As the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, and land degradation escalate at alarming speeds, it’s about time to move beyond sustainable fashion and embrace regenerative fashion.
What is Regenerative Fashion?
First let’s back up and define regenerative.
As Rainforest Alliance explains “regenerative agriculture is an ancient concept that originated with Indigenous peoples around the world more than a thousand years ago. In many Indigenous world views, humans and nature are not separate forces, but parts of a whole that need each other to thrive. Regenerative agriculture supports this by promoting farming methods that enrich the land—so it can continue to provide for present and future generations.”
Specifically, as Regeneration International outlines, “regenerative agriculture describes farming and grazing practices that, among other benefits, reverse climate change by rebuilding soil organic matter and restoring degraded soil biodiversity — resulting in both carbon drawdown and improvements in the water cycle.”
So rather than focusing on doing less bad or having a reduced negative impact, regenerative puts the focus on doing more good and creating a positive impact by improving the land, revitalizing the soil, restoring nutrients, and capturing carbon from the atmosphere and into the soil. (While the atmosphere has far too much carbon, our soil actually has far too little carbon — in fact, our soil has lost about 50–70% of its original carbon content.)
As Rebecca Burgess of Fibershed puts it, “carbon is a finite resource that moves through soils, oceans, food, fibers and the atmosphere — and ancient carbon is fossilized in Earth’s core. There is no more carbon entering or leaving Earth — we are simply seeing the effects of having too much of it in the wrong place.“
How Can Fashion Be Regenerative?
Natural fibers used in the clothing and textile industry — whether they’re animal-based or plant-based — come from the land. So when the fiber is grown or the fiber-producing animal is raised as part of a regenerative system, then that fiber is then part of that regenerative system.
For example, if a cotton farmer is using regenerative, holistic management practices (such as cover crops, crop rotation, no-till, composting, and pasture cropping) to grow their cotton, that cotton could be considered regenerative cotton, just like when a cotton farmer using organic practices, they can call their cotton organic cotton.
How to Identify (and Verify) Regenerative Fashion
As with any green or green-adjacent term in the sustainable fashion space, there is inevitably going to be greenwashing. How can you tell if it’s the real deal when a brand says that they are (or a collection they have) is regenerative?
Fibershed Member or Climate Beneficial™ Verified
The leader in regenerative fashion and fibers is Fibershed, a nonprofit organization based in California that is building regenerative fiber systems through research, education, events, and partnerships. The organization has built out a large network of farmers, ranchers, land managers, ecologists, mill operators, spinners, natural dyes, filters, designers, sewers, and knitters to advance regenerative and regional fiber systems.
Fibershed has a Climate Beneficial™ verification, which is given to brands using fibers that come from landscapes where carbon farming practices are being used.
Climate Beneficial™ was first used for wool from sheep who grazed on grassland and helped enhance carbon storage in the soil. Fibershed has also partnered with fashion brands, like Reformation to explore what it looks like to grow Climate Beneficial™ Cotton in California as well.
Regenerative Organic Certified®
Regenerative Organic Certified® is a seal overseen by Regenerative Organic Alliance and it certifies farms, ranches, brands, and products. To achieve this certification, entities must already hold a USDA organic certification, or equivalent international organic certification.
Beyond being certified organic, entities must follow criteria within the following pillars from ROC’s framework: Soil Health & Land Management, Animal Welfare, and Farmer & Worker Fairness.
In addition to food and beverage products, there are several fashion and textile companies in ROC’s brand and product directory.
Savory Institute’s Land to Market Program
Land to Market is another program with member brands and verified products ensuring that a particular product — whether it’s a food item or a textile piece — was made with practices that “are healing the planet instead of degrading it.”
The program counts some of the world’s largest fashion companies, like UGG, Kering (which owns Gucci and Saint Laurent) and Tapestry (which owns Coach) among its’ members.
Important to note: just because a brand is a Land to Market member, it does not mean that all of their products meet the Land to Market standards. In fact for some of the larger companies, they may only have the verification on a tiny portion of their products.
