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Someone crouching on a wall wearing a red hoodie in a streetwear style outfit, with font saying AVNIER overlaid above a neutral emoji face.
05 Apr
Someone crouching on a wall wearing a red hoodie in a streetwear style outfit, with font saying AVNIER overlaid above a neutral emoji face.

How Ethical Is AVNIER?

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AVNIER was founded by a popular French rapper OrelSan, but how ethical is AVNIER? Here we dive into the brand’s “It’s a Start” rating, which was published in March 2023 and may not reflect claims the brand has made since then. Our ratings analysts are constantly rerating the thousands of brands you can check on our directory.

AV workwear brand is making a start

Founded by French rapper OrelSan and designer Sébastian Strappazzon, AVNIER is inspired by audiovisual creation in all its forms. It exists to service those “shadow talents” behind the scenes with stylish and practical designs, including velcro pockets and built-in nametags. This may be a cool creative vision for an underserved market, but the question of “shadow talents” should equally extend to the garment workers creating the brand’s wares in the first place.

So, is AVNIER a brand worth investing in for the conscious consumer? How exactly is AVNIER impacting people, the planet, and animals? We ask, how ethical is AVNIER?

Environmental impact

AVNIER uses a high proportion of lower-impact materials in its clothing, mainly GOTS certified organic cotton, which is a positive. This helps limit the chemicals, water, and wastewater in its supply chain. However, there’s no evidence the brand minimises textile waste, nor does it appear to take action to minimise its packaging, which is a driver of plastic waste.

AVNIER rates “It’s a Start” for the planet, and could improve its score by addressing its waste management across the supply chain.

Labour conditions

When it comes to labour conditions, AVNIER also receives our middling score of “It’s a Start”.

Thanks to its partial GOTS certification, a good level of working conditions is guaranteed at least in part of the supply chain, and it does trace most of its supply chain. However, there’s no evidence AVNIER has a Code of Conduct, nor ensures workers are paid living wages, and its clothes are mostly made in Portugal—a medium risk country for labour rights abuses.

Animal welfare

AVNIER scores “It’s a Start” for our animal friends, too. While some of its products do contain wool, it doesn’t appear to use fur, leather, angora, or any exotic animal hairs or skins.

Disclosing more information about its wool use, like whether it is mulesing-free, would help here—ditching wool altogether would be even better.

Overall rating: It’s a Start

Overall, we rate AVNIER “It’s a Start”. While it is making a start for workers, animals, and the planet, it still has work to do across the board. It should be more transparent about how much of its supply chain is covered under GOTS certification or otherwise, ensure payment of a living wage in its supply chain, and look to non-mulesed wool in its collections.

Note that Good On You ratings consider hundreds of issues, and it is not possible to list every relevant issue in a summary of the brand’s performance. For more information, see our How We Rate page and our FAQs.

See the rating.

If you love the streetwear look, are after some workwear brands, or prefer to support French companies, check out the alternatives below.

Good swaps

“Good” and “Great” alternatives to AVNIER

Plant Faced Clothing

Rated: Good

Streetwear without the sweatshops, that's the motto of this British 100% vegan and cruelty-free streetwear apparel brand that is all about promoting a new wave of consciousness that supports the non-harming or exploitation of any beings in fashion production.

Buy Plant Faced Clothing in sizes XS-2XL.

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Afends

Rated: Good
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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.

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RÆBURN

Rated: Good

British streetwear brand RÆBURN makes an art out of upcycling. This is a fashion-forward brand for men and women that creates sharp looks from military surplus, with materials that include 1950s Airforce silk maps, and Danish military wool blankets. It also offers free repairs so you can take care of your precious investment pieces. Find most of the range in sizes XS-2XL.

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Shop RÆBURN @ Farfetch.

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FM 669

Rated: Good
people embraced in tops by FM 669.

FM 669 is a US brand that offers apparel made from homegrown cotton, including t-shirts, tank tops, and long-sleeve shirts. It proudly sources its GOTS-certified cotton from a collective of farms in Texas using regenerative practices, and uses lower-impact dyes in its limited production runs. Its designs are effortlessly wearable, with its laid-back, casual aesthetic in gender-neutral pieces.

Offered in sizes XS-L.

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Patagonia

Rated: Good

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.

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Shop Patagonia @ LVRSustainable.

Shop Patagonia Pre-Owned @ Vestiaire Collective.

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Hopaal

Rated: Great

Hopaal makes simple, timeless clothing for women and men . We give the brand a ‘Great’ rating for the environment because of its use of 100% recycled materials as wells as its efforts to use renewable energy. It even stocks Guppy wash bags so you can be sure you’re not sending microfibres into the ocean when you do your laundry. Hopaal also takes care of workers, paying a living wage at the final stage of production. A great example of a brand that puts ethics at the heart of the business, without compromising on style.

Find most items in sizes XS-XL.

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Shop Hopaal.

Good Guys

Rated: Good

Good Guys creates cruelty-free shoes for women and men, founded and designed by Marion Hanania in Paris. Through Good Guys, Hanania aims to create the perfect cruelty-free, made in Europe closet, where no animal product is involved, and the production guarantees fair trade working conditions.

Find most shoes in EU sizes 36-46.

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Shop Good Guys.

Shop Good Guys @ Immaculate Vegan.

Editor's note

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

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