Discover the most sumptuous sustainable winter accessories to keep you warm and toasty.
With fall officially here and cold weather edging ever closer, it’s time to embrace some knitted accessories. From sustainable gloves to second-skin essentials like fair trade scarves and beanies, we’ve curated a list of consciously made warm accessories to cozy up with.
But, what counts as sustainable gloves, beanies, and scarves?
Many factors help us determine if a brand is offering sustainable winter accessories, but the key component we’ve placed importance on to create this guide is natural fibers.
Far too many knitwear options are available in the form of synthetic acrylics masquerading as woolens. Cheaper than its natural counterpart, acrylics are a problematic polymer-based fiber that won’t biodegrade, isn’t breathable, not to mention has a plastic-like feel. And let’s face it, there are better ways to preserve your body heat in winter.
We have found a set of brands for you that offer a blend of breathable natural fibers like wool in its many forms like Merino, Alpaca, or cashmere that come from cruelty-free and recycled sources. Some of the brands we’ve featured in this guide also offer knitted organic cotton gloves, scarves, and beanies that are known for their excellent thermoregulating properties.
Materials aside, the winter accessories we’ve found are also ethically produced and encourage the slow art of artisanal knitting. In fact, you can also choose to participate in the slow fashion practice of knitting this winter by making your own scarves, mittens, and beanies with DIY kits from the likes of We Are Knitters, or if you’re a seasoned sewist, you can pick some sustainable yarns from this guide.
After all, these cold-weather accessories are investment items you’ll hold onto for the long haul and even share with your partner owing to their unisex appeal.
And now without further ado, your destination for the add-ons you need to weather the cold season in style has arrived. From sustainable statement scarves and gloves to must-have beanies — discover it all here.
Price Range Key:
$ = Most products less than $100
$$ = Most products $100 – $200
$$$ = Most products $200+
Where to Find Sustainable Gloves, Beanies, and Scarves:
Note that this guide includes affiliate links, which means we may earn a commission if you purchase through one of these links which helps us continue to create more free resources for you!
1. Organic Basics
Categories: Scarves, Beanies | Conscious Qualities: GOTS Certified Organic, Global Recycled Standard Certified, Pays Fair Wages, Supply Chain Transparency, Philanthropic | Price Range: $
Danish brand Organic Basics offers a colorful range of warm weather accessories that will infuse instant street cred into any outfit. Full of logo-emblazoned pieces in earthy hues, you’ll find beanies, scarves, snoods, and even a balaclava to keep you snuggled up this season. They’ve even got some leg warmers in case you’d like to throw it back to the ’80s. Their organic cotton scarves and beanies are blended with a small percentage of recycled synthetics for added durability and come with a detailed carbon footprint report.
2. tentree
Categories: Beanies | Conscious Qualities: Certified B Corp, Responsible Wool Standard Certified, Ethical Production, Circular, Reforestation Program, Transparent Supply Chain | Price Range: $
Offering the coziest companions for some added warmth this winter, tentree’s beanies will have you dreaming of an outdoor adventure with its earthy hues and scenic design details. The beanies come knitted with a four-way stretch to provide maximum comfort around the head that’s crafted from materials like organic cotton and RWS-certified wool.
3. Colorful Standard
Categories: Scarves, Beanies | Conscious Qualities: Recycled Wool, Low Waste Practices, Pays Fair Wages | Price Range: $
Just as its namesake suggests, Colorful Standard offers an extensive collection of winter accessories in just about any color of your liking. So much so, that you can even shop by color to find a delectable hue ranging from soft pastels to highly saturated solids. Their collection of recycled wool scarves and beanies achieve their vibrant colors using OEKO-TEX® Standard 100 Certified dyes that have been thoroughly tested for harmful chemicals. We might suggest getting a light and dark beanie and scarf pairing of the same color to achieve an intriguing monochrome look.
4. PANGAIA
Categories: Gloves, Balaclavas, Scarves, Beanies | Conscious Qualities: Certified B Corp, Ethical Production, Transparent Supply Chain, Philanthropic, Reforestation Program | Price Range: $
Known for its elevated loungewear and innovative efforts with material science, PANGAIA offers an impressive range of sustainable winter accessories that’ll make a serious style statement. Prioritizing thermoregulation and sustainability with materials like recycled cashmere and NATIVA
certified regenerative Merino wool, these accessories will go the extra mile in keeping you warm.
