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18 Feb
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Our Favourite ​​Alternatives to Uniqlo’s Bestsellers

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Uniqlo is known and loved for its understated aesthetic, versatile basics, and lightweight down jackets. But the brand only rates “It’s a Start”, meaning its ethics aren’t up to scratch, so here are some alternatives to Uniqlo’s bestselling products from brands that are doing the work to be “Good” or “Great”.

Uniqlo’s making a start, but it’s not enough

Uniqlo is known for its timeless aesthetic and high-quality basics. Some of its items go viral on social media, like this nylon bag TikTok went wild for, and this pair of wide-legged work trousers. And let’s not forget the brand’s famous light and packable down jackets and gilets.

Uniqlo is already ahead of comparable brands by creating timeless staples that don’t go out of fashion nearly as fast. But beyond those aesthetics, the Japanese brand’s ethics don’t quite hold up, and we rate Uniqlo “It’s a Start” based on our expert rating team’s research here at Good On You. This rating can raise questions, especially when applied to large, fast fashion brands. But “It’s a Start” means just that—the brand is making a start, with a lot more work to do before it can be considered a “Good” or a “Great” brand.  While Uniqlo has set some decent environmental policies in place and has made a start for animals, there’s no evidence it’s providing fair wages for its workers or addressing a host of other issues (check out Uniqlo’s listing on the directory for more).

So, if you like Uniqlo’s basics but are looking for alternative brands making a solid effort across the board for sustainability and ethics, we have good news. There are “Good” and “Great” brands making items similar to Uniqlo’s best-selling pieces but doing better for people, the planet, and animals.

A note on affordability

Good On You wants to help you find sustainable options no matter your budget. But we recognise that many sustainable brands appear more expensive up front. That’s because more goes into a price tag than the cost of fabric. Fast fashion prices are often low because workers are not paid living wages and sustainable practices are not followed in production.

Fast fashion has also distorted our view of clothing prices. We now spend much less and buy far more low-quality garments than we did a few decades ago. When taking into account cost-per-wear, higher-quality items you’ll wear again and again end up costing less in the long run despite the initial investment.

We aim to highlight the range of more affordable sustainable brands, but we also encourage you to seek out the most sustainable options that work for you. Sometimes this means shopping second-hand, other times rediscovering and restyling what you already own.

More sustainable alternatives to Uniqlo’s bestsellers

Instead of the ultra-light down jacket, shop:

tentree

Rated: Good

Cloud Shell Packable Puffer – Ships internationally from Canada

Canadian brand tentree plants ten trees for every item purchased to help regenerate ecosystems and provide planting jobs in communities around the world, and has already planted over 65 million trees. All tentree’s products are created with an Earth-first approach, meaning they're made in fair, safe working conditions, and constructed using lower-impact and recycled materials.

tentree’s clothes are typically available from XS-XL.

See the rating.

Shop tentree.

Patagonia

Rated: Good
light puffer jacket from Patagonia

Nano Puff Jacket – Ships internationally from the US

Patagonia is a brand that truly lives and breathes the great outdoors. It makes clothing for trail running, climbing, mountain biking, surfing, skiing, and snowboarding. Patagonia has "Good" labour practices, and uses recycled, rather than virgin, polyester. It has also committed to reducing its energy use and emissions.

The brand stocks sizes 2XS-3XL.

See the rating.

Shop Patagonia @ LVRSustainable.

Shop Patagonia Pre-Owned @ Vestiaire Collective.

Shop Patagonia.

Ecoalf

Rated: Good
person wearing red puffer jacket from brothers we stand

Beret Jacket @ Brothers We Stand – Ships internationally from the UK

Thanks to recycled materials like rescued ocean plastic, Ecoalf creates more sustainable fashion with the same quality, design, and technical properties as the best non-recycled ones.

Find the range in sizes XS-2XL.

See the rating.

Shop Ecoalf @ Farfetch.

Shop Ecoalf.

