Comfy clothes – my favorite category of apparel. Anyone else? Sweatshirts, sweatpants and pajamas are all items that I keep for years and wear often, so when building my arsenal of sustainable clothing, this seemed like the place to start. My first purchase was a pair of eco-friendly joggers (because I was not yet the owner of any public-worthy sweatpants). During my search I came upon these 5 brands, which all provide great options for anyone looking to give their cozy clothes drawer an eco-boost. Which pair is your favorite?
Wolven – $96
I live in my Wolven joggers on weekends, when traveling, I’ve even considered wearing them to work. They are made from 84% Recycled P.E.T fabric (fancy way of saying they’re made from plastic water bottles). It’s also OEKO-TEX certified, so you can rest easy knowing that you’re lounging (or if you’re an overachiever, actually jogging) in a pair of joggers free of harmful substances. Added bonus – Wolven’s RPET garments are anti-microbial, so you can go 1, 2, 3 or dare I say, 4 wears without washing. If anyone judges you just remind them that 25% of a garment’s carbon footprint comes from the way we care for it, so less washing = happier planet.
Amourt Vert – $88
Made up of 94% Modal, Amour Vert’s Skylar Ribbed Joggers make for (as the company has coined it) an “effortlessly sustainable” look. Aside from being soft as a cloud and wrinkle resistant, Modal is also made from sustainably harvested beechwood (no pesticides and uses 10 times less water than non-organic cotton). If you’re wondering about supply chain, 97% of the brand’s products are made in California, just miles from their offices. To learn more about the makers of these especially versatile pants (seriously, some reviews cite wearing them to work), you can view factory profiles on Amourt Vert’s website.
Tentree – $64
As it’s name would suggest, Tentree plants ten trees for every item purchased, including these joggers, which are made from 50% Organic Cotton and 50% Recycled Polyester. The company prides itself on it’s commitment to ethical manufacturing, eco-friendly materials and fervent transparency. Beyond being able to view a list of factories on the Tentree website, you can also track where your trees are planted and for each garment, they illustrate how its environmental impact would differ if made from conventional materials.
Harvest & Mill – $56
These joggers are made from 100% USDA Organic Cotton AND made in the USA. Fo’ real, Harvest & Mill can trace the pants right back to where the fiber was grown. Even the brand’s natural dyes are domestically produced. Now, veteran Green Freaks may wonder, why isn’t the cotton GOTS or OCS certified? To find out we employed one of our eco-friendly resolutions and *drum rolllll* we asked. Harvest and Mill explained that a GOTS certification requires every step of a garment’s life to be certified. One of their mills has yet to obtain that stamp of approval (don’t worry, they’re working on it). We appreciate the transparency and find their effort to support local communities and keep American farmland organic to be truly genuine.
Pact – $55
Every day is thirsty Thursday for cotton. Seriously, it takes 2,700 liters of water to make one cotton t-shirt and it is also responsible for 16% of the world’s insecticides. Those chemicals infiltrate waterways and food supplies leading to contamination and human health issues. This is why PACT is focused on utilizing cotton’s less water / pesticide intensive sister, organic cotton. Even better, they’re focusing on making it affordable, as clearly demonstrated by their cozy draped joggers, which for $55 are made with 92% organic cotton (saving 49.7 gallons of water per pair) and they’re made in a fair trade certified factory.
