25 Ethical Apparel Brands from Germany to know

ARMEDANGELS, a brand committed to environmental and social justice, has been pioneering sustainable fashion since 2007, focusing on reducing its carbon footprint and fostering a circular economy. Their products, such as the Circular Tee made with 50% recycled and 50% organic cotton, are designed for longevity and minimal environmental impact, adhering to a strict Material Strategy that prioritizes quality, planet-friendly materials, and natural over synthetic. The brand collaborates with organizations like GermanZero and UN Women, donating profits to support climate policy and equality, and transparently shares carbon footprint data to encourage informed consumer choices and continuous improvement towards the lowest possible product impact in the industry.

Band of Rascals emphasizes eco-friendly and ethical practices in their production of children's clothing. They use 100% organic cotton, produce durable 15-ounce raw denim, and employ water-based prints, ensuring all products meet the stringent Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS). The brand maintains a long-term, trusting relationship with its production partner in Portugal, guaranteeing fair wages and good working conditions, aligning with their commitment to both ecological and social responsibility.

Blutsgeschwister positions itself as a joyful alternative in the fashion world, emphasizing responsibility in manufacturing and longevity in its clothing designs, which feature vibrant colors, patterns, and body-conscious cuts that allow for maximum freedom of movement. The brand maintains a commitment to fair labor practices throughout its supply chain, as evidenced by its Leader Status with Fair Wear and GOTS certification, ensuring fair working conditions in strictly audited production facilities in Europe and Asia. In its pursuit of sustainability, Blutsgeschwister uses certified fabrics and materials, including GOTS-certified organic cotton, and strives for continuous improvement in social standards, as documented in its annual Social Report.

DAWN Denim prioritizes transparency and sustainability, openly acknowledging that the most sustainable jeans are those already owned. In their own Saigon factory, DAWN produces high-quality, second-best sustainable options, focusing on fairness and environmental consciousness. They are a Fair Wear Foundation Leader Brand, pay living wages, and offer customers the chance to tip workers directly, while striving for a transparent supply chain and utilizing initiatives like "Art on BrokenPieces" for upcycling, partnering with One Tree Planted for reforestation, and employing eco-friendly materials and production technologies.

Derbe (KSports GmbH) demonstrates its commitment to sustainability through certifications like GOTS and GRS, ensuring their textiles meet rigorous environmental and social criteria throughout the production chain. The brand maintains long-standing partnerships with family-run producers in Portugal and China, emphasizing fair working conditions and wages. Additionally, Derbe's collections feature organic cotton, recycled polyester, and innovative materials such as Kapok and Sorona for insulation, aligning with their dedication to environmental protection and support for ocean conservation with Sea Shepherd collaborations, while also being recognized by PETA for their vegan products.

Goodsociety's commitment to sustainability is evident in their dedication to creating high-quality, contemporary clothing using natural fabrics and materials, reflecting a balance between lifestyle enjoyment and environmental mindfulness. Their approach to fashion is rooted in the belief that clothing plays a significant role in cultural development and personal expression, while also fostering creativity and relationships. Customer reviews consistently praise the brand for its excellent fit, quality materials, and attention to detail, underscoring Goodsociety's reputation for producing desirable and responsibly made apparel.

Green Shirts is a brand committed to sustainable and ethical fashion, offering a range of products crafted from 100% Fairtrade-certified organic cotton. Their clothing, such as the KARRIA cardigan, features high-quality natural materials like stone nut buttons, ensuring a vegan and sustainable choice. The brand's dedication to social and ecological standards is certified along the entire value chain, avoiding pesticides, insecticides, and GMOs, and using monsoon rainwater to significantly reduce water consumption. Green Shirts also engages in reforestation efforts, planting a tree with every order in partnership with "Plant for the Planet," aiming to plant 1,000 billion trees. They offer a transparent and eco-friendly shipping option with "DHL Go Green" and provide free returns, emphasizing their commitment to customer satisfaction and the environment.

Honest Basics is dedicated to making sustainable fashion accessible by offering affordable, quality basics and continuously enhancing their products' sustainability and supply chain. They prioritize the use of sustainable materials, like organic cotton certified by GOTS, ensuring reduced environmental impact and better conditions for workers. With a commitment to diversity and plans to improve circularity, Honest Basics is transparent about their progress, acknowledging both achievements and areas for growth in their sustainability journey.

