15 Women-Owned Ethical Fashion Brands to Support
Though the fashion industry is largely dominated by women, particularly as garment workers, gender inequality at the executive level is striking — just 14% of the top 50 global fashion brands are led by women.
We are proud to go against the status quo. We are a women-owned business committed to elevating other women-led brands working to create a more responsible, sustainable, and diverse fashion industry.
In celebration of the incredible women designers in the ethical fashion space, we rounded up 15 women-owned fashion brands available on our site. From a zero-waste fashion label working with artisans in Cambodia to a jewelry brand crafting pieces right here in Portland, we are proud to carry a variety of women-owned fashion brands worth supporting.
1. Mien
The sustainable and ethical clothing line Mien is made for the chic, modern woman and can easily be adapted for every stage of womanhood — and motherhood — from pregnancy to nursing. Mien’s distinctive roomy designs are size inclusive and range from XS to 3XL.
Mien uses premium, preshrunk eco friendly fabrics like bamboo, modal, linen, 100% GOTS certified organic cotton, and use AZO-free dyes across their entire line. Mien’s clothing is easy to wear, easy to care for, and never needs dry cleaning. Mien is a woman-owned and women-founded company manufacturing all their garments in small batches in Los Angeles, California paying fair, living wages to all their employees and makers.
2. The Knotty Ones
The Knotty Ones creates stunning, hand-knit sweaters, loungewear, and accessories. They exclusively use biodegradable, cruelty-free, and plastic-free yarns and OEKO-TEX certified non-toxic dyes to make their pieces. Even their buttons, which are made from Northern South American Corozo seeds, are only harvested once they’ve naturally fallen from the tree. The Knotty Ones employs over 70 artisan women from rural Lithuania who handknit each piece in small batches and according to their own schedule. By handknitting each piece, the Knotty Ones’ manufacturing results in zero leftover fabric scraps or deadstock fabrics.
3. LA Relaxed
Based in Los Angeles, LA Relaxed ethically produces their clothing in small batches using GOTS-certified organic cotton, TENCEL-certified lyocell and modal fabrics. To minimize their carbon footprint as much as possible, LA Relaxed sources most of their fabrics within 10 miles of their warehouse. They only work with BlueSign-certified dye houses which ensures that the facilities recycle water and solvents and ethically dispose of their waste to not harm local communities or groundwater.
4. Mata Traders
Fair trade and ethical fashion brand Mata Traders is on a mission to create beautiful, slow made, and exceptionally designed clothes for the modern woman.
Each piece of Mata Traders clothing is made by a co-op of women artisans in India and Nepal who use heritage art forms to craft beautiful dresses, jewelry clothing, and accessories. Mata’s artisan partners use a variety of traditional embroidery, and block printing techniques to adorn each Mata Trader’s piece with bold, vibrant, elegant, and colorful prints. Mata Traders is women-owned and women-run and pays fair living wages to all their women artisan partners.
5. Valani
Valani designs sustainable, plant-based clothing intentionally manufactured to minimize waste and reduce their impact on the Earth. Utilizing plant-based fabrics like banana fiber, hemp, and Tencel eucalyptus, their pieces are also colored using low-impact, biodegradable, and non-toxic dyes. The factories that manufacture Valani’s clothes adhere to strict environmental and ethical standards — not to mention every design is made in small batches.
6. tonlé
tonlè is a zero-waste, ethical fashion brand creating sustainable clothing. Sourced from mass-produced garment factories in Cambodia, all the materials tonlé uses to create their clothes are remnant fabric scraps. Alongside avoiding the creation of new, virgin cloth, tonlé also avoids using pesticides, excessive water usage, and generating carbon emissions in order to minimize their impact on the environment. Employing over 20 artisan partners from a weaving cooperative in Cambodia, tonlé provides fair wages and benefits to the artisans they work with.
7. MZ Made
MZ Made is a women-owned and run brand and a member of the Fair Trade Federation creating beautifully handwoven purses, totes, clutches, and accessories. Implementing fair trade and ethical business practices, they partner with indigenous Zapotec artisan families who receive steady and sustainable employment. Not to mention all their products come in 100% compostable, plant-based poly mailers too!
