15 Best and Sustainable Capsule Wardrobe Brands 2024
By Wildr Editor
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Sustainable Capsule Wardrobe: Less is More
Welcome to the world of ethical fashion! If you find yourself lost in a sea of clothing yet still feel like you have nothing to wear, a capsule wardrobe might help solve that problem.
This concept focuses on curating a select number of versatile and timeless pieces that embody your personal style, instead of amassing a mountain of fast-fashion garments that go out of trend faster than you can say 'sale!'
How a Capsule Wardrobe Changed My Life
While traveling around the globe, I found myself buying less in general. After all, you don’t have much of a choice when lugging around one carry-on from city to city.
But it turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because even when I came back home to New York, the minimalist mindset stayed with me.
I just wasn’t interested in buying a ton of “stuff” and excess felt like clutter to me. In fact, the frustrations of shopping sustainable fashion often stem from this clutter and confusion.
I cleaned out my closet and have been living happily ever after since — no decision fatigue on what to wear everyday, and a few, curated, high-quality outfits I love and can rotate so they never goes out of style.
The Minimalist Philosophy
Capsule wardrobes are by nature, eco-conscious. The philosophy is based on the idea of "less is more" – curating a limited number of timeless, versatile pieces that can be mixed and matched for a variety of occasions.
It’s simple — out of sight, out of mind. It’s a minimalist mindset, and I’m sure Marie Condo would agree. When you opt for a capsule wardrobe, the quality of your clothes becomes more important than the quantity.
This mindset shift encourages you to seek out well-made pieces using sustainable materials. To understand the trends shaping eco-friendly fashion, it's essential to grasp this minimalist philosophy.
High-quality garments last longer and don't need to be replaced as often, reducing waste and our carbon footprint. Sustainable fashion prioritizes ethics over profit. This includes practices such as fair trade, using sustainable fabrics like organic cotton or recycled materials, and ensuring ethical treatment and fair wages for all workers in the supply chain.
For more on this, explore the facts about sustainable fashion that make a compelling case for this approach.
A capsule wardrobe encourages mindful consumption, while sustainable fashion ensures what you consume is ethically made and environmentally friendly.
The Quick Tips for Building a Classic Capsule Wardrobe
We already covered the in-depth tips to creating an eco-capsule wardrobe, so this section will be a quick checklist to help you get started.
- Select Your Colors: Begin by choosing a color palette that resonates with you. This might be neutral colors that are versatile, or maybe you prefer a mix of neutrals with a few pops of your favorite colors. Remember, this is your wardrobe, and it should reflect your personal style.
- Determine the Number of Pieces: The number of pieces in a capsule wardrobe can vary based on your lifestyle and preference. A common guideline is to aim for around 30 to 40 items, including clothes, shoes, and accessories. This number obviously isn’t a strict rule, but it provides a useful starting point.
- Choose Quality Over Quantity: It's important to select high-quality pieces that will stand the test of time. Look for sustainable brands that prioritize durable materials like organic cotton and natural fibers.
- Sustainable Brands are Your Best Friend: Partner with sustainable brands that align with your values, such as those offering the best hemp underwear, to ensure your choices contribute to a more sustainable future.
- Invest in Versatile and Classic Pieces: When curating your wardrobe, opt for items that can be easily mixed and matched. Timeless pieces with a classic style are key here, as they never go out of fashion and can be paired with just about anything.
Some key must-have pieces you might want to consider adding (or keeping):- Basics like breathable underwear & bras
- Black, white, grey, cream-colored tops that can be dressed up or down
- Sweaters that are neutral-toned or pops of your fav colors
- Durable pair (or two or three) of comfortable jeans
- Trench coat
- Oversized blazers
- A couple of (ideally vegan or sustainably made) leather bags
- Makes-me-feel-sexy pair of heels!
- Cute minimalistic jewelry that can be layered
- Don't forget seasonal pieces like a fun bathing suit and winter coat for those freezing snow storms!
