Sustainable fashion is more than just a trend – it’s a conscious shift towards protecting the environment, supporting ethical practices, an...
Sustainable fashion is more than just a trend – it’s a conscious shift towards protecting the environment, supporting ethical practices, and making thoughtful choices about what we wear. As consumers grow increasingly aware of the social and environmental impact of fast fashion, many are turning to brands that prioritise sustainability, fair trade, and low-impact materials. Whether it’s reducing waste, repurposing fabrics, or supporting communities, sustainable fashion blends style with purpose.
In this article, we highlight three inspiring brands making a difference - Sherpa Adventure Gear, Blade & Rose Preloved and Type 1 Clothing. Each brand demonstrates how fashion can be both mindful and meaningful. Have a read.
Sherpa Adventure Gear - A Small Brand Making A Big Difference
Sherpa Adventure Gear are a small brand committed to making a big difference, weaving together the latest designs with the rich heritage and time honoured beliefs of Nepal.
Sherpa are totally committed to blending the very best eco-friendly materials such as organic cotton, Tencel, Modal and soft ethical wool with durable, high-quality design. Each piece is built for comfort and adventure while supporting your journey and supporting our planet.
The brand also uses the OEKO-TEX® certification wherever they can. OEKO-TEX® is a label that provides a guarantee that all the textiles used in production of the garment are free from potentially harmful substances. This means the garment, from yarn to finished product, has passed a globally standardised test against a list of over 1,000 harmful substances.
Sherpa give meaningful employment to Nepali women via knitting co-ops in Nepal while you can fund a day of school for the Nepali children with every item bought from Sherpa.
This A/W25, Sherpa are pleased to be launching their sustainable Tarcho (means prayer flags) collection which offers cosy fleeces, hand-knitted beanies, gilets and recycled cotton bum bags in the colourful shades of the Tibetan prayer flags.
When you buy from Sherpa you are purchasing a truly meaningful addition to your wardrobe.
(1,700,000 school days have been provided so far with a goal to provide 10millions by 2030)
Blade & Rose Preloved
In a meaningful step toward a more sustainable future, Blade & Rose, a multi-award-winning, trusted name in children’s clothing, is thrilled to announce the launch of a dedicated preloved section on its website. This new feature offers parents a simple, community-driven way to buy and sell gently loved Blade & Rose pieces, supporting families in making budget-friendly and planet-positive choices.
The Preloved Marketplace is more than just a shopping option, it’s a commitment to the circular economy and to keeping quality garments in use for longer. The initiative comes at a time when the UK second-hand apparel market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 11.12% between 2024 and 2032, with children’s resale playing a vital role in this expansion.
“We’re proud to offer our customers a meaningful way to extend the life of their favourite pieces while making sustainable shopping more accessible,” said Amanda Peffer, Founder of Blade & Rose. “Parents are already embracing the resale mindset, our preloved marketplace just makes it easier, more secure, and community-focused.”
Type 1 Clothing (Sustainable type 1 diabetes fashion brand)
Type 1 Clothing, founded by Natalie Balmain in 2017, emerged from her deeply personal journey with Type 1 Diabetes. After years of wearing easy, slouchy clothing that allowed her to inject more easily, Natalie says that this restriction in what she felt she could wear was impacting her confidence and how she felt about herself. Struggling to find stylish yet practical clothes that enabled her to manage her condition - Natalie was at the time administering multiple daily injections - she saw a gap in the market. She was inspired to design clothing that truly met the needs of people living with diabetes, combining fashion with functionality in a way not previously seen in the industry.
The line was distinguished by its innovative use of cleverly placed zips, panels, and hidden pockets. These design elements allowed wearers to access injection sites or insulin pump tubing easily, all without compromising on style or confidence. Her 12-piece ladieswear collection featured a variety of contemporary pieces—tops, skirts, trousers, and jumpsuits—aiming to normalise medical devices and empower those who wear them. It was a novel concept at the time that has gone on to spawn many similar projects by others. Natalie self-funded the entire project, balancing her full-time job while developing the line, filing for patents, and managing production to ensure her vision was realised authentically.
The line was created in a way so as to address climate responsibility and sustainability issues, by sourcing all the materials and producing all the items locally to Natalie, in Manchester, making use of talented local pattern-cutters and garment producers. Items were made-to-order to ensure accurate tailoring for the buyers, and avoid wastage in production, and were stored, hand-packed and shipped by Natalie from her own home.
As is typical of Natalie’s ethos, a core aspect of the business model was giving back; a percentage of profits from the first collection was pledged to diabetes research via JDRF (now Breakthrough T1D), reinforcing Natalie’s commitment to advocacy.
Natalie continues her advocacy by lending her voice and experience to the wider diabetes community, working closely with Omnipod / Insulet to help raise awareness of Type 1 Diabetes and further support those living with the condition.
Beyond the practical, Type 1 Clothing remains an early disruptor within fashion - a symbol of resilience and self-acceptance, that challenged the industry’s typical disregard for health and wellbeing while showing that clothing can, and should be, inclusive for those with chronic conditions.
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