What Sustainable Materials Are Brands Using Today—and Why It Matters

Not long ago, sustainable materials were a niche conversation—relevant only to a small group of early adopters or alternative brands.

Although we still see widespread overproduction and heavy use of synthetic, harmful materials, the landscape is shifting. Conscious material choices are no longer on the margins.

But what has contributed to that shift? Perhaps a rise in innovation, increased R&D investment, empowered by a broader access to knowledge that’s helped more brands, consumers, and the industry at large understand why materials matter.

Beyond that, sustainability is no longer a ‘nice-to-have’—it’s a demand and a necessity. Consumers, retailers, investors, and even regulators now expect brands to demonstrate real environmental and social responsibility as part of how they operate.

That means brands are being asked to consider not just how a fabric looks or performs, but how it’s made, where it comes from, and what long-term impact it will have. This is being reinforced by both growing regulatory pressure and shifting consumer expectations.

In other words, the game has changed. And in this new landscape, material choices have become strategic decisions—ones that require solid knowledge and contextual understanding.

Especially now, when the list of options keeps growing, and the information can quickly become overwhelming.

One way to bring clarity is to look at what conscious brands are actually choosing today—an indicator of what’s working, what’s scalable, and what values are driving their sourcing.

So, what are the most forward-thinking brands really using right now?

To answer that, we turned to Good On You’s latest research, which analyzed material usage across the conscious fashion sector.

The results offer not just a snapshot of current trends—but a window into where the industry is heading, and who’s leading the way.

The Materials Conscious Brands Are Actually Choosing

According to Good On You’s research, part of their Fashion Planet Benchmark Report, these are some of the most commonly used lower-impact materials by conscious fashion brands—ranked from most to less used. For this piece, we’ve chosen to focus on the top five.

Top 5 Materials Used by Small, Conscious Brands:

• Organic cotton

• Recycled polyester

• Upcycled/recycled blends

• Linen/flax

• TENCEL™ Lyocell

Top 5 Materials Used by Larger Brands:

• Recycled polyester

• Organic cotton

• Linen/flax

• Better Cotton

• Recycled nylon

Let’s now take a closer look at each of the materials most commonly used across both small conscious brands and larger fashion companies—understanding not only what they are, but why they’re being prioritized in today’s sourcing strategies.

Organic Cotton

Cotton is often seen as a natural, go-to fabric—it’s no surprise it shows up in a lot of clothing, from basics to luxury collections, especially those labeled as eco-conscious. According to Textile Exchange, after polyester, cotton is the second most widely produced fiber, accounting for 20% of global fiber production.

However, conventional cotton has been shown to fall short on sustainability. It's one of the most resource-intensive crops in the textile industry, relying heavily on synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, which make it one of the most chemically treated crops worldwide.

Added to that, it has a heavy water footprint, often relying on unsustainable irrigation in water-scarce regions, which results in significant environmental and social consequences, from soil degradation to harmful exposure for farm workers.

This is where organic cotton steps in as a more responsible alternative. Grown without synthetic pesticides or genetically modified seeds, it promotes soil health, biodiversity, and safer working conditions.

Organic cotton represents a meaningful shift toward regenerative, lower-impact farming — and when sourced through trusted certifications like GOTS or OCS, it offers brands a traceable, credible foundation for sustainability storytelling.

How Sustainability Is Woven In:

• Not grown from GM seeds → Organic cotton is produced without genetically modified (GM) seeds. According to Cotton Works,by avoiding GM seeds, organic farming supports seed diversity, promotes natural resilience in crops, and helps maintain the integrity of traditional farming practices.

  
  

• Cultivated without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers → According to The Organic Center, this avoidance supports biodiversity, helps prevent soil erosion and nutrient loss, significantly cuts greenhouse gas emissions, and requires less energy overall.

  
  

• Uses less water than conventional cotton → While, “conventional cotton farming’s reliance on irrigation and chemicals significantly impacts water resources and quality”, according to The Organic Center, organic cotton practices can reduce water consumption by as much as 91%.

Why is it a good option for clothmakers, designers or brands?

Organic cotton marries the familiarity designers love with verifiable environmental gains—making it a low-risk, high-impact upgrade for conscious collections.

• Soft, breathable comfort → Offers a naturally soft, breathable feel that makes it ideal for garments worn close to the skin.
  
  

• Moisture-wicking & heat-tolerant → Keeps garments cool, dry, and able to withstand high-temperature laundering or pressing.
  
  

• Hypoallergenic and gentle → Ideal for babywear, intimates, and sensitive-skin markets.
  
