25 Sustainable Fashion Brands Run by Women of Color
by Jharna Pariani
As we advocate for an inclusive, equitable, and racially diverse fashion industry, it's crucial to shed the spotlight on WOC owned fashion businesses that are making waves in the industry. Ahead, we’ve gathered a number of brands that are doing just that.
Female founders, especially women of color, often have little to no access to resources of wealth, lack opportunities, mentors, business education, and networks. Bloomberg reports that female founders have secured only 2% of venture capital in the U.S. in 2021.
And women of color face even further barriers. WOC-founded businesses average $66,000 in annual revenue compared to $212,000 for all women-owned companies.
Despite these challenges, we found a group of enterprising women of color who are making their mark within a space that needs creatives and their vision.
Here, we rounded up 25 WOC-owned sustainable fashion brands to support, amplify, and celebrate.
Where to Find WOC-Owned Conscious Clothing Brands
1. Aliya Wanek
A brand that has mastered the pared-down look in deeply saturated hues, clean and well-executed lines in a mixture of plant-based fabrics, Aliya Wanek is a size-inclusive eponymous label that offers a refreshingly relaxed approach to dressing.
The brand works with two small factories in the Bay Area to produce and dye their garments. Aliya is also one of the founding members of In Todo, a curated craft fair that celebrates the work of BIPOC creatives.
Price: $$-$$$
2. Ziran
A brand that only uses Xiang yun sha silk, a variety of buttery smooth silk native to Southern China, Ziran is helping preserve and protect ancient Chinese traditions.
Made from unique hand-dyeing techniques, all of Ziran’s products are made-to-order and crafted in Los Angeles.
Their berry co-ord set is an absolute dream for summer days.
Price: $$-$$$
3. GALERIE.LA
Founded by LA-based celebrity stylist Dechel Mckillian, GALERIE.LA is an ethical concept store that offers a consciously curated and carefully vetted collection of sustainable fashion and clean beauty brands.
From BIPOC-owned to locally produced, artisan-made, vegan and ethically produced, their curated categories eliminate that overwhelming feeling of shopping sustainably and help you make better buying decisions by letting you shop by values that mean the most to you.
Price: $-$$$
4. Two Days Off
Former climate scientist Gina Stovall is the brainchild behind Two Days Off, an ecologically-conscious brand that strives to stay carbon neutral through low impact practices and supporting decarbonization projects across the globe.
Offering a capsule collection of everyday essentials that are bound to become your wardrobe mainstays, Two Days Off uses natural fibers and deadstock fabrics to create their clothes in small production runs or through a made-to-order model with a lead time of up to 4 weeks.
Price: $$-$$$
5. Selva\Negra
Selva\Negra is an ethical, Latina-owned brand based out of LA that offers size-inclusive clothing in everyday styles. Apart from ensuring their workers are paid fair, living wages and integrating zero-waste practices into their production methods, the brand is also actively giving back to their community by donating to nonprofit organizations with values and missions that align with their principles.
We love the fact that they offer a range of upcycled pieces that utilize excess textiles from older seasons!
Price: $$-$$$
6. Gracemade
Your one-stop-shop for modest clothing that’s elevated and well-made, Gracemade is a Black-owned fashion brand with a strong spiritual connection.
The brand uses deadstock fabrics and natural materials like organic cotton, linen and Tencel in a majority of their collections — which, are all made in small batches to avoid excessive inventory.
Gracemade also donates a portion of every sale to Life Impact International, a non-profit organisation that rescues at-risk children.
Price: $$-$$$
7. Grant Blvd
Hot streetwear styles that happen to be sustainable, Grant Blvd is where we’ll be hunting down our next pair of joggers, cropped tops and music-festival-worthy front-slit skirts.
Made from plant-based fabrics and deadstock materials, Grand Blvd is on a mission to support women who were formerly incarcerated or have experienced homelessness and offers 2% of their annual profits to support organisations that fight for criminal systems reform.
Price: $$-$$$
8. Hope for Flowers
Hope for Flowers is a sustainable label created by Tracy Reese, an established designer and board member of the CFDA, whose eponymous designs have been worn by the likes of Michelle Obama, Tracee Ellis Ross and Sarah Jessica Parker.
Through her conscious label Hope for Flowers, Tracy offers a range of bright and cheerfully printed clothing that’s bound to trigger a mood boost in you.
Price: $$-$$$
9. ourCommonplace
An ethical and sustainable marketplace that offers a curated and cautiously vetted selection of fashion and beauty products that make shopping for cruelty-free, conscious, toxic-free, BIPOC, and women-owned brands a whole lot easier.
Brands that are on-boarded at ourCommonplace meet a strict set of standards and are sustainably certified by third-party organizations.
Price: $-$$$
10. Chelsea Bravo
A brand that wants its consumers to know that sustainability in fashion can be well-designed and desirable, Chelsea Bravo creates a minimalist range of men’s, women’s and unisex clothing styles that features unmissable details like hand-painting and appliqué.
The clothes are crafted using repurposed deadstock materials and a range of plant-based fibers like hemp, linen, and organic cotton designed in breezy shapes and contemporary silhouettes.
Price: $$$
11. Wray
Featuring playful prints in bright colors and a size-inclusive approach to fashion, Wray works with responsible factories and utilizes closed-loop production methods to create their easy, everyday styles.
The brand uses recycled fabrics and works with fair-trade manufacturers in India, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Peru.
We love the fact that the collections are categorised by prints, and the gingham collection is an absolute treat for the summer.
Price: $$-$$$
12. Dynasty George
As its namesake so aptly suggests, Dynasty George offers a range of sustainably made, regencycore-inspired looks that’ll have you looking like a regal viscountess straight out of Bridgerton.
