From slow fashion clothing to fair trade and eco-friendly materials, these brands are helping reshape the fashion industry for the better.

Check out some of our favourite brands and their ethical credentials below.

Lily & Me – ethical clothing made in their own factory

Close up of a woman wearing a Lily & Me seersucker dress

Transparency and traceability are key issues in the fashion supply chain, but they’re easily solved by simply owning your own factory. That’s what Lily & Me do, meaning they can ensure not just fair pay and good working conditions but also the most eco-friendly manufacturing methods.

In 2024 they were named “Sustainable Brand of the Year” by Boutique Magazine.

Their use of low-impact fabrics and thoughtful design makes them a strong example of ethical summer clothing, from breathable seersucker dresses to timeless wardrobe staples.

Nomads – slow fashion clothing built to last

A woman wearing a pair of Nomads wide leg jeans in green and a green and white frilled top.

In a world dominated by fast fashion and its environmental and social costs, Nomads are proud to embrace the slow fashion label.

Their small-batch clothing is made using sustainable materials such as:

  • Organic cotton
  • Eco-friendly viscose derived from wood pulp

By prioritising durability and ethical sourcing, Nomads help reduce textile waste and encourage conscious consumption. Their wide leg jeans and  frill shirt are designed to be worn for years, not seasons.

Komodo – sustainable fashion supporting rainforest conservation

Close up of a person wearing a komodo jersey top in blue

As members of 1% For The Planet, Komodo donate 1% of their annual sales to environmental causes – specifically the Sumatran Orangutan Society.

Their mission supports rainforest conservation and ecosystem restoration while producing stylish, ethical clothing such as this jersey top and chambray culottes.

Natural World – organic and eco-friendly footwear

The shoemakers at Natural World use only organic raw materials like cotton, cork and rubber. Their centuries-old eco-friendly production process is designed to minimise environmental impact while maintaining comfort and durability.

They create shoes for adults and children alike, all packaged in recycled and recyclable cardboard boxes. Their classic designs like these marino blue sandals will keep your feet cool during the hot weather.

White Stuff – Fairtrade cotton clothing for everyday wear

A close up of a woman wearing a White Stuff striped cardigan

The cotton farmers supplying White Stuff aren’t just paid the Fairtrade Minimum Price – the cooperatives also receive a Fairtrade Premium to fund schooling, healthcare and irrigation systems.

White Stuff are currently the biggest UK fashion retailer of Fairtrade Sourced Cotton and they show no signs of slowing down.

A 100% cotton garment is just the thing for summer – treat yourself to a leaf print shirt or a green stripe cardigan.

Pachamama – handmade knitwear with ethical production

Close up of a woman wearing the Pachamama knitted sun hat

The antidote to mass-produced clothing, Pachamama’s bespoke and ever-changing designs mean you’ll always stand out from the crowd.

Pachamama have formed close relationships with their suppliers and ensure good working conditions and fair pay.

The clothing is mostly produced by villagers who can fit their knitting around other work and family commitments. Knitwear might not be your first thought in warm weather, but a daisy sun hat will keep you nice and cool on a sunny day.

Why choose sustainable fashion brands?

Choosing ethical clothing brands helps reduce environmental impact, supports fair wages, and encourages responsible production methods.

By investing in slow fashion and sustainable materials, you’re helping to create a more responsible and transparent fashion industry.

Explore our full collection of eco-friendly clothing and sustainable fashion brands to shop more consciously this season.

How we choose the brands we stock (and why it matters)

Have you come across a product on Natural Collection you didn’t think was quite in line with our values? Natural, ethical, sustainable, eco-friendly… these unassuming terms mean lots of different things to different people, and it’s impossible to settle on a single definition that’ll satisfy everybody. We value transparency and honesty above all else, so here’s a quick overview of how we decide what brands to stock.

Our key categories

Every product we sell satisfies at least one of our main criteria: fair trade, organic, eco-friendly, vegan, or made in the UK. That last one is for carbon footprint reasons, since UK made products don’t have to travel far to reach us. Of course these aren’t the only qualities we look out for. We also prioritise products with health & wellness benefits or educational properties, and those produced by charitable organisations or their benefactors

Close up of the cover of the Women in Science book.
Women in Science hardback book

It would be great if everything we stocked satisfied all of these conditions, but that’s just not possible. No product is perfect! In striving to bring you a wide range of products, it’s inevitable that they will meet different ethical standards in different ways.

Certification

3 boxes of English Tea Shop Tea photographed from above against a pale pink background
Organic tea

When you think “fair trade”, you probably think of the Fairtrade Foundation and their reassuring Fairtrade mark. There’s certainly a lot of value in ethical products being so clearly signposted. But Fairtrade certification is expensive and often inaccessible to the smaller businesses we like to support. Organic certifications can be equally difficult to procure. So we’ll flag up those credentials when they’re present, but we’re also diligent about forming close relationships with trustworthy brands who prioritise transparency.

Animal welfare

A bag of V Dog pet food next to some of the food in some clear containers
Vegan pet food

Almost everything we sell is vegetarian friendly – the only exceptions are pet food and seafood. We do also stock vegan pet food, but it’s a widely debated topic and we feel it’s best to let you decide what’s best for your pets.

Our seafood products are supplied by Fish4Ever, who uphold extremely high standards of sustainability, including pole-and-line fishing for tuna to eliminate by-catch. In a huge market dominated by poor sustainability practises, we believe this is a valuable alternative to offer.

Animal welfare issues don’t stop there. We don’t stock any products that have been tested on animals, and we never will – that’s a promise.  Look out for the Leaping Bunny symbol for extra reassurance that what you’re buying is cruelty-free. You also won’t find real fur, feathers, leather, angora, silk or down in anything we sell.

Eco friendly

Palm oil is a widely used commodity linked to multiple ethical concerns, both environmental and in terms of human rights. Many of the products we stock are palm oil free – but not all. You can be sure that any palm oil found in our products is sustainably sourced and no one in the supply chain has been exploited in the process. This still isn’t ideal by any means, but it’s such a common ingredient – found in roughly half of all packaged goods worldwide – that we feel it’s better to offer sustainable alternatives than no alternatives at all.

Everything we stock is free from GMO ingredients. The possibility of cross-contamination remains an issue, which is where the Non-GMO Project Verified tag can provide extra reassurance with its stringent testing standards.

Empowering you

Ultimately, we believe in keeping you informed so that you can make your own purchasing decisions. That’s why every product is tagged with its ethical credentials, and we strive to provide as much supplementary information as possible – country of origin, nature of packaging materials, etc. In this way, you’re able to make informed choices and Buy What You Believe.