Infantium Victoria commits to sustainability and ethical practices in children's fashion, evidenced by their GOTS certification, which ensures adherence to the highest global standards for organic textiles from sourcing to production. The brand fosters a cruelty-free ethos, utilizing plant-based materials and rejecting animal products, with a supply chain that is nearly 90% GOTS-certified, reflecting their dedication to environmental responsibility and ethical labor practices. Transparency is key for Infantium Victoria; they provide detailed information about the materials used, their origins, and the manufacturing locations, underscoring their commitment to social responsibility and traceability in the fashion industry.

Iriedaily, a Berlin-based streetwear brand, has a strong commitment to sustainability and social responsibility, as evidenced by their comprehensive CSR efforts and membership in the Fair Wear Foundation since 2016, ensuring fair working conditions in their production facilities in Portugal and China. The brand champions anti-violence, anti-discrimination, and anti-racism values, actively supporting local and supra-regional projects, and has achieved milestones like using sustainable materials (organic cotton, recycled polyester, and nylon), PETA-approved vegan certification for their vegan products, and offering eco-friendly options like Click & Collect in Berlin and biodegradable shopping bags. Iriedaily's approach to sustainability is about making incremental improvements towards environmental and social stewardship while maintaining a close, long-term relationship with their suppliers.

JAN 'N JUNE emphasizes sustainability through the use of certified recycled materials, such as polyester made from PET bottles sourced from Turkey, and organic cotton that is cultivated with reduced water usage and without harmful chemicals. The brand's commitment to a circular economy is evident in its use of recycled cashmere fibers and recycled polyamide from ocean waste, aligning with its goal to reduce waste and extend the lifespan of garments. Additionally, JAN 'N JUNE utilizes eco-friendly materials like cellulose-based acetate for jewelry, ECOVERO™ for lower emissions and water impact, and Tencel™ Lyocell from sustainable forestry, ensuring high environmental standards across its product range.

Jyoti - Fair Works is an Indo-German fair fashion brand dedicated to producing clothing and accessories in a socially and ecologically sustainable manner. The brand operates in close partnership with more than 20 women in stitching workshops in Chittapur, Londa, and Hyderabad, India, providing education, fair employment, and support through local NGOs. Jyoti's supply chain is rooted in traditional techniques and personal relationships, ensuring quality, waste reduction, and the use of small family businesses and cooperatives for environmentally friendly production, while advocating for industry change through transparency and fair economic systems.

LANIUS combines sustainable materials with sophisticated design, producing two collections annually with a focus on longevity and eco-friendly practices. Since its founding in 1999, the brand has been committed to fair production processes and has achieved consistent GOTS certification since 2012, ensuring its garments meet stringent ecological and social criteria. The company also supports climate protection by offsetting CO2 emissions from their headquarters and production, and promotes animal welfare with PETA "Approved Vegan" certified vegan products.

Living Crafts prioritizes sustainable and eco-friendly production, offering a wide range of organic textiles and clothing for the entire family. Their products, including baby clothing, children's wear, underwear, and functional eco-fashion, are crafted using organic cotton and wool, with the inclusion of organic linen and silk blends for functional purposes. The brand ensures that its entire supply chain, from raw materials to finished products, adheres to the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), and it also observes the guidelines set by the Naturland association. Committed to ethical manufacturing, Living Crafts maintains long-standing relationships with its suppliers and personally verifies fair working conditions. As a member of the Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) since 2016, the company champions fair labor practices in the fashion industry.

Lovjoi integrates luxury with sustainability, utilizing high-quality, sustainable, and vegan materials such as Tencel™, ECOVERO™, and GOTS-certified undyed denims, all of which meet rigorous standards for environmental and skin-friendly chemicals. The brand's production process, which includes up to 20 carefully selected components, emphasizes continuous improvement throughout the entire supply chain, with some manufacturing done in their own sewing shop in Germany and in partnership with trusted long-term partners in Portugal, Turkey, and Tunisia. Furthermore, Lovjoi's commitment to sustainability extends to its entire product range, which is PETA-Approved vegan certified, showcasing that luxury fashion can be vegan and eco-conscious, with materials like flax fiber that require significantly less water than cotton and Cupro made from cotton linter waste in a closed-loop process.

MELAWEAR stands for sustainable action in the textile industry, underlined by its Hindi name meaning "Acting Together". The brand is committed to ecological and fair production, with all products being 100% certified by the Fairtrade Cotton Standard, ensuring fair prices and high social and environmental standards in cotton production. MELAWEAR's entire range is also GOTS-certified, guaranteeing environmentally friendly production and ethical labor practices, from the raw materials to the finished product, while the brand actively contributes to the development of the new Fairtrade Textile Standard, promoting living wages and improved working conditions across the textile supply chain.