Featuring meticulous design details in ditsy floral prints, you wouldn’t believe that all of their clothes are made using deadstock fabric and vintage textiles.
(P.S. There’s a range of gorgeous options for expecting moms-to-be.)
Price: $$-$$$
13. Valani
Founded by Asian American entrepreneur Vanni Leung, Valani creates seasonless plant-based clothing in styles that are ideal for wearing all year round.
Using fabrics like hemp, tencel, and banana silk, Valani’s collection features flirty styles in feminine hues that have all the makings of a perfect date night look.
Price: $$
14. Back Beat Co.
Back Beat Co. is an eco-responsible brand that focuses on creating relaxed essentials like t-shirts and jumpsuits that pay homage to the old school surf and skate culture of California.
Using fabrics like hemp, linen, GOTS certified organic cotton, Tencel and even deadstock material, the brand creates a range of bright athleisure and all-purpose basics that are befitting of a summer day out in the sun.
Price: $$-$$$
15. Míe
Míe creates covetable resort wear that captures the feel-good serenity of a day spent lounging by the beach. Featuring pieces like free-flowing dresses that double up as chic cover-ups, tie-up detail tops and wide-leg pants made mostly from linen.
All of their clothes are locally made by seamstresses and artisans in Lagos, Nigeria, where the brand is based. [Check out more conscious fashion brands based in Africa]
Price: $$$
16. Abacaxi
A celebration of hand-woven textiles, Abacaxi is helping preserve the ancestral crafts of artisans from India, Peru and Mexico. The brand creates vibrant, size-inclusive dresses and separates in organic cotton, regeneratively-grown cotton, linen and silk.
Mirrorwork beading, crochet, schiffli embroidery, and plant-dyeing are just a few of the processes utilized in their styles.
Price: $$$
17. Proclaim
Proclaim is a lingerie brand based in San Francisco that creates everyday nude undergarments that cater to a wide range of people of color (long before Skims did it), all while reducing their environmental impact.
Made from earth-friendly fabrics like hemp and organic cotton blends, Tencel, cupro and recycled polyester, Proclaim manufactures its lingerie in Los Angeles by working with manufacturers that meet the strict labor standards and pay them fairly.
Price: $$-$$$
18. Lemlem
A brand that has mastered the art of creating playfully-detailed warm-weather staples that are primed for a tropical vacation, Lemlem is an artisan-driven resort wear brand founded by Ethiopian supermodel Liya Kebede.
The brand was born out of a key mission of creating economic growth in Ethiopia and preserving the local art of weaving.
Price: $$$
19. All for Ramon
Dedicated and named after their late brother Ramon, who had a strong value system, two Latina sisters set up All for Ramon to honor his legacy through a brand that believes in eco-friendly craftsmanship, ethical manufacturing, and conservation of natural resources.
All for Ramon creates repeat-worthy everyday basics, made from organic cotton that is treated with low impact dyes.
Price: $$-$$$
20. Poplinen
Offering everyday essentials that were made to last, Poplinen is a size-inclusive label that creates evergreen essentials crafted from low-impact fabrics like Tencel, modal, organic cotton, and upcycled denim that provide utmost comfort without skimping on style.
P.S. Moms have the option to coordinate with their babies with their Mama & Me matching sets.
Price: $$
21. Angel Chang
Angel Chang is a seed-to-button, carbon-neutral womenswear line that is handmade by indigenous tribes in China. From farm to factory, each piece takes around 5-6 months to make, treated using natural plant dyes foraged from the surrounding mountain forest that is also used in traditional Chinese medicine.
The resulting pieces have a pared-down, minimalist aesthetic that feels instantly elevated.
Price: $$$
22. Roopa Pemmaraju
A vibrant brand that encapsulates larger-than-life energy through its bold prints, strong hues and striking silhouettes, Roopa Pemmaraju is a highly covetable brand that happens to be sustainable.
Through luxurious styles that honor exceptional Indian craftsmanship, Roopa’s eponymous label ensures its artisans are paid fairly while using natural fibers and recycled materials and cutting every garment to order in an attempt to reduce waste.
Price: $$$-$$$$
23. Brother Vellies
Brother Vellies is a footwear and accessories label that was founded with the sole purpose of preserving traditional African design practices and techniques while sustaining artisanal jobs.
The brand now employs artisans from across the globe who handcraft a diverse range of eye-catching footwear to suit every occasion, using vegetable-tanned leather, soles made from recycled tires and hand-carved wood.
Brother Vellies founder Aurora James also launched The Fifteen Percent Pledge, a non-profit advocacy organization which encourages retailers to commit to stocking their stores with Black-owned businesses.
Price: $$$-$$$$
24. PH5
PH5 is a contemporary women’s knitwear brand that’s developed and produced in China, where the founder Wei Lin, works closely with computer engineers and technicians who are advanced in coding techniques that play an important role in developing and producing zero-waste designs.
Creating one-of-a-kind knitwear pieces made from recycled materials like this statement wavy asymmetric dress, PH5 is proof that sustainable clothing can be cool, too.
Price: $$$
25. Cuyana
A celebrity favorite, Cuyana may have a justifiable cult following for its famous leather totes, but its minimalist range of everyday basics and loungewear are just as noteworthy as it is stylish.
The brand takes pride in sustainably-made materials, which are often recycled or reused. Through its Revive program, Cuyana gives its loyal customers a chance to give their beloved pieces a second life.
Price: $$-$$$
About the Author:
Jharna Pariani is a fashion writer and creative strategist whose work is rooted in honesty and deep observation of the world around her. When she isn’t busy penning down her thoughts, she moonlights as a video editor creating fashion and food reels on Instagram for several brands and influencers.
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Cover Image courtesy of Selva\Negra