5 Sustainable Activewear Brands

Sabrina Cowper
Jan 3, 2022
4 min read

Updated: Apr 5, 2022

Looking for a new gym outfit for the new year? This post shares 5 brands who offer sustainable activewear. These brands wish to design clothing that you can wear for many years to come, avoiding the chance of garments ending in landfill. Whether you want shorts, leggings, soft colours or bold tones, there's a fit that will be perfect in the ranges shared in this post. I hope you find your new favourite! All clothing can be found by clicking on the image.

1. TALA

Price Range: £12 - £129

Firstly, let's talk about TALA, founded by influencer and owner of fitness businesses Shreddy and of course TALA, Grace Beverley. The brand is renowned for their honestly in relation to sustainability and Beverley built TALA as she saw a gap in the market for sustainable activewear, and she was right about that.

The image above is part of TALA's Zinnia collection, made from 92% recycled polyamide and 8% elastane. With the ever-changing trends in the fashion industry today, TALA allows room for on-trend garments to be created without causing harm to the environment. As transparency is important when brands label themselves as sustainable, TALA discuss how and where their clothes are made so you feel comfortable knowing the items have been manufactured with great care and consideration, to both the planet and people. To explore more of the ways TALA is working, you can visit the link (1) in the further reading list at the end of this page.

2. EVERLANE

Price Range: £29 - £75

Everlane have a focus on "building an ethical supply chain that creates high-quality, low-impact, long-lasting products", (Everlane). With their clothing designed to last, you can join the movement of wearing your clothing for many years, in contrast to the fast fashion garments that become damaged after just a few wears. The image below presents the Perform Sculpt Leggings, made from recycled nylon and elastane and come in a range of colours and sizes.

Radical Transparency, that's what Everlane describe their ways of working. Ethical factories are what they take pride in, taking the time to ensure factories offer fair wages, reasonable working hours and a good working environment for their staff. With the constant changes in trends every week, Everlane design for long-lasting clothing too. If you wish to learn more about Everlane's business actions, please visit the link (2) at the end of the post.

3. GIRLFRIEND COLLECTIVE

Price Range: $6 - $298

Say hi to Girlfriend Collective activewear, a brand that began in Seattle who focus on luxurious and eco-friendly activewear. As well as the other brands shared in this post, Girlfriend Collective give a very detailed description of how they work, including how they turn recycled water bottles into items of clothing and where fabrics are cut and sewn. A detailed exploration of their ways of working can be seen by following the link (3) in the further reading list at the end of this post.

Girlfriend Collective have also introduced their initiative, Recycle, Reuse, ReGirlfriend to increase the amount of recycled clothing in the fashion industry. The brand offers to take your old clothing and recycle these into new ones that can be worn again. Join in on the movement and help save clothing from ending in landfill.

4. TENTREE

Price Range: £34.95 - £69.95

Tentree, a Canadian outdoor clothing brand plants ten trees for every purchase made. So far they have planted 30 million trees and have a mission to plant 1 billion by the year 2030. They only use sustainably sourced fabrics such as recycled polyester, hemp, organic cotton and tencel.

The items in the image above are the inMotion Bike shorts, which can be found by clicking on the photo link. To show complete transparency to customers, Tentree have also added how much water, CO2 and waste has been saved during the manufacturing of their items, producing 80% less CO2 than other activewear brands. Want to learn more about Tentree? Visit the link (4) at the end of this post. So, if you're looking for comfortable, soft toned activewear, whilst also help make a difference to the environment, why not try out Tentree.

5. ALLBIRDS

Price Range: £48 - £88

Allbirds, who claim to have "the most comfortable shoes in the world", (Allbirds, 2022), offer both sustainable shoes and clothing. Shared on their website, Allbirds discuss the materials used in all their items, such as merino wool and eucalyptus trees and claim that "they're our best chance for a sustainable future". Companies who want to really make a difference within their business take care of their approaches in the supply chain. With this, many set sustainability goals in order to help push this and really show their approaches.

Allbirds have set a Flight Plan which shares what areas they wish to focus on in their supply chain by 2025. These include reducing carbon footprint of raw materials by 25%, 75% sustainable sourced natural and recycled materials, and double the lifetime and footwear and apparel products. The image above is Allbirds Natural Run Tank, which is made from ethical ZQ merino wool, recycled polyester and Tencel. More details on Allbirds actions towards sustainability and how they source their materials can be explored in the link (5) at the end of this post.

I hope you find that new gym outfit to start the new year, whilst helping to save the planet too!

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Sabrina Cowper | Reform Your Fashion