Building a sustainable capsule wardrobe isn’t just about looking good, it's also about feeling good about your choices. It's about redefining our relationship with what we wear, cultivating a more mindful approach to consumption, and creating a closet that reflects both our style and our values.
15 Sustainable and Ethical Capsule Wardrobe Brands to Explore in 2023
These 15 pioneers are setting the standard for the future of fashion with their fair trade principles, curated collections, commitment to quality fabrics, and affordable prices.
Note: Many sustainable brands overlap in these categories due to their shared commitment to ethical practices and sustainable materials.
Quick Glossary
A reference for the most popular certifications we mention for those who might not be familiar:
| Certification | What it Means |
|---|---|
| Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) | Ensures that fabrics are made from organic fibers, and production meets strict environmental criteria. |
| OEKO-TEX Standard 100 | Confirms that fabrics are free from harmful substances, ensuring safety for consumers and workers involved. |
| Fairtrade | Guarantees that products are made under fair labor conditions and provide decent wages. |
| Bluesign | Ensures responsible use of resources and reduction of harmful substances throughout their production processes. |
| B Corporation (B Corp) | Meets rigorous standards for social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability, to balance profit with purpose. |
Ready-Made Capsule Wardrobes
1. Passion Lilie
Brand: Passion Lilie sells women's apparel incorporating Ikat weaving & block printing for unique designs. Of course, our pick is their ready-to-buy Capsule Wardrobe collection for both for women & men.
Values: GOTS certified, Fairtrade. They ensure a living wage, overtime pay, paid vacation, sick leave, & holidays for most of supply chain.
Price Range: $15-120
2. encircled
Brand: encircled is a Canadian brand that offers women’s essentials along a range of wardrobe kits with multifunctional pieces that can serve as the base for a great curated capsule wardrobe.
Values: B Corp certified, Oeko-Tex certified, and they use 100% recyclable packaging.
Price Range: $19-$389
3. Aday
Brand: Aday features stylish pieces with neutral tones and pops of gorgeous colors. Their capsule sets are both practical and timeless like the The Everyday Capsule.
Values: B Corp certified, fabrics are Bluesign or Oeko-Tex certified with 77% of their styles are made from recycled, regenerated and natural materials.
Price Range: $35-$365
Affordable and Accessible
4. Neu Nomads
Brand: Neu Nomads offers women’s apparel including a wedding capsule collection for the minimalist bride. But their Styles Under $100 have a wide range of products for sale, perfect for those on a budget.
Values: Sustainable materials including GOTS and Oeko-Tex
Price Range: $28-$365
5. Dedicated
Brand: Dedicated has a variety of women, men, & kids' apparel from basics to outerwear, making it easy to choose pieces that are missing from your capsule wardrobe. Their Outlet offers discounted sale prices for hundreds of items.
Values: GOTS and Fairtrade certified. All materials used include organic cotton and hemp, 100% recycled polyester, TENCEL™ Lyocell.
Price Range: $9-$399
6. Pact
Brand: Pact offers comfortable and stylish apparel, underwear, sleepwear for women, men, and children with a focus on organic cotton fabrics. So many to choose from, but we love their Coastal Collection of summer picks.
Values: GOTS certified organic cotton and Fairtrade certified. They are committed to ethical and sustainable practices throughout their supply chain.
Price Range: $14—$148
Organic and Natural Materials
7. Organic Basics
Brand: Organic Basics makes it easy to shop for your capsule with their Mix and Match collection of neutral and pastel colored tees, underwear, and leggings made from their signature GOTS organic cotton or Tencel fabrics.
Values: As a certified B Corp, they brand is transparent about their material categorization: 75.6% plant-based materials, 15.4% recycled materials, 9% virgin materials.
Price Range: $15-$165
8. Cleobella
Brand: Cleobella offers traditional handcrafted designs from clothing, bags, to bridal pieces, adding a touch of luxury. The Spring Whites collection is perfect for lounging in, or dressing up with pops of color and accented with fun jewelry.