Nina Rein is committed to sustainability, focusing on every step of the production chain, from raw materials to distribution. The brand utilizes natural materials from certified organic cultivation and sustainable production, avoiding plastics even in packaging and garment details, and collaborates with regional European craftsmen to ensure high environmental and social standards. Additionally, Nina Rein promotes climate-positive practices by partnering with Klim, which supports regenerative agriculture in Germany, and offers carbon-neutral shipping with DHL GoGreen, using packaging made from 70% recycled cardboard and 30% FSC-certified wood.

Orbasics prioritizes sustainable and ethical practices by producing children's clothing with 100% organic cotton, certified by the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), ensuring environmentally friendly and socially responsible manufacturing. The brand's commitment to non-toxic living is evident in their chemical-free garments, designed for durability and the well-being of children, especially those with sensitive skin or allergies. With a focus on fair trade principles, Orbasics ensures fair wages and working conditions across their supply chain, extending their sustainable approach to adult clothing with the same high-quality organic materials.

PHYNE emphasizes sustainability through the use of organic cotton and TENCEL™, ensuring that products are created with environmentally friendly materials. The brand's commitment to fair production is evidenced by its adherence to the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), which ensures safe and ethical working conditions, as well as the exclusion of harmful chemicals. Furthermore, PHYNE's minimalist design philosophy not only aligns with modern sustainability but also extends the lifecycle of its garments, advocating for high-quality, durable fashion that resists fast-changing trends.

PUMA integrates sustainability into its core business practices, focusing on ten key areas to improve environmental and societal impacts, such as human rights in the supply chain, environmental compliance, and material sustainability. The brand has not incurred environmental fines in the last decade, underlining its commitment to full environmental compliance and minimizing negative impacts. Through initiatives like RE:SUEDE, PUMA explores circularity, aiming for its products to contain more sustainable materials and components, and aligning its targets with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

PYUA integrates sustainability into every aspect of their garments, aiming to inspire joy in nature while maintaining a commitment to environmental responsibility. Their circular approach encompasses the entire lifecycle of the product, from using recycled materials in their fabrics and membranes to offering a system for customers to return old items for recycling, thereby closing the textile loop. The brand's ethos of "Better forever" is embodied in their fair and ecological manufacturing processes, short transportation routes, and the provision of reusable shipping bags, care instructions, and repair services to extend the life of their products.

Recolution commits to sustainable fashion by prioritizing long-lasting basics over fleeting trends, fostering a culture of less consumption and more community engagement. Since 2010, the Hamburg-designed, European-made brand has used traceable, predominantly GOTS-certified organic materials, shunning harmful substances like pesticides. Production adheres to strict ecological and social standards, with a focus on fair labor practices and minimizing environmental impact, as evidenced by their GOTS certification and support for local charitable initiatives.

REER3 is committed to sustainability, using 100% organic cotton that is GMO-free and conserves water, avoiding harmful chemicals in production, in line with the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) which monitors the entire supply chain and ensures adherence to social standards set by the International Labour Organization. The brand's products are Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) certified, ensuring fair labor conditions that meet international labor standards and the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights. Additionally, REER3 is certified by PETA as vegan, guaranteeing no animal testing or use of animal-derived materials in their products, and has been rated 'GOOD' by the independent rating agency Good On You, reflecting their ongoing commitment to ethical practices in fashion.

ThokkThokk, a brand established in 2007 by Vinzenz Johow, combines distinctive, minimalist design with a commitment to ecological and fair production practices. The brand's products, primarily manufactured in India using organic cotton, are GOTS certified since 2014, ensuring sustainable, vegan, and fair trade standards, with support for local NGO Save, which advocates for children and women's rights. ThokkThokk extends its sustainability ethos to its Kapok jackets produced in China, maintaining the same ethical principles across its range of products, including screen and digital printed textiles with characteristic designs.

Wunderwerk stands as a testament to the harmonious fusion of fashion and sustainability, with its strong denim styles and a modern portfolio of stylish clothing and accessories resulting from eco-conscious design, resource-saving materials, and production processes, as well as quality. The brand's commitment to sustainability is intrinsic to its mission, striving for the well-being of nature, animals, and humans through fair, transparent, and consistent practices, embodied in its "more than organic" approach to the entire value chain. Wunderwerk's accolades, including the Bundespreis Ecodesign and PETA Vegan Fashion Award, along with its EU-focused production, affirm its status as a "Lovemark" for contemporary, sustainable fashion that continuously evolves for a better future.