  

• Strong consumer signal → GOTS or OCS certification delivers easy-to-communicate ESG proof points and supports premium positioning.

Textile Suppliers With Organic Cotton Fabric Offerings:

• LMA Portugal → LMA is engaged in the business of developing and producing the best fabrics the market has to offer, with special emphasis on high-performance technical products, designed to meet the highest quality standards.

• CABES GIE → CABES specialised in hand weaving and benefits from the ‘Faso dan fani (artisanal fabric)’ label established by the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Crafts. Its aim is to promote artisanal and traditional textiles and create a reliable supply chain that meets international standards in terms of quality, production times, and creativity.

Recycled Polyester

Polyester is one of the most well-known and widely used fibers in the world. However, as consumer awareness around clothing and sustainability began to rise, polyester—and other synthetic fibers—came under scrutiny for their environmental impact.

And the concerns being raised were truly alarming: polyester is derived from fossil fuels, demands high energy to produce, and significantly pollutes both water and air.

With that, people started realizing that much of the microplastic pollution found in our bodies, oceans, soil, and natural ecosystems originates from the production and wearing of synthetic clothing.

This sparked growing visibility and conversation around the issue, leading many to speak out against buying polyester and other synthetic alternatives.

On the other hand, the fashion industry found it difficult to let go of polyester. Its durability, stretch, and technical performance made it a go-to material for creating long-lasting garments with ease.

However, in response to the growing concerns about plastic waste and the environmental toll of virgin polyester production, recycled polyester—also known as rPET—emerged as a more sustainable solution.

According to Textile Exchange’s 2024 Materials Market Report, global production of recycled polyester fiber increased from approximately 8.6 million tonnes in 2022 to around 8.9 million tonnes in 2023.

How Sustainability Is Woven In:

• Diverts waste from landfills and oceans;

• Reduces reliance on virgin fossil fuels;

• Lowers overall carbon footprint;

• Contributes to circularity by giving plastic a second life.

While it’s still not biodegradable, recycled polyester can indeed reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30-50% compared to virgin polyester, according to a Common Objective article.

Why is it a good option for clothmakers, designers or brands?

• Retains performance benefits → Offers the same durability, strength, and moisture-wicking properties as virgin polyester, making it ideal for performance apparel.
  
  

• Meets consumer demand for low-impact materials → As eco-conscious shoppers become more aware of textile choices, rPET offers a tangible way to reduce impact.
  
  

• Scalable and accessible → Compared to some emerging bio-based or next-gen materials, recycled polyester is already integrated into global supply chains, making it a practical option for scaling sustainability goals.
  
  

• Customizable in blends → rPET works well when blended with cotton, elastane, or recycled fibers—giving brands creative flexibility without the full footprint of virgin synthetics.

Note: While rPET reduces impact, it is still not biodegradable and can still shed microfibers during wear and washing. With this, a good option for brands and designers is to explore pairing it with design-for-recyclability principles, filter technologies, or closed-loop systems to minimize downstream effects.

Textile Suppliers With Recycled Polyester Fabric Offerings:

• LMA Portugal → LMA is engaged in the business of developing and producing the best fabrics the market has to offer, with special emphasis on high-performance technical products, designed to meet the highest quality standards.

• Usha Yarns Limited → Aligned with ethical and sustainable principles, their products, processes, and business practices at Usha Yarns reflect a commitment to responsible and eco-friendly operations.

Upcycled/recycled blends

Good On You defines the "Upcycled/Recycled Blend" category as materials that were originally considered waste but have been transformed by brands into higher-value products. This can include authentic deadstock fabrics, discarded rice sacks, car parts, and other repurposed items.

It’s a movement embraced by both luxury houses and major brands, but it has also been strongly driven by smaller, independent labels. One example is ***Newless.***

By transforming pre-loved garments into one-of-a-kind designs—like oversized blazers reinvented as coordinated cropped sets or trousers repurposed into chic mini skirts—Newless shows that upcycled fashion can be both style-forward and a smart business move.

Image credit: https://newless.co/collections/made-from-ours

Our goal is to redefine how people engage with their clothes, making sustainability a natural part of fashion choices while delivering a premium and enjoyable experience.

On that note, upcycling also became a powerful strategy in response to shifting consumer behavior—offering a way for brands to become more sustainable while also standing out as more authentic, creative, and personalized.

And, major companies have proven that upcycling goes beyond a sustainable move, also being a smart business strategy. In a recent WGSN podcast, practices like reuse, repair, and reinvention were highlighted as effective ways to drive both conscious impact and profitability.