8. Abby Alley
Abby Alley created her namesake fashion brand to celebrate the work of artisans in East Africa she had met throughout her travels to the region. The ethical brand works with skilled artisans in Kenya and Tanzania who handcraft beautiful bags from locally sourced Masaai cow leather. Women artisans then hand-stitch traditional Masaai beadwork on the bags (working from their homes, enabling them to stay with their families as they earn a living from their crafts).
To ensure sustainable job opportunities for their artisans, Abby Alley works with artisan cooperatives that guarantee fair wages and safe working environments. The artisan makers earn three times the standard rates for the region — plus they earn provisions for healthcare and transportation.
9. Village Thrive
Village Thrive makes modern, beautiful, and handwoven accessories such as clutches, tote bags, and visors in small batches. They use all-natural materials including rattan, bamboo, organic cotton, and leather. Artisans in Bali, Indonesia utilize heritage craft techniques to make their handcrafted goods and receive fair wages and work in safe environments. Village Thrive is dedicated to providing their artisans with economic opportunities and a sustainable income to lift families out of poverty.
10. Mary Young
Mary Young’s super comfy underwear, basics, and loungewear is made from Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) and OEKO-TEX certified bamboo rayon yarn. All of Mary Young’s soft underwire- and “reshaping”-free pieces are designed in Toronto and made in Montreal, Canada.
11. Thunderpants
Celeste Sipes, the founder of Thunderpants, is passionate about creating uncompromising, comfortable, and high-quality underwear that women will love. Thunderpants’s undergarments are made responsibly and can be traced from start to finish. The underwear is made from Fair Trade Certified organic cotton from New Zealand, and is dyed and milled in Australia before being sent to a women-owned factory in Oregon, where the underwear is cut and sewn.
Thunderpants has both versatile solids and eye-catching prints in their collection of undergarments. The fun, unique Thunderpants pieces are designed by local artists from Portland, Oregon.
12. Poplinen
Poplinen is a POC-owned and Women-owned brand creating size-inclusive, American-made clothing. Dedicated to designing beautiful, timeless, and fitting garments for all bodies, Poplinen’s clothing ranges from XS to 3XL. They create all their pieces in small batches in Los Angeles only using natural and sustainably harvested materials like Tencel, organic linen, certified organic cotton, and bamboo. Plus all their products arrive in recycled packaging with recycled labels and hangtags!
13. 337 Brand
337 Brand is a leisurewear brand that creates comfortable, timeless pieces that work with any season. Made locally in Brooklyn and Queens, NYC, every piece is made from environmentally friendly, sustainable materials sourced from the United States and Canada.
Materials like GOTS certified organic cotton, upcycled cotton, recycled polyester, and rayon made from mechanically processed bamboo. 337 Brand also plants one tree per order through a non-profit that invests in areas impacted by deforestation. 337 Brand is a women-owned company that is striving towards being completely zero waste.
14. Darzah
Darzah is an ethical fashion brand, part of the 501(c)3 nonprofit Child’s Cup Full, that was created by our owner and founder, Cayley Pater, and the non-profit’s founder, Dr. Janette Habashi. The social enterprise specializes in tatreez embroidery — an ancient, traditional art from Palestine that has been passed down for generations.
Each of Darzah’s pieces are handcrafted from locally sourced leather and are hand-embroidered by refugee and low-income women artisans who earn fair wages for their work. The Fair Trade Federation member’s mission is to celebrate the art of tatreez embroidery and Palestine’s rich cultural heritage while providing economic opportunities for women artisans in Palestine’s West Bank.
15. Passion Lilie
Passion Lilie is a women-run, fair trade, and sustainable clothing line with a mission to create dignified job opportunities for craftspeople dedicated to preserving heritage techniques. Passion Lilie’s designs are made with artisanal block printed and handwoven ikat fabrics in timeless designs for effortless style. All of their pieces are 100% cotton, and they use as much GOTS-certified organic cotton as possible.
Passion Lilie is a member of the Fair Trade Federation, which focuses on creating long-term relationships with artisans built on transparency and trust. With honesty and respect at its core, this sustainable fashion brand is committed to supporting both people and the environment. They thoughtfully source their materials by using natural fibers and eco friendly dyes, and they support economic stability by providing their artisans with fair living wages and safe working conditions.