5. Frank And Oak
Categories: Mittens, Scarves, Beanies | Conscious Qualities: Certified B Corp, Philanthropic, Ethical Production, Transparent Supply Chain | Price Range: $
Based in Canada, Frank And Oak’s collection will evoke all the cozy winter vibes with their fuzzy accessories. Available in neutral earthy hues that have unmissable textural details, their winter add-ons are made using materials like non-mulesed Merino wool, Yak wool, organic cotton, and Seawool® that’s made from recycled polyester and oyster shell composites. You can even grab a matching pair of sustainable beanies and mittens to make adding the finishing touches to your outfit a lot easier.
6. The Knotty Ones
Categories: Mittens, Scarves, Beanies | Conscious Qualities: Women-owned, Small Batch Production, Slow Fashion, Pays Living Wages | Price Range: $$
The Knotty Ones is a close-knit sisterhood founded by three women who work with female knitters in Lithuania. These talented knitters meticulously handcraft their collection of warm clothes and accessories, some of which feature details like embroidery using leftover yarn which ensures that no two pieces are identical. You’ll find an assortment of handmade options made from alpaca wool, Merino wool, and cashmere. The brand also offers small knitted charms that can be pinned to your gloves, scarves, and beanies for an added touch of playfulness.
7. LANIUS
Categories: Gloves, Scarves, Beanies | Conscious Qualities: Woman-owned, Slow Fashion, GOTS Certified Organic, Circular, Transparent Supply Chain, Funds Climate Protection Projects | Price Range: €
For those of you who want to make a serious style statement this winter and stay warm while you’re at it, then German slow fashion brand LANIUS is offering an array of sumptuous sustainable scarves, gloves, and beanies made from alpaca, and Merino wool, along with a blend of wool and organic cotton, these accessories come in chunky and fuzzy knitted textures to help you make a unique choice. They also offer knitted headbands that’ll add a boho accent to your look.
8. Eileen Fisher
Categories: Gloves, Scarves, Beanies | Conscious Qualities: Woman-owned, Pays Living Wages, Circular, Low-waste Practices | Price Range: $$
If you’re on the lookout for an investment-worthy accessory that’ll see you through many winters, then look no further. Eileen Fisher’s collection of warm accouterments will instantly exude an air of elegance every time you sport them.
Crafted from sumptuous natural materials like alpaca, cashmere, silk, and Merino wool to name a few, their range of sustainable winter gloves, beanies, and scarves come in solid hues that are versatile enough for easy pairing. They also offer organic cotton beanies for those of you who prefer headgear with less hair-raising static.
9. ASKET
Conscious Qualities: Circular, Pays Living Wages, Supply Chain Transparency, | Categories: Scarves, Beanies | Price Range: $
ASKET makes shopping for a warm accessory an easy affair with its elegantly understated collection of beanies and scarves. Available in no more than four to five neutral hues and two knit styles and sizes per accessory, you’ll be sure to feel cozy no matter what you choose from their range of recycled cashmere and cruelty-free Merino wool pieces.
What’s more? You can even peruse through the price breakdown, carbon footprint, and trace the origin of an item to get deeply acquainted with your potential purchase.
10. Another Tomorrow
Categories: Scarves, Beanies | Conscious Qualities: Woman-owned, Certified B Corp, Pays Living Wages, Circular, Supply Chain Transparency, Philanthropic | Price Range: $$$
If monochrome styling is something you enjoy when layering up for the cold, then Another Tomorrow has some elevated accessory pairings for you. These accessories are crafted from recycled cashmere yarn reconditioned from post-consumer sweaters to maintain all the softness of virgin cashmere. Once purchased, customers can simply scan the QR code on their swing tag to take a closer look at the provenance of their product taking them on a virtual journey from farm-to-material-to-factory.
Some Final Notes on Caring for Your Sustainable Beanies, Gloves, and Scarves…
To take better care of your natural or recycled woolen, we highly recommend getting a pilling comb to get rid of the small fuzzy balls that form over repeated use.
And that nasty hair-raising static? Wool dryer balls or crumpled-up aluminum foil balls tossed in the dryer can help reduce static immensely.
About The Author:
Jharna Pariani is a fashion writer and creative strategist whose work is rooted in honesty and deep observation of the world around her. When she isn’t busy penning down her thoughts, she moonlights as a video editor creating fashion and food reels on Instagram for several brands and influencers
You Might Also Want to Check Out:
15 Best Sustainable Coats and Jackets to Keep You Warm
Ethical Boots to Rock This Fall and Winter
Conscious Sweaters to Cozy Up With
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Sustainable Winter Scarves, Beanies, and Gloves to Bundle Up in Style
This week’s quote is a Somali proverb: “Be a mountain or lean on one.”
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Ballet flats have long been a staple in my wardrobe, but in the past few years have experienced a significant resurgence — and for good reason. The right pair can be practical, versatile, and oh so chic through days at work, with family, or out for the evening. But finding that “just right” set that’s well-crafted and sustainably made can be a whole other story. That’s why this sustainable flats guide exists.
