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If you live in Spain or Portugal, you might be wondering how to find eco-friendly and conscious brands that meet your style, budget, size, needs, and values. It might mean only buying organic clothing or investing in vegan fashion brands that protect animals. For more and more people, it means supporting their local communities by buying from brands closer to home.
But how can you know if brands are really as sustainable as they claim? Are brands genuine, or are they greenwashing? What goes on behind the price tag?
We know how you feel, which is why we strive to help you find the very best sustainable fashion brands from around the world.
In this article, we’re shining a light on 19 of the most ethical and sustainable clothing brands from Spain and Portugal we could find. These brands are doing their part to ensure people, the planet, and animals don’t suffer in their production. But what does that mean, exactly?
What makes a brand ethical?
Long story short, an ethical brand makes sure it positively impacts our three key pillars of People, the Planet, and Animals.
On the People front, an ethical brand ensures its workers are treated fairly across the supply chain. This includes policies and practices on child labour, forced labour, worker safety, the right to join a union, and payment of a living wage.
When it comes to its impact on the Planet, a sustainable brand considers its use of resources and energy, reducing its carbon emissions, impact on our waterways, and using and disposing of chemicals safely.
Ideally, an ethical brand is 100% vegan. But we know it’s not always possible, so ethical brands should aim to use zero or very few animal products, like wool, leather, fur, angora, down feather, shearling, karakul, and exotic animal skin and hair. If they use these materials, ethical brands might go for recycled or deadstock options and ensure their wool is mulesing-free.
Now that you know how to determine whether a brand is ethical or not, you might choose to shop from companies located in your country or region. Whether you want to support your local communities or reduce your carbon footprint when shopping online, shopping locally has many great benefits.
So, vamos! Here are 19 Spanish and Portuguese brands that have all been rated “Good” or “Great” on the Directory and app using our first-class methodology. For our vegans out there, we highly recommend checking out NAE for some great cruelty-free shoes, as well as affordable luxury brand ISTO, which doesn’t use any animal products. We also love Spanish brand Ecoalf’s activewear and ColieCo‘s sustainable underwear.
Not from Spain or Portugal? Check out our favourite brands from:
- Europe (and more specifically from Italy, Germany, France, the Netherlands, and Switzerland)
- the UK (including brands from London)
- Australia and New Zealand
- the USA (and brands from LA)
- Canada