Instead of Uniqlo’s signature shirts, try:

ASKET

Rated: Good

The Shirt and Oxford Shirt – Ships internationally from Sweden

ASKET has been creating timeless wardrobe essentials since 2015 with revolutionary sizing and fair pricing. The brand disregards seasonal collections, cuts out all the middlemen, and only sells directly to you—putting its entire focus on building a single permanent collection.

Find the range in sizes 2XS-2XL.

See the rating.

Shop ASKET.

Dedicated

Rated: Great
person wearing beige shirt from dedicated

Rute Linen Shirt – Ships internationally from Sweden

If you love a great graphic print, Swedish label Dedicated has you covered. Dedicated is a responsible streetwear brand for men, women, and children. All cotton used in its clothes is 100% organic, and most pieces are Fairtrade certified, which means that you don’t have to sacrifice your ethics to dress in style.

Find the clothes in XS-XL.

See the rating.

Shop Dedicated.

Shop Dedicated @ Earthkind.

OMNES

Rated: Good
person wearing orange shirt from omnes

Evie Linen Shirt – Ships internationally from the UK

OMNES is a more responsible and more affordable UK-based brand creating high quality womenswear. "We created OMNES to help change the way you shop, wear and think about clothing. And to encourage the rest of the industry to do it, too," says the brand.

Find most items in sizes 6-20.

See the rating.

Shop OMNES.

All The Wild Roses

Rated: Good
striped shirt from all the wild roses

Birkin Striped Shirt – Ships internationally from Australia

All The Wild Roses offers free-spirited fashion for the dreamers and change-makers. This Australian brand uses up to 50% deadstock fabric to create high quality and long-lasting products.

Find most items in sizes XS-2XL.

See the rating.

Shop All The Wild Roses.

NUDEA

Rated: Good
person wearing oversized green shirt from nudea

Midi Shirt – Ships internationally from the UK

NUDEA believes that the items you wear closest to your skin should be more sustainable, comfortable, flexible and stylish, so it crafts its sleep and underwear with this in mind. The British brand uses lower impact materials and partly traces its supply chain.

Find items in XS - XXL

See the rating.

Shop NUDEA.

Instead of Uniqlo’s basic t-shirt, shop:

BAM Bamboo Clothing

Rated: Good
persona wearing t-shirt from bamboo clothing

Origin Air Bamboo T-Shirt – Ships internationally from the UK

UK-based BAM Bamboo Clothing makes womenswear and menswear basics from bamboo, and rates “Good” for people, the planet, and animals. The brand traces most of its supply chain and also offers clothing recycling to consumers to help address end-of-life textile waste.

Find most items in sizes XS-L.

See the rating.

Shop BAM Bamboo Clothing.

Etiko

Rated: Great
etiko white t-shirt

Organic Cotton T-Shirt – Ships internationally from Australia

Etiko is an Australian designer of organic fair trade clothing and shoes. The brand constantly sets the bar for upholding and campaigning the human rights of people working in traditionally exploitative industry supply chains.

Find the clothes in AU sizes 8-20, and the shoes in UK sizes 3-13.

See the rating.

Shop Etiko.

Citizen Wolf

Rated: Good
person wearing black tshirt from citizen wolf

The Long Crew T-Shirt – Ships internationally from Australia

Citizen Wolf uses revolutionary technology to give you high quality custom-fit t-shirts that it guarantees will be the best you’ve ever worn. After capturing your customisations, the brand handmakes each tee in Sydney using certified lower-impact fabrics like cotton, hemp, and Merino wool milled in Melbourne.

See the rating.

Shop Citizen Wolf.

Yes Friends

Rated: Great
person wearing yes friends t-shirt

Long-Sleeved Organic Cotton T-Shirt – Ships internationally from the UK

Yes Friends is a UK-based fashion brand that creates more affordable clothing for everyone. Yes Friends' first product, classic cut t-shirts, cost less than £4 to make and the brand only charges £7.99. Using large scale production and direct to consumer margins means Yes Friends can charge you an affordable price for its more responsible clothing.

Find the range inclusively sized in 2XS-4XL.

See the rating.

Shop Yes Friends.