Comfort, style, sustainability, and longevity are a lot to ask in a shoe, but I don’t believe it’s too much. It just takes some extra digging. And thankfully, I’ve done that digging for you. Because I get it! I want a flat that looks beautiful. I want a flat that’s made responsibly in line with my values. I want a shoe I can actually wear for my life. And I want that shoe to be worth the investment — it has to last. That’s why I vetted through dozens of brands to create this curated list of flats.
What Makes a Flat More Sustainable?
Material Sourcing
Footwear is a tricky category when it comes to sustainable fashion because we ask a lot of our shoes. We wear them in rain or sunshine, paved paths and cobblestone, day in and day out for years. And through it all, they have to remain beautiful. Because when they’re unwearable, there’s not much left to do with them: there is no viable footwear recycling today. Anywhere that calls it “shoe recycling” is really repurposing that footwear. But once it can no longer be worn, it’s simply trash.
In other words, our shoes need to be incredibly durable, even though the most durable materials don’t always come with the lightest footprint. In footwear, when we talk about durability, we usually rely on leather or high-performance synthetic materials. Leather can hold up with many years of wear, getting more beautiful with wear, and is easy to repair when needed. Synthetic materials are also durable, particularly for withstanding the elements like snow and rain.
But sourcing these materials conventionally is highly polluting — so how can we source these materials better?
For synthetics, we have recycled options. Today, that’s largely recycling from plastic bottles, which isn’t without it’s controversies, but there is much innovation happening in the industry around true textile-to-textile recycling.
For leather, I look for:
- Vegetable-tanned (rather than chromium tanned)
- Locally-sourced leather (more traceability), and/or
- Leather Working Group certified leather, which covers responsible management of water, energy, and waste; safe chemical management, traceability of the raw material, and occupational safety for workers.
Notably, there is no certification for animal welfare, so these are imperfect systems. But the alternative is footwear made from synthetic plastic materials or vegan leather alternatives that don’t yet meet the same durability standards as leather. Sustainability within today’s constraints requires trade-offs.
That said, there is always secondhand leather — by buying shoes secondhand you can access the quality of leather without adding further demand for the material.
Responsible Manufacturing
When considering responsible production practices, I look for first and foremost: transparency. Seeing what the brand shares about their material sourcing, their process, and who made their shoes where. And then I look at the details of that process: were the shoes made locally or within a geographic region? How are the workers paid and treated — and under which conditions do they work?
And, sometimes a brand employs an out-of-the-box approach to manufacturing entirely. There are a few slow fashion footwear brands challenging the traditional fashion system of ordering in mass quantities before demand is assessed —which inevitably leads to overproduction. These brands use an “on demand” model instead, producing their shoes only after they’ve been ordered. This reduces the risk of overproduction (i.e. producing more than what gets sold) while also encouraging more thoughtful consumption. You can’t impulse buy a pair of Mary Janes that you have to wait 8 weeks for.
Wearable and Beautiful
The most perfectly environmentally sustainable flat in the world is useless if no one wants to wear it. And as I mentioned earlier, footwear cannot be recycled into new footwear at the end of its life, so we want our shoes to last a really long time. That means they need to be design forward and comfortable, too.
My Top Picks for More Sustainable and Ethical Flats
Keeping all of that in mind, these more sustainable flats brands meet this criteria, albeit to various extents. Some err more on comfort while some more on style. Some have admirable levels of transparency and social impact, while other brands have more of a focus on their ecological impact. I’ve included descriptions alongside each brand as well as a summary of conscious qualities so you can find a brand that meets your priorities best. And, of course, a price range so you know what makes sense for your budget as well.
Some that this guide includes affiliate links which means we may earn a commission if you shop through these links. As always, brands featured in shopping guides are brands that meet our strict sustainability criteria that we think you’ll love.
1. ALOHAS
Spanish brand ALOHAS flips the typical fashion production system on its head with its on-demand model.
Instead of overproducing thousands of shoes to later discount them, ALOHAS does the exact opposite. Its newest styles are available for pre-order at a discount of 30%, so the footwear brand can more accurately forecast demand. Then the shoes — like their flats — are primarily made by local artisans in Spain and Portugal. The brand regularly shows the behind the scenes of their production on their social media.
Conscious Qualities: On-Demand Production, Locally Made
Size Range: EU 35-42 (US 5-11)
Price Range: $195-$225
2. Rothy’s
If you’re looking for flats for all-day wear at work or running errands, Rothy’s is my recommendation with their cushy insoles. The brand makes their more sustainable flats from recycled plastic bottles, as well as materials like hemp and merino wool, but they still look sleek enough for the office.
