In recent years the fashion industry has taken great pains to become more sustainable, with brands looking for increasingly innovative ways to make their products and supply chains as green as possible. From Anya Hindmarch’s biodegradable leather handbags, which took over two years to create, to Victoria Beckham’s collaboration with The Woolmark Company and Pangaia’s first foray into the world of eco-friendly denim, there’s lots to get excited about this season. Here, we’ve rounded up the best new sustainable fashion launches to have on your radar.
New Sustainable Fashion Launches
British handbag doyenne Anya Hindmarch has long championed sustainability in the fashion industry, ever since she first launched her ground-breaking ‘I’m Not a Plastic Bag’ tote in 2007, made from recycled plastic bottles and windshields. Now she’s created a fully biodegradable leather bag as part of her Return to Nature collection, which took over two years of painstaking research, development and disintegration tests to master.
Inspired by model and environmentalist Arizona Muse who spoke on The Wardrobe Crisis podcast two years about the idea of a leather bag that could be tanned in a way that allowed it to biodegrade and return to the earth at the end of it’s life, Hindmarch began work on the project. With a campaign fronted by Muse, the new handbag collection comprises of three styles available in two shades, all formed from this pioneering natural leather, which will age in its own unique way. £10 from every sale will go towards Muse’s regenerative soil and biodynamic farming charity, Dirt.
Victoria Beckham has teamed up with The Woolmark Company to create the brand’s first end-to-end fully traceable collection. The sustainable project is part of a longstanding relationship with Woolmark, with Beckham having helped judge the International Woolmark Prize for several years. Featuring sweaters, cardigans and accessories for both adults and children, the capsule knitwear range uses natural, plant-based dyes and is crafted from Merino wool, which is fully traceable to just five Australian wool growers.
“I am so excited to launch a farm to shop floor collection and wanted to mark this moment with classic yet fun designs for adults as well as kids, providing everyone of all ages the building blocks for the perfect statement-making and cosy winter wardrobe,” said Beckham of the line. “I love that we’ve managed to create a bright and vibrant colour palette by using flowers, leaves and berries as part of a natural dye process and that the whole collection is made from recyclable, renewable and biodegradable 100% Australian Merino wool and yarn.”
East London-based sustainable handbag brand Been has teamed up with author, journalist and TV presenter Candice Braithwaite on the new Esmé range, which was named after Braithwaite’s daughter and features a limited-edition pleated handbag and a matching mini make-up bag that fits perfectly inside. Made entirely from premium certified recycled materials, each bag is handcrafted locally by Been’s all-female team of artisans in their London studio.
Available in two colourways – Braithwaite’s signature ‘Get Money’ Green and Black Onyx – the hands-free handbag melds practicality with style, featuring an adjustable crossbody strap and a washable black lining. As part of their sustainability initiative, Been has partnered with non-profit organisation Tree-Nation to plant a tree for every CB x Been London bag that’s purchased – so far they’ve managed to plant an acre of trees in the Peruvian Amazon.
Green Glossary
Beloved by A-listers including Jennifer Lopez and Harry Styles, loungewear brand Pangaia has become a firm fashion favourite since launching in 2018. Now they’ve unveiled their first ever denim collection, which uses some truly innovative sustainable practices. While many brands have started using organic cotton in their pieces, Pangaia has taken that one step further by blending theirs with Himalayan nettle, which as a rain-fed plant uses less water than cotton and is picked wild, meaning no farming resources go into it.
It’s all part of the brand’s mission to scale responsibly, with plans to launch denim made from hemp in the coming months. This initial range features unisex straight leg jeans and a women’s high-rise style, as well as a unisex denim jacket, which have been manufactured in Italy using a low-water dyeing process. Each of the pieces is designed to last as long as possible, with the aim that they can biodegrade or be recycled at the end of their lifespan.
Copenhagen-based label Ganni is known for its breezy summer dresses and laid-back approach to fashion, which has garnered it a cult following across the globe. Now the Danish brand has taken some of their most popular past-season pieces and upcycled them to create a whole new collection. Made of 22 different styles, the capsule range has been made entirely from reprocessed materials, including unused rolls of fabrics and unsold garments reworked into new items. Signature Ganni patterns, like their ubiquitous check and leopard prints, have been refashioned into patchwork dresses, skirts and quilted jackets, as a way of creating fresh pieces without having to produce new items.
The Re-Cut collection follows on from the brand’s recent collaboration with sustainable London-based label Ahluwalia, which saw the two work closely together on a collection that reimagined Ganni’s surplus stock – and marked the first time menswear designer Priya Ahluwalia had ever created pieces for women – firmly establishing the brand’s commitment to circular fashion.