Where to Find Regenerative Fashion
There are a few pioneering brands bringing clothing made with Climate Beneficial™ fibers to the market, several brands partnering with Fibershed to create more regional fiber systems, as well as some fashion brands securing the Regenerative Organic Certified® label for several of their products.
This curated guide of regenerative fashion brands includes companies that have made a substantial commitment to regenerative sourcing. You may find more brands with a collection here or there made with regenerative fibers, but these brands have been a long-term commitment to regenerative fashion.
Note that the guide contains affiliate links. As always, we only feature brands that meet strict criteria for sustainability we love, that we think you’ll love too!
1. Christy Dawn
Categories: Dresses, Tees, and Slip Skirts
Christy Dawn has been investing in regenerative cotton with Oshadi Collective — a close partner with Fibershed — in India for several years. (I interviewed the founder of Oshadi in a podcast episode about how the producer is building a seed-to-sew supply chain that restores the earth and centers equity.)
The slow fashion brand also sources regenerative silk for their formal dresses. Each piece is digitally printed or traditionally block printed with natural or even organic dyes.
2. Maggie’s Organics
Categories: Basics and Loungewear
For over three decades, Maggie’s Organics has been going above and beyond to ensure their products are made responsibly. The Michigan-based organic fashion company now has a growing selection of basics — from tees to sweatshirts — made with Regenerative Organic Certified® cotton. Maggie’s Organics is also a World Fair Trade Organization member and is verified by the Fair Trade Federation.
3. Harvest & Mill
Categories: Basics, Loungewear, Socks
Harvest & Mill is a Fibershed Member with basics like socks, tees, and joggers made with USA-grown and milled organic cotton. The brand has many undyed pieces, like unbleached white as well as heirloom brown grown cotton and tan-green grown cotton.
All of Harvest & Mill’s pieces are independently sewn in Oakland, Berkeley, and San Francisco.
4. Eileen Fisher
Categories: Jackets & Sweaters, Coats, Skirts & Pants, Tops & Vests
Eileen Fisher has foundational wardrobe staples designed to last made with regenerative wool sourced from ranchers in Argentina committed to restoring depleted grasslands.
The slow fashion brand is a brand partner with Land to Market and has been selling regenerative wool products for many years, demonstrating their long-term commitment to helping to build a regenerative fashion system.
5. California Cloth Foundry
Categories: Basics & Loungewear
Slow fashion brand California Cloth Foundry is a Fibershed Soil to Soil Partner that creates loungewear from earth-friendly natural fibers like regenerative hemp, Climate Beneficial wool, Cleaner Cotton™, organic cotton, and Lenzing Modal®.
CCF also uses natural dyes and finishes. The colors for their pieces are achieved by botanically dyeing the fabric with plants like weld and madder, brightening the fabrics with hydrogen peroxide, or leaving the fabric undyed. The brand ships their earth-minded pieces in compostable materials and vegetable-based inks.
6. Housework
Categories: Sweaters, Basics, Loungewear
Housework is a Fibershed Partner that collaborates with designers and artisans to create quality clothing from all-natural fibers.
From sweaters and sweatshirts to classic tees and lounge shorts, Housework offers a variety of undyed and naturally dyed garments.
7. Patagonia
Categories: Basics, Activewear, Shorts & Pants
As a founding member of the Regenerative Organic Certification, Patagonia has been one of the few larger clothing brands to commit to sourcing regenerative organic fibers.
As with all of Patagonia’s products, the Regenerative Organic Certified® cotton clothing is made to last and easy to mend with their Product Repair program.
Additional Honorable Mentions
These brands are making big commitments to regenerative fashion, though their variety of regenerative styles are relatively limited at this time.
- Outerknown has a selection of basics, like tees and tanks, made with Regenerative Organic Certified® cotton.
- prAna also has some basics made with Regenerative Organic Certified® cotton.
- Terra Thread has helped get 700 farms ROC certified and their clothing line is made entirely with Regenerative Organic Certified® cotton.