While I might not wear Rothy’s flats to a fashion event (I prefer smooth leather for more elevated occasions), they are more than stylish enough to wear to most of my real-life scenarios. My favorite part about Rothy’s, though, is that they are machine washable.
Materials: Recycled & Natural Materials, Owns One Factory (undisclosed percentage of production)
Size Range: US 5-13
Price Range: $99-$165
3. Vivaia
Vivaia has the most adorable sustainable Mary Janes made from recycled plastic bottles. The adjustable straps and arch support make Vivaia’s Mary Janes suitable for all-day comfort, even if your feet are typically prone to slipping out of flats.
This vegan footwear brand also makes square-toe and pointed-toe flats for a more elevated look. And of the several recycled plastic bottle footwear brands on the market today, Vivaia tends to have the most elevated designs in my opinion.
Conscious Qualities: Vegan, Recycled Materials
Size Range: US 5-11
Price: $97 – $116
4. The RealReal
The RealReal is an authenticated luxury resale platform with contemporary, designer, and high-end luxury brands. Depending on your priorities you can find shoes in anywhere from pristine condition (but higher priced)) to “fair” or even “as is” for the largest discount from full price.
You don’t always have as many options aesthetically when shopping more sustainably, so I like to go to The RealReal when I’m looking for specific styles. I was recently looking for Mary Janes with feminine detailing and came across Larroude Flats on The RealReal, where I purchased a pair of neutral scalloped accent flats. (Pictured here!)
Conscious Qualities: Secondhand
Size Range: US 3.5-14
Price Range: $9+
5. ESSĒN
ESSĒN elegant, minimalist footwear is artisan handcrafted from Leather Working Group-certified leather in solar-powered facilities in Italy, Portugal, and Spain. Each shoe also comes with a product passport where you can view the step-by-step journey that product took through the brand’s supply chain from raw material to manufacturing to packaging and distribution.
Beyond transparency and responsible manufacturing, ESSĒN’s slow fashion business model prevents overproduction by operating on a made to order basis. Meaning while sizes and styles are predefined, the shoes are only produced after they’ve been ordered.
Conscious Qualities: LWG Certified, Supply Chain Transparency, On Demand Production
Size Range: EU 35-44 (US 4-13)
Price Range: $295-$450
6. Allbirds
Another comfort-first footwear option besides Rothy’s is Allbirds. The brand creates lightweight, super smooth and breathable flats from tree fibers, aptly called “Tree Breezers”. The (washable) shoes are also soft enough to wear without socks.
The Allbirds Tree Breezers are far more comfortable than typical flats, though I find that the Rothy’s are slightly comfier.
Conscious Qualities: Natural materials (FSC-Certified eucalyptus, castor mean oil, sugarcane EVA)
Size Range: US 5-11
Price Range: $105-$125
7. Darzah
Fair trade certified by Fair Trade Federation, Darzah’s ethical flats are entirely hand-embroidered and handcrafted in Palestine from locally sourced leather.
The tatreez flats from this nonprofit are embroidered by refugee and low-income women artisans in the West Bank with this traditional Palestinian techniques.
Conscious Qualities: Sustains Heritage Crafts, Fair Trade Certified
Size Range: EU 36-41 (US 6-10)
Price Range: $199 – $209
8. Nisolo
If you’re seeking a quality pair of classic leather flats ideal for your capsule wardrobe, Nisolo is a strong pick. Nisolo’s flats are handcrafted by artisans using leather sourced from a Leather Working Group certified tannery.
I’ve been wearing my Nisolo shoes for many years and can attest to their quality and durability.
That said, the brand has recently turned over to new ownership and now has significantly less information about their sustainability and ethics in their supply chain. I will be keeping a close eye on this brand to see if it continues to uphold the values Nisolo has long held.
Conscious Qualities: LWG-Certified, Artisan Handcrafted
Size Range: US 5-11
Price: $138 – $198
For More Slow Fashion Content:
You May Also Want to Check Out:
The Best Affordable Ethical Fashion Brands
Responsibly Made Vegan Shoe Brands
15 Brands with Ethical Boots to Rock this Fall (and Beyond)
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Today’s quote is from writer, businessman, and conservationist Simon M. Lamb. In his book, Junglenomics: Nature’s Solutions to the World Environment Crisis, he suggests that nature provides solutions to help us reform our environmentally destructive economic practices.
Lamb writes, “As in nature, so in economics — what provides survives.”
Earth911 inspirations. Post them, share your desire to help people think of the planet first, every day. Click the poster to get a larger image.
Editor’s Note: This poster was originally published on March 27, 2020.
The post Earth911 Inspiration: What Provides Survives — Simon M. Lamb appeared first on Earth911.
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