The conversation unpacked how brands can better navigate economic challenges and shifting trade policies by streamlining SKUs, focusing on bestsellers, and creatively reworking unsold inventory to cut waste and reduce costs.

One standout idea from the episode was WGSN’s concept of "re-storytelling", which back core pieces from previous collections and reintroducing them with a refreshed narrative tailored to today’s consumer mindset.

How Sustainability Is Woven In:

• Extending the life of existing materials → It gives new purpose to materials that would otherwise be discarded, maximizing their lifespan and reducing the need for constant resource extraction.
  
  

• Reducing waste sent to landfills → Upcycling diverts significant volumes of textiles and other materials from ending up in landfills or incinerators.
  
  

• Minimizing demand for new raw resources → Using what already exists means fewer virgin materials need to be grown, mined, or manufactured.
  
  

• Lowering overall environmental impact → Upcycling typically requires less water, energy, and chemicals than producing new materials.

Why is it a good option for clothmakers, designers or brands?

• Unique, limited-edition appeal: Upcycled materials offer one-of-a-kind results that are hard to replicate, adding perceived value and scarcity to collections.
  
  

• Stronger brand storytelling: Builds authentic narratives around purpose, process, and transparency — essential in today’s values-driven market.
  
  

• Cost efficiency with creativity: Reworking existing inventory or waste can help offset material costs while encouraging innovation through constraint.
  
  

• Supports circularity goals: Plays a direct role in closing the loop, which is increasingly important for ESG reporting and sustainability commitments.

Linen/Flax

Linen is one of the oldest fibers known to humanity, with a legacy that spans centuries. Similarly to hemp, it comes from a highly adaptable plant—the flax plant — valued for its versatility and resilience.

However, it’s considered a more luxurious material.

Because of the laborious time it takes to produce linen yarn, and the manual processes that have to be undertaken, linen has become a higher-priced commodity and considered among many to be a ‘luxury’ fabric. - The Truth About Thread Count

That makes linen typically more expensive, but it’s a fiber worth considering for its sustainability and benefits in clothing production.

How Sustainability Is Woven In:

• Flax uses significantly less water → According to the European Confederation of Flax and Hemp, flax cultivation requires 5x less water than cotton and stores large amounts of carbon in the soil.

• Durable and naturally moth-repellent;

• Fully biodegradable when left undyed and untreated (organic);

• Low-impact, requiring minimal water and pesticides;

• Zero waste, as every part of the flax plant is used;

To learn more about linen, report by Textile Exchange, Growing Hemp for the Future, outlines the sustainability strengths of hemp (a close cousin in the bast fiber family), while also flagging that poorly managed or irresponsibly produced hemp can lead to negative environmental and social outcomes.

Why is it a good option for clothmakers, designers or brands?

According to the Alliance for European Flax-Linen and Hemp, linen fabrics offer a powerful mix of benefits: they are soft, strong, moisture-absorbent, and thermo-regulating, making them versatile for fashion.

Good On You also emphasizes that beyond its low environmental impact, linen is lightweight, breathable, and highly absorbent, making it an ideal choice for warm-weather garments thanks to its ability to wick moisture and dry quickly.

TENCEL™ Lyocell

Lyocell is widely recognized for its versatility across fashion categories and strong sustainability credentials. It’s a biodegradable, non-toxic fiber made from wood pulp, produced through a closed-loop process that recycles both water and solvents.

Although made from natural raw materials, lyocell is classified as a semi-synthetic fiber because it undergoes a chemical process — using a solvent called NMMO — to convert wood pulp into fiber.

The good news: NMMO is non-toxic and recyclable, making lyocell production far cleaner than that of conventional viscose.

TENCEL™ is Lenzing’s branded lyocell fiber, known for best-in-class sustainability performance. It achieves up to [99.8% solvent recovery](https://www.tencel.com/fibers?utm_source=chatgpt.com#:~:text=production process which-,recovers 99.8%25,-of solvent.) and uses FSC-certified wood, offering transparency and traceability from forest to fabric.

That said, conventional (unbranded) lyocell is still a strong sustainable choice — especially when sourced from reputable mills that follow responsible solvent recovery and sourcing practices.

How Sustainability Is Woven In:

Here’s how Lyocell (both branded and unbranded) is a lower impact option:

• Closed-Loop Production → Made using a recyclable solvent (NMMO) in a closed-loop system that significantly reduces water pollution and chemical waste. (Recovery rates vary by producer.)
  

• Low Chemical Impact → Uses non-toxic solvents and avoids the hazardous chemicals used in traditional viscose, like carbon disulfide.
  
