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The best recycled clothing brands of 2025 help reduce textile waste by making incredible new garments from previously used textiles.
They take discarded fabrics like cotton, wool or denim, or post-consumer waste materials such as nylon fishing nets or plastic bottles, and spin them into the coolest and trendiest styles around.
Some brands even offer a recycling program where you can resell your old or unloved items.
Supporting the sustainable fashion industry is vital because fast fashion is a huge global issue. Between 80 and 100 billion new clothing garments are produced globally every year. But 87% of those materials will end up in incinerators or landfill, and only 1% are currently recycled.
That's why I'm sharing this list of stylish and sustainable clothing brands that use recycled materials.
Every brand on the list offers trendy, long-lasting styles for women, men, and kids - all at affordable prices.
✔ Amazing Styles
✔ Carbon Neutral
✔ Responsible Factories
About the Brand: Tentree is one of the best known brands that use recycled materials. It has become almost mainstream due to its popularity, but still hasn't compromised on its sustainable practices.
I noticed one particularly style-conscious (but not especially green-minded) friend of mine wearing a Tentree top recently and asked her about it. She said she had no idea it was eco-friendly clothing, but she just bought it because it looked amazing!
It turns out that, like much of Tentree's range, her top was made from recycled bottles and textile waste. It just proves that high end recycled clothing can look better than any fast fashion.
Tentree ships all online orders in fully recyclable and compostable packaging.
Recycling Program: Tentree’s Circularity program allows customers to send back used Tentree clothing, which is then resold in their Reshop if in good condition, or responsibly recycled if not
✔ Sexy, Stylish, Sustainable Clothing
✔ Range of Recycled Materials
✔ Biodegradable Bags & Mailers
About the Brand: Don't be fooled by the name! Vitamin A Swimwear is an all-round sustainable fashion brand making a stunning range of women's recycled plastic clothing.
I love everything about this brand - the sustainability, quality, choice, and style are all on-point.
Vitamin A uses a range of sustainable materials with 7 different recycled fabrics, including EcoLux, the first premium swim fabric made from recycled nylon. They produce affordable but high-quality clothes that are built to last, and look amazing.
✔ Hard-Wearing Men's Clothing
✔ Organic & Recycled Fabrics
✔ Repair or Replace Guarantee
About the Brand: Taylor Stitch takes organic, upcycled, and recycled materials and builds them into a range of stylish, hard-wearing men's clothing that can (literally) last a lifetime.
I love that Taylor Stitch ensures absolutely no usable fabrics go to waste, by recycling deadstock materials and any returned items into new garments.
Their range of heavy bag t-shirts, made from upcycled and recycled yarns, is one of my personal favorites, but there is so much more to see here that you need to take a few minutes to browse the range for yourself.
To make extra certain that none of their range ends up in a landfill, Taylor Stitch offers a lifetime repair or replace service on any damaged or defective items.
Everything comes in recycled packaging made from post-consumer waste.
If you're an eco-friendly man (or are buying for one) then this is one of the fashion brands you should definitely look at.
✔ Organic Cotton & Recycled Fabrics
✔ Resell Outgrown Items
✔ No Toxic Chemicals
About the Brand: The majority of the Firebird Kids range is made from organic cotton. A few items also incorporate recycled polyester.
One example is the gorgeous Unisex Contrast Sweater which I tested with the help of my niece, who absolutely loves it!
I think their garments look great on her, and it's a comfort to know she's wearing organic clothing containing no harsh chemicals.
Recycling Program: Firebird Kids makes the list of recyclable clothing brands thanks to their "Pass it On" platform. This allows you to contribute directly to the circular economy by reselling any items that have been outgrown, in return for a very generous 110% brand credit.
✔ Affordably Priced
✔ Bright & Attractive Range
✔ Zero-Waste Manufacturing Process
About the Brand: Colorful Standard is a truly transparent, eco-friendly clothing brand that makes all its garments out of recycled wool and/or organic cotton.
Their massive range of women's, men's, and unisex products in a variety of bold colors make this a brand that caters to everyone but helps you stand out from the rest.
I tested a unisex zipped hoodie and an organic cotton t-shirt for my Colorful Standard Review, both of which feel very soft and luxurious. At the same time, I can tell they are durable and will last for ages even under heavy use (which they are already getting).
Colorful standard utilizes a unique dyeing process that saves water and energy, as well as precision cutting techniques that minimize fabric waste. Even the small offcuts that simply can't be used for clothing production get reused as furniture filling.
The company is based in Denmark, but most garments are made in Portugal. They ship internationally via regional outlets and distribution centers in the US, Canada, and Europe. I ordered online and my order arrived within 3 working days.
✔ Revolutionary Seaweed Fiber
✔ Transparent Supply Chain
✔ Circular Fashion Initiatives
About the Brand: Outerknown, founded by professional surfer Kelly Slater in 2015, offers a range of sustainable yet fashionable clothing made from recycled materials.
Slater's super-cool circular brand seamlessly blends casual, coastal aesthetics with rigorous sustainability practices. It's well known for using innovative materials like recycled polyester from ocean plastics and organic cotton.
Outerknown gained industry recognition for its groundbreaking "S.E.A. JEANS" program, which offers a lifetime guarantee and repair policy to minimize waste.
Recycling Program: Outerknown operates a circular resale program called Outerworn, allowing customers to return used Outerknown clothing items.
Customers select eligible garments from their purchase history, submit details, and the items undergo quality inspection before being listed on the brand's dedicated resale platform.
