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2023 felt like the Year of Women: Taylor Swift dominated live music, Barbie dominated the box office, and Sandy Liang ascended to it-girl brand fashion supremacy. From the looks of it, 2024 will be running with this trend, and then some. As we rang in the new year, girlish bows abounded, indie darlings like Mitski were everywhere on TikTok, and I don’t think I went 5 minutes without hearing Sophie Ellis-Baxter’s ultra-femme banger “Murder on the Dancefloor.”
This International Women’s Day, we’re highlighting some of our favorite women-led brands at the forefront of the sustainability-focused slow-fashion movement. From small-batch ready-to-wear to sustainably-produced jewelry, we’ve brought together the best sustainable brands so that you can shop consciously & support the most exciting female minds in fashion today. While it’s always great to buy second hand when possible to reduce waste, these women-led brands are reinventing what it means to create sustainable, ethical new fashion.
Read on for some of our favorite sustainable women-led brands, as well as an interview with Hyer Goods founder Dana Cohen.
Hyer Goods was founded by Dana Cohen, a veteran of the corporate fashion world who decided to do something about all the materials being wasted by big fashion brands. Her gorgeous bags and accessories are sourced from deadstock and “waste” fabric and leather that would otherwise have gone to the landfill. Hyer Goods’ mini shoulder bag is the perfect 90’s-inspired baguette, made from upcycled leather.
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You already know how much we love Santos by Mónica at The Quality Edit – just read our review of their beautiful vegan leather bags. Founder and Creative Director Mónica Santos Gil has built a cult following around her brand’s ethically-produced and sustainably-sourced accessories and ready to wear lines. Their ultra-flattering Penelope Halter Dress is a made-to-order mod chic dream, partially made from lyocell, a sustainable material derived from eucalyptus trees. They also partner with One Tree Planted to plant a tree for every item sold.
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Brother Vellies was founded by Aurora James with the goal of supporting traditional African design and fabrication techniques. Their shoes and accessories are made from vegetable-tanned leathers and are soled using recycled tires. At its core, this sustainably-minded brand is committed to fair value for its highly skilled craftspeople. Rather than chasing trend cycles, they create timeless, luxury pieces meant to stay in your wardrobe for decades. We especially love their perfect Tuesday kitten heel.
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Founded in 2004 by Rony Vardi with a mission to create more sustainable jewelry, Catbird works with over 95% recycled 14k gold and recycled diamonds. Like the fashion industry at large, the jewelry business has a long way to go to ensure their products are ethically produced using sustainable materials and practices. We love Catbird’s customizable pieces, like this personalized charm necklace!
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Australian brand Deiji Studios has partnered with an impressive list of carbon offset and social justice organizations, demonstrating a commitment to sustainability and ethical production. Their breezy designs can be layered and used in multiple seasons, encouraging buyers to get as many wears out of each piece as possible.
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Dora Larsen is one of my favorite luxury lingerie brands, known for using high quality, colorful materials. DL was originally founded by Georgia Larsen, who now runs the brand alongside her husband, Jake. Their bespoke OEKO-TEX certified laces are made using 83% recycled materials, and ⅔ of their lace is produced in a solar-powered facility. They also happen to make the most comfortable and most beautiful underwire bras I’ve ever tested. Since underwear is something people tend to buy new, if you’re going to invest in a new bra, you’re going to want to make sure it’s made to last using the best in sustainable fashion practices.
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Q&A With Hyer Goods Founder Dana Cohen
Could you tell us a bit about the sustainable manufacturing process for your bags and accessories?
I started HYER GOODS with the mission to keep high quality materials in circulation and out of landfills. We partner with manufacturers both in the U.S. and overseas to take the materials fancy brands leave behind and upcycle them into limited edition, luxury goods.
Every season, we scrape the factory floors for the most luscious leftovers available- from Italian cashmere to Italian crocs. We design them into silhouettes that feel both current and classic, making sure they last in your wardrobe for ages, and then craft them using the same luxury manufacturers as the fancy brands, ensuring durability and longevity. Because everything is made from waste, we can usually only make between 4 and 40 pieces of an item, resulting in a truly limited edition product that can never be restocked because we don't make any materials ourselves. The result is small batch, luxury goods for less-- less cost and less environmental impact.
Why did you decide to use real leather instead of vegan materials?
I've worked in the fashion industry for a very long time. When I started, there was no such thing as "vegan" leather, but there was "faux leather" or technically PU/ PVC. (Hence the grey hair.) Most of the vegan leather out there is still largely made of these materials, which are derived from precious non-renewable resources which are converted into non- degradable plastics, cleverly marketed as "vegan." Even the most popular bio-based leather-alternatives like cactus, apple, pineapple and mushroom leather contain substantial percentages of plastics which most brands using them fail to discuss.
While I whole-heartedly support bio-based innovations for being better for the environment than their predecessors, I don't love the plastic component or the shorter lifespan of synthetics. Upcycled leather on the other hand, when properly cared for, can last for generations, minimizing waste, which is what we're all about. Of course the processes these leathers went through are not perfect, but using leftovers also has the advantage of eliminating the huge energy footprint needed to make new materials, while keeping these high quality materials in circulation and out of landfills. As long as people are using real leather, we believe upcycling real leather leftovers is the most sustainable option there is. It's not perfect, but it's better. That's why we call it Better Leather.
What inspired your commitment to sustainability (personally and professionally)?
I worked in corporate fashion for over a decade, the same decade that saw the rise of fast fashion. You could really feel the shift from designing mindful, purposeful products to trend-chasing. Companies with processes set up for year-long product development pipelines were trying desperately to compete with the new fast-fashion competition, unsuccessfully. With that came brand identity confusion, which led to overdevelopment, overproduction with a lack of product/ market fit, overrun sales racks, etc. We were ordering sample materials and then they'd get dropped a month later during a design review, never a mention later of the 100m per color over 6 colors times 30 fabrics our division had ordered. We were ordering bulk materials and then canceling the products, later trying to retrofit "liability" materials into future collections. The whole thing no longer sat right with me. I lost a lot of sleep, developed some health problems, and finally decided enough was enough. I left and committed myself to creating a brand that prioritized minimizing waste both through its materials and a classic yet current design aesthetic.
Where do you want to take Hyer Goods in the future?
We just opened our first long-term retail storefront in NYC with the help of an organization called Chashama, so I'm excited to be able to use this to cultivate our community, host events, facilitate collaborations and host like-minded brands on site. We'll also be using it to expand our product range, offer some new upcycled materials in our favorite styles and maybe even try out some innovative, plastic-free leather alternatives! Wherever the brand goes and whatever we make, it will always be about reducing waste and reduce emissions, ultimately creating product that is better for both people and planet.
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Consumers have more choice than ever when it comes to shopping second hand – from Depop to The Real Real to your local thrift store. But if and when you choose to buy new, it’s essential to shop as sustainably and ethically as possible. This International Women’s Day, we’re celebrating women-led brands who have demonstrated a commitment to sustainability and slow fashion values. Call it the feminine urge to mend broken systems.
