ColieCo's Top 10 Ethical And Sustainable Fashion Blogs
At the heart of the ethical fashion community there have always been vocal activists, writers and industry insiders, all working to raise awareness of the many and various issues with the fast fashion industry, and to champion change.
Shining lights on malpractice, actively supporting fair trade and sustainability campaigns, and lifting up brands looking to revolutionize the industry.
Independent bloggers have always been an important part of this community and its work, providing a platform for the voice of change, and offering readers insights and reviews, tips, ideas and inspiration on topics across slow and eco-friendly fashion.
And as awareness about the damage that fast fashion continues to wreak on workers and the planet has grown, an increasing number of blogs have emerged, offering a fantastic diversity of quality content.
Some blogs cover a range of topics across ethical fashion and other lifestyle themes, whilst others focus on specific ideas such as minimalism, thrifting and circularity, going plastic free, or vegan fashion.
It would be impossible for us to do justice in a single post to every ethical fashion blog that has inspired us at ColieCo HQ over the years. So after much deliberation, we've catalogued some of our favourites, whilst trying to ensure that we've created a list which offers as wide as possible a range of ideas, styles and approaches.
Whether you are a newcomer to ethical fashion looking for introductions to the key topics, are hunting for new ethical brands to explore, are searching for tips on curating or caring for your sustainable closet, or just love a good podcast or vlog, we've got you covered.
We hope you're as enlightened, inspired and empowered by the wonderful content these blogs have to offer as we have been over the years. Enjoy!
Introducing ColieCo's top ethical and sustainable fashion blogs...
The Honest Consumer
The Honest Consumer describes itself as a resource for people who are "inspired to live ethically and sustainably through mindful living & better buying".
Founded in 2016 by Emily Waddell, the blog features myriad ethical fashion guides, covering seemingly all angles - from garment-specific run-downs offering ideas on dresses, jumpsuits or even Halloween costumes, to others introducing minimal waste brands or specific sustainable textiles.
It's hard to believe given the amazing depth of content on ethical fashion alone, but The Honest Consumer covers a much broader range of topics, offering information and advice on low waste lifestyles, sustainable foods, ethical gift giving, mental health issues and social impact.
Recommended for: discovering new ethical and sustainable brands across fashion (and beyond).
We love it because: there's just so, so much really well written and easily digestible content.
www.thehonestconsumer.com
Sustainably Chic
Natalie Kay Costello's Sustainably Chic has been informing its readership on sustainable fashion, green beauty and eco lifestyle choices for close to a decade.
Featuring clear and comprehensive introductory guides to both sustainable *and* fast fashion (know your enemy!), Sustainably Chic is a great place to start for those new to ethical fashion and looking for a detailed overview of the key issues.
It also boasts a huge collection of themed guides and innovative articles ('Why Does a Sustainable T-Shirt Cost $36?', 'Fact-Checking Some Sustainable Fashion Myths') written by a number of well-known and respected contributors, and a sizeable brand directory.
Recommended for: its fresh, original articles and excellent in-depth explainers.
We love it because: we identify strongly with Sustainably Chic's open and constructive approach in defining sustainability.
www.sustainably-chic.com
Melanin & Sustainable Style
Melanin & Sustainable Style (or 'MelaninASS') is a platform focusing on the intersections of BIPOC communities with sustainable fashion and beauty, celebrating the successes of BIPOC individuals and groups in these spaces, and bringing an authentic, culturally relevant voice to the discussion of sustainability.
Given that the BIPOC community is still grossly underrepresented across fashion industry leadership (and writing), and that it is overwhelmingly communities of colour which are most severely impacted both by fast fashion's unrepentant trampling of workers' rights and by its disregard for the environment, MelaninASS founder Dominique Drakeford's platform and messaging are doing critically important work.
For readers, MelaninASS offers an unmatched catalogue of interviews with trailblazing BIPOC entrepreneurs and designers discovering the stories behind and inspiration for their brands, and a diverse array of articles exploring sustainability topics across fashion and beyond.
Recommended for: the unrivalled diversity of voices it amplifies, and discovering BIPOC-led brands.
We love it because: climate change solutions need to be distributed equitably, and those communities most adversely affected should be leading discussions about proposed solutions across industries.
melaninass.com
Curiously Conscious
Curiously Conscious is sustainable fashion and lifestyle influencer Besma Whayeb's "journal of kinder ways to live and dress".
Running for almost a decade, Curiously Conscious has amassed an impressive collection of diverse and beautifully presented articles on sustainable and slow fashion, which are invariably carefully considered and composed, whilst remaining light and eminently readable. The freshness of Besma's ideas and her frank and open writing style stand out from the crowd, and are equally infectious.
Active across social media, Besma is usually on top of emerging news and events in and around ethical and sustainable fashion, and the Curiously Conscious take is always one we look out for at ColieCo HQ.
Recommended for: super fresh and innovative content, and keeping up with current events in the ethical fashion sphere.
We love it because: Besma's articles read like journal entries - there's a wonderful honesty and openness about them which makes her blog uniquely relatable.
www.curiouslyconscious.com
Sustainable Jungle
Sustainable Jungle proudly declares that "it is here to encourage positive change". Count us in!