✔ For All the Family
✔ Recycles Most Materials
✔ Repairs Damaged Gear
About the Brand: Patagonia sells outdoor clothing designed for activities like hiking, climbing, and skiing.
The company incorporates recycled materials by transforming post-consumer plastic bottles into polyester fabrics for their fleece and jackets, converting fishing nets and industrial waste into durable nylon for backpacks and shells, and using recovered down from used bedding products for insulation.
Patagonia offers a product repair service online to encourage people to reuse fashion that they already have, instead of throwing it away and buying new.
Recycling Program: The Patagonia Worn Wear program lets customers return used items in good condition for resale on their platform.
If your clothes are in good condition and they sell, you receive 25% of the MSRP in credit to spend on site. Otherwise, they'll recycle them for you so nothing goes to waste.
About the Brand: Wolven's smart and sexy range of athletic wear is made from mostly rPET (Plastic Bottles) mixed with a little spandex. There are no synthetic fabrics or microplastics, and just one legging keeps 27 plastic bottles (the equivalent of 270 grams or 9.5 ounces of plastic waste) out of oceans and landfill.
Their eco-friendly clothing is size inclusive (up to XXL) and according to the brand, it will never shrink or fade if you follow the care instructions.
Wolven is one of the few zero waste clothing brands to be climate positive. They offset 236,904 lbs of CO2 last year through various projects, under an initiative known as EcoCart.
Recycling Program: The Wolven Pre-Loved marketplace lets you sell your unwanted or used items, which the brand claims extends the average lifespan of its products by 2 years.
It also lets Wolven sell factory seconds at discounted prices. Currently around 39% of items listed on the marketplace are brand direct, with 61% being resold by consumers.
✔ Healthier Organic Fabrics
✔ Low-Impact Dyes
✔ Fair Wage Factories
About the Brand: Threads 4 Thought specializes in high performance clothes made from recycled polyester (from plastic bottles) and recycled nylon (sourced from discarded fishing nets).
While other brands limit recycled fabrics to specific collections, Threads 4 Thought incorporates them across all its core product lines. It blends recycled synthetics with organic cotton and Tencel to produce soft and breathable fabrics that feel great.
All products are ethically made in certified factories to ensure all textiles meet strict sustainability standards.
✔ Outdoor Sustainable Clothing
✔ Top Styles for Men & Women
✔ Uses Waterless Dyes
About the Brand: The Coalatree Organics range of women's and men's recycled plastic clothing is made with upcycled post-consumer plastic bottles, and - uniquely - coffee grounds!
If this sounds like an unusual combination, well, it is. But I can testify that it works, because my Coalatree hooded top is one of my favorite outerwear garments. It's just part of their range of hard-wearing, long-lasting, sustainable clothes that are perfect for outdoor use.
Coalatree Organics adopts sustainable production methods and uses waterless dyes to reduce water usage and eliminate the use of harmful chemicals.
The only thing you need to be aware of is that not every item is 100% recycled. Coalatree does still use some virgin nylon and polyester, so you need to look at each item's materials if you want to keep your wardrobe 100% plastic-free.
Recycled fashion involves the use of materials from old or discarded clothing and other textiles to create new and unique pieces of clothing. The idea is to reduce waste and promote sustainability in the fashion industry by reusing existing materials instead of creating new ones.
When you choose to buy from a recycled fashion brand, you are supporting this process. But in terms of quality, you would never know the difference. Recycled clothes look and feel as good or often better than any other high-end fashion item - but with a lower environmental footprint.
Many of the top sustainable fashion brands also offer garment recycling programs. These are for pre-worn items that are still in good condition, and suitable for somebody else to wear. You can use their platform to buy second-hand clothes from other people, or sell your own in return for store credit.
Recycled clothing is made from previously worn garments, whereas upcycled clothing is made from non-clothing materials repurposed into fabrics.
If you see brands making clothes from recycled plastic waste (for example, recycled plastic bottles or recycled fishing nets) then this is upcycling, not recycling. This is because these materials have never been clothing before.
Our guide to upcycled clothing brands explains more.
As I mentioned in that guide though, the terms are often confused (even by sustainable brands themselves) and you may often see items made from recycled plastic bottles described as "recycled" when they are in fact upcycled.
It's nothing to get upset over, and it's not a case of one being better than the other. At the end of the day, both are good for the environment and both help us reduce textile waste and move away from fast fashion.
These certifications help consumers identify clothing brands that use recycled materials while maintaining sustainability, safety, and ethical sourcing standards.
Use these certifications as a guide to help you find brands that have a genuinely sustainable mindset, and that understand why recycling clothing is so important.
Recycling clothing is important because it offers the following benefits both to you and the environment.
Read more about the benefits of eco-friendly fashion labels and other ways in which they make a difference in our guide to the best sustainable clothing brands.
No, recycled apparel brands are not necessarily cheaper than fast fashion brands. However, they are certainly better for the environment.
Recycling waste materials to make sustainable clothes can be costly, and part of that cost does need to be passed on to the consumer. However, in return, they do produce high-quality clothing that is made to last, which is the exact opposite of fast fashion.
Using recycled textiles means less waste in landfills and fewer raw materials consumed, which justifies a slightly higher price range.
Our core values mean we always prioritize sustainability over profit. We carefully evaluate and personally test every product to ensure they meet our high standards. All products recommended in this article were tested in accordance with our Review Methodology.
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