LANIUS

Rated: Good
navy long sleeve tshirt from lanius

Long-Sleeved T-Shirt – Ships internationally from Germany

“Love fashion, think organic, be responsible” are the maxims of LANIUS. The German brand uses lower-impact materials, like GOTS certified cotton. All LANIUS facilities are SA8000 certified and it is a member of the Fair Wear Foundation.

LANIUS' clothes are available in EU sizes 34-44.

See the rating.

Shop LANIUS.

The Classic T-Shirt Company

Rated: Good
person wearing white t-shirt on a beach

Crew Neck T-Shirt – Ships internationally from the US

The Classic T-Shirt Company is a US brand that creates premium, responsibly made t-shirts with luxury and integrity. All of its products are made from GOTS certified organic cotton and it doesn't use any animal-derived materials.

The Classic T-Shirt Company’s range is available in US sizes XS-3XL.

See the rating.

Shop The Classic T-Shirt Company.

The Good Tee

Rated: Great

The Fave and Fair Unisex Tee – Ships internationally from Canada

Canadian brand The Good Tee is on a mission to be a positive example of responsibly made basics for the whole family, and strives to humanise the fashion industry by producing Fairtrade, GOTS certified fashion, tracing its entire supply chain, and auditing suppliers.

Find its range in sizes XS-2XL.

See the rating.

Shop The Good Tee.

Instead of Uniqlo’s denim, shop:

ISTO.

Rated: Good
selvedge denim jeans from isto

Selvedge Denim Jeans – Ships internationally from Portugal

Portuguese brand ISTO.’s mandate is simple: create clothes to transcend the seasons and work as staple items in your wardrobe all year round. It has one single collection and pursues quality over quantity to try and make its items permanently available. It uses organic materials and is incredibly transparent in showing you the true cost of your clothes when you go to purchase a piece for your wardrobe.

The range is available in XS-XL.

See the rating.

Shop ISTO..

Outland Denim

Rated: Great
persona wearing blue jeans from outland denim

Farrah Denim Jeans – Ships internationally from Australia

Outland Denim makes premium denim jeans and clothes, and offers employment opportunities for women rescued from human trafficking in Cambodia. This Australian brand was founded as an avenue for the training and employment of women who have experienced sex trafficking.

Find most of the brand's range in US sizes 22-34.

See the rating.

Shop Outland Denim.

Dawn Denim

Rated: Great
blue denim jeans from dawn denim

Dusk Jeans – Ships internationally from Germany

Dawn Denim is a German denim brand striving to empower women to change the way clothes are made, sold and worn. Making your butt look good in jeans is a welcome side effect.

Find the jeans in XS-3XL.

See the rating.

Shop Dawn Denim.

Triarchy

Rated: Great
high rise blue jeans from triarchy

Ms Hawn Cropped Skinny Jeans – Ships internationally from the US

Offers

Triarchy Denim – Site-wide (US)

More sustainable denim made with plastic-free stretch denim or 100% organic and recycled cotton. Exclusive 30% off with code TRIARCHYGOOD30 (Only available in the US. Sales items excluded.) (Ends: 18 FEB)

Checkout code: TRIARCHYGOOD30
Shop now

US-based Triarchy creates more sustainable jeans, skirts, shorts, jumpsuits, and jackets. The brand’s production system uses 85% recycled water by consistently reusing the "thick indigo laden sludge" that unmonitored factories dump into water systems.

Find most of the jeans in US sizes 24-32.

See the rating.

Shop Triarchy.

Shop Triarchy @ LVRSustainable.

non

Rated: Great
selvedge denim jeans from non

Rinsed Indigo Selvedge Denim Jeans – Ships internationally from the UK

non is a UK-based label that offers raw selvedge denim jeans, jackets, and accessories that are designed to last.

The jeans are available in sizes 26-36.

See the rating.

Shop non.

