by From Buckingham Palace to saving the planet, it’s all in a day’s work for Prince William.
The Prince, who is a big supporter of sustainability, won the Earthshot Prize in Cape Town this week while doing a hipster makeover.
In keeping with Earthshot’s mission to find innovative solutions to climate change, the evening’s dress code focused on sustainable fashion – and Prince William certainly delivered.
Gone were the stuffy costumes; in their place was a second-hand vintage blazer (we’re big fans) paired with stylish white trainers from sustainable brand Purified Shoes – a choice that caught the attention of the label’s founder, Will Verona.
“It’s not every day that His Royal Highness Prince William wears your shoes. You can only imagine my surprise when I watched the Earthshot Award to see the future King sporting a pair of HEVEA SACRAMENTS,” he wrote.
“It’s great to be represented at the Earthshot Award among so many companies that are changing the world and share our vision for a sustainable future.”
Good news: with more sustainable brands emerging than ever before, you can be eco-friendly and fashionable at the same time. Even if the budget doesn’t stretch to a pair of Purify Shoes (although at £130 a pair, they’re incredibly affordable), the market is booming: here’s our pick of the brands to check out.
Purified Shoes
Of course. Verona founded this after visiting Sri Lanka’s infamous ‘garbage mountain’: a 50m high tower of plastic waste that collapsed in 2017, killing 32 people.
The brand champions environmentally friendly materials and processes, and the shoes themselves are designed to ‘return to the earth’ when finished. They are minimalist – the shoes are black and white – they are unique, and they can be recycled. What could be better?
purified.ecological
Organic Origin
Sustainability, but make it affordable. Organic Basics does just one thing – cotton – but it does it very well. Designed in Copenhagen, they have a range of T-shirts, underwear, hoodies and socks, made from organic cotton and recycled materials. They use renewable energy to make their clothes, and they also have surprisingly low price points – proof, as it were, that you don’t need to splash out to shop responsibly.
uk.organicbasics.com
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The ever-chic French label Sezane is also a pioneer when it comes to sustainability. They are B-Corp certified, and three quarters of the materials they use to make their designs are environmentally friendly. 90 percent of its cotton is organic, 85 percent of its viscose comes from sustainably managed forests. Combine that with their classy knitwear and a cool je ne sais quoi air, and you’ve got a seriously enticing look.
sezane.com
Damson Madder
London’s favorite cool girl brand has a lot to say about the planet. Damson Madder uses organic cotton, recycled and repurposed fabrics to make his favorite cult clothes – and sources the materials themselves ethically, through supply chains with fair labor practices. So you can wear the gilet (or quilted jacket, or bow-embellished dress) that everyone is talking about and feel good about too.
damsonmadder.com
ELV Denim
Another champion of sustainability in London – and one that uses denim destined for the landfill to create stylish new designs: two-toned jeans, seventies silhouettes and classic faves. Clothes are created in East London, long-distance shipping isn’t particularly demanding and the label uses low-impact materials with the aim of limiting its chemical and water waste.
elvdenim.com
Reformation
Your favorite celebrity brand (Taylor Swift, Sienna Miller and Kaia Gerber are all fans) is the place for statement denim, floaty summer dresses and chic satin gowns. But it also has a low impact. The restoration has been carbon neutral since 2015, sources its energy from wind suppliers, and uses renewable, recycled and regenerated materials to make its collections. It publishes a Sustainability Report every year, and they’re all small batch – which means, on the downside, that they sell out quickly.
eolas.com
Sunny House
One of the best ways to make fashion more eco-friendly is to reduce your output – and that’s exactly what House of Sunny has done. Plus, it’s quickly become a Gen Z staple for its fun designs, knit dresses (a favorite of Kendall Jenner) and baggy denim offerings. The label only produces two collections a year, uses recycled cotton and polyester and has introduced new technology to avoid excessive water waste when making its denim pieces.
teachofsunny.com
Out that Day
Can swimwear ever be sustainable? Away That Day says it is possible. The swimwear itself is classic and elegant (think flattering high-waisted bikinis and stylish one-pieces that sell out every year); it has been made in small workshops in the UK, Europe and India. Even better, the brand uses ocean plastic, nylon and ghost fishing nets, as well as biodegradable linen and recycled polyamide, in its designs.
awaythatday.com
Nude
Underwear designed to last – and designed to be kind to the planet, too. Nudea is B-corp certified and only uses recycled or sustainable fabrics. There is a bra recycling scheme (it’s surprisingly difficult to dispose of them responsibly). And the underwear itself is both hard-wearing and flattering: the golden crossover in the Venn diagram. It’s expensive, but worth it.
nudea.com
Sheep Inc
Bringing knitting back to basics, by doing everything in a small batch. This is the world’s first carbon-negative knitwear brand, which includes information about exactly where your knitwear comes from with every purchase. Even better, the brand has promised to pay back 10 times the carbon footprint of each purchase. They’re made to last a lifetime (in fact, they come with a lifetime guarantee), and Tom Hardy is a fan: what’s not to like?
sheep.com
People Tree
One of the OGs of sustainability, People Tree has been going for 20 years, and is still leading the way for others. Supporting everyday fashion, he makes all his clothes from environmentally friendly materials, uses natural dyes and low-impact materials to limit chemical and water waste from the creation process. In addition, their supply chain is certified for paying a living wage.
tree of people.eu