Super active across social media and boasting an already more than 60-episode-deep podcast, Sustainable Jungle covers a broad range of topics related to sustainable and ethical living, including several close to our hearts at ColieCo HQ - fashion (of course!), zero waste and thrifting.
With a huge number of brand guides, an excellent collection of useful educational articles, and an incessantly optimistic approach, Sustainable Jungle is a just fun place to explore!
Recommended for: the hours and hours of informative entertainment the Sustainable Jungle podcast offers, and the blog's comprehensive breakdown of greenwashing tricks to watch out for.
We love it because: of its relentless positivity and lightheartedness!
www.sustainablejungle.com
My Green Closet
With more than a decade on the scene, Verena (Erin) Polowy's My Green Closet is a veritable sustainable fashion institution.
A huge focus of Erin's work is the My Green Closet YouTube channel, which offers entire playlists of vlogs introducing various issues in sustainable fashion, offering tips on capsule wardrobe curation, exploring second hand and thrift shopping, and reviewing sustainable brands and their products.
Erin's content is equally well-written and delivered, and her huge number of YouTube subscribers is testament to the popularity and watchability of her videos.
Recommended for: fans of well-researched, well-crafted video content on any and all things sustainable fashion.
We love it because: of Erin's straight up likeability! One watch is guaranteed to have you clicking that subscribe button.
mygreencloset.com
A Considered Life
UK-based Sophie Davies' A Considered Life is another sustainable lifestyle blog covering a wide range of topics, but with particular interests in simple living, sustainable fashion and slow travel.
The blog's stylish, stripped-down look marries well with Sophie's focus on light footprint minimalism, and her approach to fashion reflects the same ideal: this is a great place for those looking for capsule wardrobe inspiration and ideas.
With articles looking like those most elegant corners of Pinterest, A Considered Life's style advice and moodboards are manna from heaven for eco fashionistas with a keen interest in aesthetics.
Recommended for: contemporary, ultra-sophisticated style inspiration.
We love it because: browsing the blog feels like wandering around a well-curated exhibition - it's just a soothing and satisfying experience!
www.aconsideredlife.co.uk
Moral Fibres
Moral Fibres is a UK-based eco blog written by leading environmentalist and sustainability industry expert Wendy Graham.
This is maybe the broadest of all the blogs we've featured in our guide, covering everything from wildlife friendly gardening, through managing food waste, to natural and eco-friendly cleaning. But there's still space for a fantastic number of garment-specific ethical fashion guides.
Guides like these often tend to be either particularly broad, listing countless brands with little or no description, or particularly deep, delivering in-depth low-downs on much shorter lists of brands. Moral Fibres manages to strike an admirable balance, covering an impressive number of options whilst still providing useful summaries of each and every brand's offerings.
Recommended for: those looking for a one-stop shop covering a broad range of lifestyle topics.
We love it because: if you have a sustainability question which you haven't seen addressed elsewhere, Moral Fibres will often have the answer!
moralfibres.co.uk
ecothes
ecothes is a relative newcomer to the blogosphere, having been founded by sustainable fashion editor Bethany Worthington as recently as 2019.
In this short time, the blog has compiled an unfathomable number of well-organised articles on sustainable fashion and footwear (amongst other lifestyle topics), and an impressive bank of unusually in-depth interviews with the founders of sustainable and ethical brands. (Do the ecothes writers even sleep?!)
At ColieCo, our favourite section of the blog is dedicated to ecothes' analysis and rating of fashion brands, which sees the ecothes team interrogating companies' practices and processes, how they treat their workers, the materials they use, and the wider impacts of their operations on the environment. Where brands fail to meet the mark, ecothes is always ready to recommend more ethical alternatives for readers to explore instead.
Recommended for: discovering alternatives to your (old) favourite fast fashion brands.
We love it because: wow, these guys are prolific! ecothes is another blog with countless hours of great material to enjoy.
ecothes.com
Sustain Your Style
Sustain Your Style is an independent platform created by "people who like fashion and style but are concerned about the current practices of the fashion industry".
The Sustain Your Style blog is actually only a small part of the platform's much wider scope, but it is another great example of a really creatively compiled collection of consistently well written articles.
The blog features pieces on everything from performing adjustments and repairs, to organizing clothes swaps, to garment recycling - as well as offering interesting interviews with the innovators behind industry-leading slow and sustainable fashion brands.
Recommended for: its incredibly comprehensive guide to sustainable fabrics - one of the broadest out there - and its coverage of ethical and sustainable fashion initiatives and campaigns.
We love it because: of its proactive and positive, solutions-oriented approach.
www.sustainyourstyle.org
And now for something a little bit different...
Good On You
We've set Good On You apart because it isn't so much a blog (although it does feature an ethical fashion journal) as it is *the* font of all knowledge on the ethical and environmental credentials of fashion brands everywhere.
Boasting ratings for literally thousands of brands based on their performances against three measures - Planet, People and Animals -, Good On You has come to be considered the world's leading and most trusted brand rating site.
In short, if you need to check on a brand's behaviour before you check out, Good On You is the place to go.
directory.goodonyou.eco
Do you have a favourite blog or resource we've missed?
Get in touch and let us know! You'll find our social links at the top of the page, or drop us an email.
We hope you've enjoyed reading and have fun exploring the blogs!
Nicole x