Instead of the Heattech leggings, shop:

Organic Basics

Rated: Good
person wearing greay leggings and top from organic basics

Core Leggings – Ships internationally from Denmark

Organic Basics offers high-quality more sustainable fashion basics for men and women in organic materials. The Denmark-based brand puts sustainable thinking at the centre of everything—it only chooses fabrics that care for our environment, and only ever partners with factories that care about their impact.

Organic Basics' clothes are available in sizes XS-XL.

See the rating.

Shop Organic Basics.

Girlfriend Collective

Rated: Good

Black Compressive Leggings – Ships internationally from the US

Girlfriend Collective creates minimal, luxury activewear made with fair labour, certified by the Social Accountability Standard International SA8000. The brand uses recycled polyester as well as low-impact, non-toxic dyes and is fully Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certified. Girlfriend Collective provides the goods with these classic black sustainable leggings.

Inclusively sized Girlfriend Collective offers products from 2XS-6XL.

See the rating.

Shop Girlfriend Collective @ LVR Sustainable.

Shop Girlfriend Collective.

Instead of the cashmere crewneck sweater, shop:

Colorful Standard

Rated: Good

Wool Crew Neck Sweat – Ships internationally from Denmark

Colorful Standard is a Danish clothing brand that makes organic fashion essentials for men and women. The brand doesn't care much for seasons or trends, instead, it creates timeless and long-lasting products to avoid the downward spiral that is over-consumption.

Find most items in sizes XS-2XL.

See the rating.

Shop Colorful Standard.

Opera Campi

Rated: Good
person wearing hemp sweater from opera campi

Sempre Hemp Sweater – Ships internationally from Italy

Founded in 2017, Italian brand Opera Campi creates premium quality garments from locally-sourced raw materials. By using a balanced approach to sustainability, the brand makes conscious choices throughout its supply chain and donates 4% of its profits to social causes.

The brand is inclusively sized from 3XS-3XL.

See the rating.

Shop Opera Campi.

Instead of the famous work pants, shop:

Toad&Co

Rated: Good
person wearing green work trousers from toad and co

Mission Ridge Trousers – Ships internationally from the US

Toad&Co is a US brand working in a more socially and environmentally minded way. Its women's and menswear is equally suited for the rigours of the trail or the tavern.

Most items are available in sizes XS-2XL.

See the rating.

Shop Toad&Co.

Afends

Rated: Good
work trousers from afends

Hemp and Cotton-Blend Trousers – Ships internationally from Australia

Born in Byron Bay, Australia, Afends is a more responsible brand leading the way in hemp fashion. Drawing inspiration from the environment, streetwear, and surf culture, Afends’ mission is to create more sustainable clothing through innovation, action, and positive change. As true hemp advocates, it purchased 100 acres of farmland called Sleepy Hollow to grow its own hemp crops and ignite the hemp revolution.

Find most of the range in sizes XS-XL.

See the rating.

Shop Afends.

Instead of the viral bag, shop:

BEEN London

Rated: Good
been london black crossbody bag

Annis Sling Bag – Ships internationally from the UK

BEEN London is a London-based brand turning waste into timeless accessories you’d want to use every day. All its products are made from materials that have been something else in a previous life, including recycled leather offcuts and plastic bottles.

See the rating.

Shop BEEN London.

TORRAIN

Rated: Good
crossbody bag from torrain

Crossbody Bag – Ships internationally from the US

US-based TORRAIN creates upcycled bags designed with travel and adventure in mind. The brand reuses feedbags, which are durable, lightweight, water-resistant, and colourful. According to the brand, these bags are the perfect material to upcycle into products for travel and outdoor adventure, keeping them out of landfills.

See the rating.

Shop TORRAIN.

Sealand

Rated: Great

Upcycled Moon Bag – Ships internationally from South Africa

Rooted in Cape Town’s southern peninsula, Sealand is a brand that believes in smart material selection, compelling functionality, and product durability.

See the rating.

Shop Sealand.

Editor's note

Feature image via BEEN London, all other images via brands mentioned. Good On You publishes the world’s most comprehensive ratings of fashion and beauty brands’ impacts on people, the planet, and animals. Use our directory to search thousands of rated brands.

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