Best Circular Fashion Brands: Less Waste, More Impact

Fast fashion brands keep churning out THOUSANDS of new designs every week.

Not only are they shady about how they’re made: they don’t worry about what happens after their consumers buy them, only wear them a couple of times, and get rid of them to make room for more. The result?

• 92 million tonnes of waste every year
• Tricking you with sustainable-sounding terms like “10% organic cotton” while leaving out the fact that it’s mixed with synthetic materials, which makes the entire item unrecyclable 
• Fabrics that pollute the environment and endanger wildlife when they break down or end up in the ocean

And the planet can’t keep up with this. Luckily, more and more circular fashion brands are working hard to counteract that model.

We’ll show you how (and if you love these ideas and want to support them, you’ll find our favourite ones, too).

What is a circular fashion brand?

A circular fashion brand cares about how they manufacture their garments and what happens after they’re discarded, too.

They aim to create a closed-loop system by reducing waste, maximising the lifespan of each item or its materials, and finding the most eco-friendly solution for its end-of-life. 

For context, the term was first coined by Dr. Anna Brismar in 2014, and when it comes to clothes, circular fashion is the opposite of a linear model (= when brands only care about churning out and selling new items, without worrying about the consequences).

Circular fashion examples: how are brands being circular?

Circular fashion brands are finding different ways of reducing waste and minimising their impact on the environment. For example, some of them rely on:

• Using recycled materials or post-consumer waste to create new garments or accessories
• Designing clothes that can be recycled after their end-of-life (for example, by not mixing natural fabrics with synthetic materials)
• Offering take-back schemes, inviting consumers to return their unwanted clothes (after rewearing them for years, ideally). Then, they resell them, upcycle them into different designs, or use parts of them for new clothes 
• A rental model, encouraging consumers not to buy new clothes (especially if they’d only need them for one occasion) while keeping them in circulation for much longer
• Offering repair services, motivating consumers not to give up on their favourite garments after a minor inconvenience 
• Choosing biodegradable materials that won’t stick around in landfills for centuries and won’t release microplastics into the ocean

Pretty cool, isn’t it? 

8 the best circular fashion brands

It’s often the smallest brands coming up with ideas that have the biggest impact… while huge fast fashion companies and ultra-fast fashion online stores keep fuelling overconsumption. Urgh!

So, if you can support them, here are some of my favourite circular fashion brands.

1. Mud Jeans

While they offer a handful of different garments too… It’s in the name!

This is the go-to brand for sustainable denim jeans in all kinds of designs. 

What makes them a circular fashion brand

They design jeans that are easy to recycle, and they offer a fantastic (and really generous, I think) take-back scheme. Not only do they encourage you to send back your old MUD Jeans, if you ever fall out of love with them: as long as they consist of at least 96% cotton, they accept jeans by any other brand!

They also reduce waste by using recycled denim whenever possible. Oh, and they save 90% water. And when you think that, on average, a single pair of jeans requires 7,600 litres… that’s a huge difference. 

2. Paguro Upcycle

This circular brand specialises in upcycled jewellery (although they offer a few other types of accessories too, like bags and belts), and each item is one of a kind… literally!

What makes them a circular fashion brand

From tyres to skateboards, they use discarded materials or objects to craft unique pieces. Guaranteed to become conversation-starters whenever you rock them!

3. Masha Maria

This Amsterdam-based circular fashion brand takes slow fashion to the next level—usually with a delicate, almost fable-like feel. 

What makes them a circular fashion brand

They save old and discarded materials from landfills and use them to create unique pieces.

For example, this can involve recycled plastic, and they even turned some used woollen blankets into charming scarves and coats.

4. Fanfare

This brand offers a wide range of modern clothes with a timeless vibe, perfect to be worn for years and repurposed into different outfits. 

What makes them a circular fashion brand

They focus on being regenerative (for example, by choosing natural and renewable materials), reducing waste, maximising the lifecycle of their items, and using recycled options whenever possible.

They also offer a take-back scheme to reuse, recycle, or redesign that old piece into a new garment.

5. The Launch

As the name suggests, this slow and circular fashion brand launches new collections regularly. Unlike fast fashion companies, though, they do it with a much more sustainable twist.

What makes them a circular fashion brand

They work on a pre-order basis to avoid waste. So, after planning and revealing a new collection, they only produce the pieces that have actually been ordered.

They also use deadstock materials (reducing waste even further!) and fabrics that can easily be recycled. 

6. Saywood

This dreamy brand focuses on garments that can tell a story, encouraging you to rediscover it whenever you (re)wear them.

What makes them a circular fashion brand

They produce in small batches to reduce waste, and they choose deadstock or recycled materials whenever possible. 

They also offer a mending service to repair your clothes. And when you’re done with them? They encourage you to use their partner, OWNI, to resell them to fellow eco-conscious consumers.

7. Lawrence

Unfortunately, traditional swimwear is terrible for the planet because it’s made of unrecyclable synthetic materials that shed microplastics and can stick around for centuries.

Luckily, this brand (previously known as AURAI) is turning the tide. 

What makes them a circular fashion brand

They swapped plastic-based materials for a biodegradable yarn (Amni Soul Eco®). Under the right conditions, 50% of it is usually gone within a year!

8. Wellicious

This circular fashion brand specialises in yoga and activewear, with both vibrant and timeless options. 

What makes them a circular fashion brand

They use Cradle to Cradle Certified® materials, which are organic, recyclable, and biodegradable. 

And if you send your old products back? They’ll decompose them for you and give you a juicy 10% off your next purchase.

Find more circular fashion brands on Project Cece

At Project Cece, we brought hundreds of fair trade companies in one place and added filters to simplify your choices. Of course, that includes plenty of circular fashion brands. 

So, start browsing to find the right clothes for you, and to help close the loop, try keeping and loving them for as long as possible.