Values: Uses GOTS organic cotton, and other biodegradable and natural fibers. Their high-end pieces are ethically handmade from artisans around the globe.
Price Range: $60-$498
9. Eileen Fisher
Brand: Eileen Fisher is one of the few sustainable brands that use multiple organic fabrics like cotton, linen, merino, and silks with inclusive sizing (petite to extended) for women. We love their Travel wardrobe for ideas on how to start building your closet with a suitcase.
Values: Certified B Corp with Bluesign standard on their regenerative, recyclable, and renewable materials.
Price Range: $27-$468
Social Impact Focus
10. Amour Vert
Brand: Amour Vert creates women’s timeless staples from their signature fabrics which include washable and ‘vegan silk’. Their Closet Essentials are the building block basics for a capsule wardrobe.
Values: They plant a tree for every tee purchased, actively contributing to reforestation efforts. Since 2010, they’ve planted over 370k+ trees in North America.
Price Range: $20-$500
11. ABLE
Brand: ABLE offers a wide variety of items “from head to toe” including women’s apparel, bags, jewelry, and shoes — where you can find almost everything you need. Don’t know where to start? How about The Basics for the all-you-need essentials.
Values: Committed to providing job opportunities for women including fair wages, ownership in company, option for 100% paid healthcare, full maternity coverage, infertility and adoption assistance.
Price Range: $24-385
12. People Tree
Brand: People Tree offers women’s clothing from jumpsuits to yoga pants and brass jewelry. Their Essentials is a great foundation for your closet: “From easy-to-wear Organic vest tops to best-selling Vegan leggings”.
Values: A pioneer in fair trade fashion since 1991, the brand is GOTS and Fairtrade certified and collaborate with Fair trade farmers and artisans to create their pieces.
Price Range: $14-$245
Radical Transparency
13. Outerknown
Brand: Outerknown sells casual outerwear apparel for men & women, offering Sets for mixing and matching outfits. They launched a platform called Outerworn in 2021 for resale of pre-loved Outerknown garments.
Values: Bluesign, FSC, GOTS, Fairtrade certified, they also work with B Corp Certified suppliers and have 8 facilities running on renewable energy.
Price Range: $14-450
14. Everlane
Brand: Everlane offers high-quality women and men’s casual wear + accessories along with limited capsule collections like The Vacation Edit.
Values: Known for their transparency about pricing and supply chain, they’re also certified with GOTS, Bluesign, Cradle to Cradle, and made a commitment to be net-zero emissions by 2050.
Price Range: $25-368
15. Kotn
Brand: Kotn is known for their high-quality Egyptian cotton basics, and the women’s Workwear Staples make it easy to find something cute, sustainable, and work appropriate.
Values: Certified B Corporation voted Best for the World™, with the fourth-highest B Impact Score of apparel brands in North America.
Price Range: $12-248
Fashion Forward: The Future is Sustainable
For me, adopting a minimalist lifestyle allowed me to reduce clutter, streamline my outfit selection process, and truly curate a collection that reflects my own style.
Instead of sorting through hangers of worn-out, fast-fashion pieces that were hot last season, imagine opening your closet to see a well-organized mix of fewer items of high quality, timeless styles that you love.
This not only saves you time and stress but also helps you express your personal style more effectively.
By choosing brands that work with sustainable materials and ethical productions, you're supporting slow fashion and taking a stance against the environmentally damaging and exploitative practices of the fast fashion industry.
I believe that every capsule wardrobe contributes to a larger movement. Every time you choose organic cotton over synthetic fibers or select a piece from a fair trade brand over a fast-fashion retailer, you're making a statement about the kind of future you want to see.
So, take the leap, embrace the minimalist lifestyle, and become a part of the slow fashion revolution. After all, fashion is about more than just clothes—it's a way to express who we are and what we stand for.
