Best of 2021: Sustainable clothing

Sustainability in clothing is a very important factor in saving our earth, seeing as around 10 percent of carbon dioxide emissions come from textiles. Here are four eco-friendly clothing brands that thrived and provided ethical styling options in 2021.

Levis

One sustainable material this age-old brand uses in many of their products is cottonized hemp. Cottonized hemp requires an estimated 50 percent less water to grow than regular cotton and naturally resists pests, discouraging farmers from using harmful pesticides. Hemp also nourishes the soil it is grown in and benefits the planet as a whole. It is estimated that for every ton of hemp produced, 1.6 tons of carbon dioxide are removed from the Earth’s atmosphere. Not only is it a more eco-friendly option, but its look and feel provides an indistinguishable product from cotton. Cottonized hemp can be found in Levi’s loose jeans, the loose sleeve trucker jacket and WellThread tees.

Levi’s also creates their eco-friendly favorite puffer jackets and vests, which are made of plastic bottles and waste. The recycled material takes less energy to produce than virgin polyester, which uses an expediently greater amount of fossil fuels.

You may hear the remark from older generations that “Levi’s don’t look like they used to.” Well, that’s all true: the Levi’s look is changing to benefit ecosystems that are being deprived of water. In 2011, the famous jeans company installed the LevisWater<Less innovations. To get the broken-in look that the jeans once got literally took tons of water to create. Since 2011, 4.2 billion liters of water have been saved.

With over a billion clothing sales in 2021, Levi’s success contributes to making the world a better place. Saving the planet is in style for this popular clothing brand. 

Patagonia

A snowy trek through the mountains, the chilly feeling of salt water hitting your bare skin, a whip of snow flinging across your snowboard, a summer hike in the tropics: Patagonia clothing has become synonymous with anything involving the outdoors. With Patagonia’s new mission statement, “we’re in business to our home planet”, they emphasize that the environment is their top priority. 

Although the hefty price tags may be overwhelming for some, a large portion of Patagonia’s sales are put toward saving the home to all living things. A one percent taxation is placed on all items sold online or in retail stores. This may not seem like a lot, but if you think about it, each item in Patagonia usually costs over 100 dollars and millions of items are sold from Patagonia each year. The one percent tax dollars go to nonprofit organizations whose main focus is the environment.

In 2021, 87 percent of their clothing was made from recycled materials. Patagonia made a pact that by 2025, all of their clothing products would be sourced from recycled, reclaimed or renewable material. 

Currently Patagonia offers a service called Worn Wear, which allows you to trade, buy, or sell used Patagonia items. Free repair is provided for all of the company products to help the clothes live a longer life. The production of new clothes requires floods of carbon dioxide emissions, so if products can be recycled throughout a community it lowers the emission of toxic pollutants.

This outdoorsy company has also moved away from the production of greenhouse gasses with another empowering technology, solar panels. 100 percent of the electricity used in the USA factories and stores are produced from of solar panels. 

Patagonia conquered the sustainability mountain of 2021, and continues to trek for perfection in saving natural resources and lowering the use of toxic gasses. 

Adidas

Claiming the number one spot for sports wear in Europe, German company Adidas strives for a lot more than a heavy paycheck. Instead, this global empire endeavors for a healthier planet. 

Adidas has a deep devotion to using recycled materials. This year for the first time ever they made over 50 percent of their polyester products out of recycled material, and are striving to complete the transition to recycled materials instead of polyester by 2024. 

In 2015, Adias began their partnership with Parley For The Oceans to create shoes made out of plastic from the ocean. From 2020 to 2021, the amount of shoes created with ethically-sourced plastic increased by 2 million. Over 17 million pairs of shoes created from the hazardous ecosystem substance were created in 2021! Each pair of Ultra Boost trainers has up to 11 plastic water bottles in it, preventing those plastic water bottles from miserably laying in the landfills already flooded with resources that humans have ungratefully used and wasted.

 It’s very beneficial to invest in these types of shoes that help control human waste. In 2020 alone, 350 million plastic bottles were used to create Adias shoes that are now subtly making the world a eco-friendly place. Another eco-friendly Adidas line is Primegreen, which uses recycled plastic. If you’re thinking of purchasing an ethically-sourced shoe, check out the Primeblue and Primegreen.

Living by the laws of reduce, reuse and recycle, Adidas hit a home run in 2021 when it came to saving the planet.

Pact

Any advocate for the environment will smile as they scroll through the Pact website. Made out of organic cotton, models glow in their neutral tank tops, cozy hoodies and flowy dresses. Pact clothing is simply beautiful inside and out, and hits the target for best eco-friendly clothing of the year.

Each time the products are shipped, you can get the satisfaction of knowing that it was shipped in an environmentally friendly way. Each box is made of recycled cardboard. The bag that keeps the product inside is made from biodegradable material, so that the waste won’t rot in landfills for hundreds of years. 

When you look at the website or open the package on your door, you’ll notice the aesthetically pleasing natural dyes that resemble colors found in nature. The dyes contain zero pesticides that would be found in most apparel shops. Skin will go unharmed by a purchase of the natural contents.

The cotton found in all products on the site is organically grown. The organically grown cotton saves 81 percent more water than regular cotton. 

To lend a sustainable hand, make a purchase from the Cityzen Collection. Not only is the line absolutely stunning, 10 percent of the profits go to non-profit organizations who educate people of the dangers of climate change and the dangerous chemicals used to make clothing and waste resources.

These companies saved countless amounts of toxic waste that would’ve ended up in the ground for hundreds of years polluting earth and harvested organic products that suit well away from harmful chemicals. Choosing to purchase from these brands can help create significant change. In 2021, Levi’s, Patagonia, Adidas and Pact did the best job of providing eco-friendly products that can help the earth smile.