  

• Biodegradable → Lyocell fibers break down under natural conditions when untreated or blended with other biodegradable materials.
  
  

• Lower Water & Energy Use → Typically requires much less water and energy than cotton or viscose, especially when sourced from rain-fed trees.
  
  

• Minimal Inputs → Sourced from fast-growing trees that don’t need irrigation, pesticides, or fertilizers — reducing pressure on agricultural land.

Why is it a good option for clothmakers, designers or brands?

Lyocell is known for combining comfort, strength, and versatility, making it a high-performing fiber across categories like ready-to-wear, loungewear, and activewear.

• Soft & Silky Feel → TENCEL™ Lyocell is praised for its smooth, gentle texture and refined drape, often used to mimic the luxurious feel of silk, according to TENCEL and Good On You.
  
  

• Moisture Management & Breathability → Lyocell has natural moisture-wicking properties, helping maintain a dry, breathable feel,ideal for warm climates and performance wear. Natures Fabrics notes its ability to absorb and release moisture quickly, enhancing comfort and reducing odor.
  
  

• Durability & Longevity → Lyocell is known for its high tensile strength, allowing garments to withstand regular washing and wear without losing shape or softness.

Textile Suppliers With Lyocell Fabric Offerings:

PLNT Matter / ettitude MATERIALS → Ettitude transforms previously unusable plant cellulose into high-performance materials. They use organic chemistry and waste-free processes, redefining what is possible in textile innovation.

WOODLAND TEXTILES LIMITED → Woodland is a dynamic fabric supplier redefining textile excellence. With an own factory for agile, streamlined production, Woodland offers a diverse range of high-quality fabrics tailored to meet evolving market demands. Certified by:

• Standard 100 by Oeko-Tex

Small Brands Are Leading the Shift

The Good On You report makes it clear: emerging labels are driving adoption of lower-impact materials not just as a trend, but as a design principle. Their size allows for greater flexibility, tighter supplier relationships, and the ability to prototype with purpose.

And it’s paying off. Small brands are gaining ground in the market not because they’ve scaled big, but also because they’ve built trust.

As we've explored in this earlier piece, credibility has become a competitive advantage, which means when material sourcing is transparent, traceable, and in alignment with real values, customers and stakeholders notice.

This is a moment where values-based sourcing goes beyond principles and becomes a business strategy for growth, giving smaller brands the opportunity to thrive are bigger houses are failing to deliver.

No Single Fabric Solves It All

While it's encouraging to see momentum, it’s also important to say this plainly: there is no perfect fiber or fabric.

Every material comes with trade-offs. Some use less water but involve chemical processing and others are biodegradable but harder to scale. The reality is that sustainable sourcing isn’t about ticking check boxes, but about choosing better and smarter, based on YOUR context.

As designer Bojana Drača of Farrah Floyd puts it:

"I think the most important thing for a designer who is trying to run a sustainable fashion brand is to know that almost nothing is entirely sustainable. By summarising all the available information and making a choice that reduces impact on people and environment, then we know we are doing something good. Every case is different, every fibre is different, plus it can be more or less sustainable depending on the perspective we are looking from."

This mindset is crucial, because working in a globalized supply chain means dealing with complexity and hurdles. But it also means there’s space to evolve—if we stay transparent, informed, and open to refining the process, sustainability can become the norm.

This is to say, maybe you are not choosing a 100% sustainable or 100% ethical option from the ground up, but if you’re makeing the choice to source lower-impact materials, it is already a way to reduce harm and a way to signal what kind of business you’re building.

And most importantly, it’s a way to align action with intention.

Sourcing With Intention Starts Here.

If you're building your next collection, sourcing the right materials is one of the most strategic decisions you’ll make. It shapes your product, your impact, and how your brand shows up in a market that increasingly values transparency and traceability.

World Collective’s digital textile marketplace is built for exactly that moment.

We help fashion businesses—especially small and mid-sized brands—access certified, responsible materials from a growing network of vetted global suppliers. Whether you're looking for organic cotton, recycled blends, or forward-thinking innovations like lyocell or hemp, we simplify the process.

• Low-MOQ options that support small-batch and independent production;

• Verified, traceable fabrics with real-time specs and certifications;

• Direct access to global suppliers across Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas;

• Unique textile offerings, including handcrafted and artisan-made fabrics you won’t find in conventional supply chains;

• The ability to sample, compare, and connect—all in one place.

It’s everything you need to source smarter, without the gatekeeping or guesswork.

Explore the World Collective sourcing platform today, for free, and start building your collection with confidence.

Written by Maria Eugênia Lima, Content & Marketing Intern at World Collective