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Close up of a deep pink jacket and t-shirt naturally dyed with plant leftover by Armedangels.
28 Jan
Close up of a deep pink jacket and t-shirt naturally dyed with plant leftover by Armedangels.

Gentle On The Planet and Your Skin: 10 Naturally Dyed Clothing Brands

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Love the rainbow but want to avoid toxic dyes in your clothes? These 10 brands are creating naturally dyed garments safe for your skin and the planet.

What are ‘natural dyes’?

Many of us don ourselves in all shades of the rainbow as a form of self-expression, often without thinking twice about how our clothes were coloured. Unfortunately, in the age of fast fashion, consumer demand means 90% of our clothes are dyed synthetically and require incredible amounts of water and often toxic chemicals in production. While numerous traditional dyeing techniques have been used around the world for thousands of years, due to the sheer scale of clothing production today, many of them are not viable on a commercial scale.

However, some brands keep the tradition alive—or embrace modern innovation—by dyeing their garments with what are commonly referred to as “natural dyes”, which are usually made from plants, seeds, barks, lichens, minerals, or even insects. And while natural dye doesn’t automatically make a garment ethical or sustainable (harmful chemicals are still often used to bond dyes to fabric), there are ways to do it in a way that is kinder to your skin, workers, and the planet. Read on to discover the brands that are ethically and sustainably incorporating naturally dyed clothing into their conscious collections.

Note: Some naturally dyed garments’ colouring may shift and fade over time depending on the processing. Be sure to wash with like-colours and embrace the unique looks natural dyeing produces.

Brands creating naturally dyed clothing

Armedangels

Rated: Great
Someone wearing a naturally dyed pink sweatsuit by Armedangels and holding a garden tool.

Armedangels’ “Dyed by Nature” collection comprises garments coloured with “zero waste veggie dye”. The gorgeous hues of natural dusty rose, natural indigo, natural rose, and natural forest are all made possible thanks to leftovers from beetroot and palmetto waste produced by herbal and agricultural industries.

Affordable, ethical, and on-trend. Germany’s Armedangels gets a “Great” rating overall from us. The brand covers all the basics for women, men, and kids. Armedangels’ quality and long-lasting pieces are made from eco-friendly and certified materials, like Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) certified cotton. The brand also adopted the Fair Wear Foundation Code of Conduct to protect its workers abroad. Its products are available in sizes XS-XL.

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MUD Jeans

Rated: Great
Cropped shot of someone with their hand in the back jeans pocket of orange naturally dyed jeans by MUD Jeans.

Mineral-dyed denim is just as cool as it sounds: non-toxic, non-allergic, biodegradable, and eco-friendly. “The pigment extracted from rocks is applied to our light blue, undyed, recycled denim fabric and can be reused over and over again”, says the brand.

Dutch denim brand MUD Jeans is all about sustainability. Not only does it offer a repair service, but it also provides a rental service where you can lease a pair of jeans for up to a year. MUD Jeans uses a combination of GOTS certified organic cotton and post-consumer recycled cotton. MUD Jeans are available in a range of sizes, usually from W25 L30-W33 L32 for women and W28 L34-W36 L34 for men.

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Christy Dawn

Rated: Great
Someone wearing a pink blockprint naturally dyed dress by Christy Dawn.

Maintaining the indigenous practice of block printing with plant dyes, one community in Bhuj, Rajasthan partners with Christy Dawn to create beautiful, unique block printed garments: “As other block printing communities have transitioned to synthetic dyes, these specific artists have maintained traditional practices.”

Christy Dawn is a minimalist showroom for vintage-inspired women’s clothing and footwear, locally made with surplus fabric. The US brand rates “Great”, making it a fabulous boho option for your wardrobe. Find the clothes in standard sizes XS-XL, or shop the Extended and Petite collections.

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Triarchy

Rated: Great

For denim dyed responsibly, Triarchy gets our vote. Using a combination of natural indigo dye and clay to imbue their jeans with rich, earth-friendly hues, Triarchy understands the importance of sustainability at all levels, right down to colour.

Triarchy creates eco-friendly 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.

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Harvest & Mill

Rated: Great
two people wearing natural brown undyed cotton tops and joggers by Harvest & Mill

If you prefer the naturally-occurring hues of fabric, the undyed and unbleached basics by Harvest & Mill should be top of your list. The brand also recently started incorporating some naturally dyed colourways, including California clay and indigo dyes.

Harvest & Mill pieces are grown, milled, and sewn exclusively in the US, supporting American organic cotton farmers and local sewing communities. The brand makes basics for everyone, always ensuring they are not dyed or bleached, significantly reducing the use of water, energy, and dye materials. Even better, by cultivating different varieties of cotton, the brand is able to bolster biodiversity, which is essential for ensuring healthy ecosystems and keeping our planet resilient in the face of climate change.

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KENT

Rated: Good
Close up of a pair of naturally dyed underwear next to pomegranates, designed by KENT.

Naturally-dyed, compostable, organic underwear you’ll love? KENT has got you covered. After an in-depth look at the pros and cons of synthetic v natural dyes, KENT opted for the latter in their eye-catching range. Despite being more expensive to produce, the skin-loving biodegradability of plant dyes won out for this brand.

KENT is a US-based brand that creates timeless, organic underwear for women, ensuring a quality fit and feel no matter what. It produces the first verified compostable underwear, made from organic cotton and designed to return to nature in 90 days when composted or planted, feeding the soil and growing new plants (or future pants). Find most pants in sizes XS to 2XL.

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Outland Denim

Rated: Great
Cropped studio shot of someone wearing a white tshirt and light peach naturally clay dyed denim shorts by Outland Denim.

Outland Denim are launching their Peachy Keen Edit, featuring 100% organic denim dyed with natural Turkish clay. Jump on the waitlist for these gorgeous light pink hues.

Outland Denim makes premium denim jeans and clothes and offers ethical 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.

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Monsoon Blooms

Rated: Great
man wearing yellow monsoon blooms t-shirt

Following the wisdom of Ayurveda, Monsoon Blooms creates Fairtrade International-certified organic cotton underwear and basics, naturally dyed with plants. It does not use any animal products and makes its product by hand to reduce its climate impact. Find sizes S-L.

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Sustain by Kat

Rated: Good

Sustain by Kat produces timeless organic women’s and children’s clothing dyed with plants. This is a brand that really cares about the environment. It uses eco-friendly materials, including GOTS certified organic cotton, and uses only low impact, non-toxic plant-based dyes, better for you and the planet. It’sIt’s possible to have clothes that also care for you with Sustain by Kat’s “clothing with a conscience”. Find the range in sizes XS-XL.

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HARA

Rated: Good

HARA is a clothing label designed for you and our earth collectively. The brand specialises in organic bamboo cotton underwear and loungewear, with its vibrant colours achieved naturally with turmeric, indigo, and madder root plants. HARA’s products are inclusively sized with a range of XS-5XL.

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Editor's note

Feature image via Armedangels, 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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