14 UK Ethical Activewear Brands For Men & Women
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Get active the sustainable and eco-friendly way, with this handy guide to UK ethical activewear brands for men and women.
It’s an uncomfortable fact that many activewear brands aren’t the most sustainably minded.
Many of these brands exist to get more people outdoors, yet their clothing ends up harming the environment through the use of virgin plastics derived from fossil fuels (hello, climate change). And that’s before we even talk about the impact of dangerous and poorly paid working practices, that negatively impact on garment workers.
Thankfully, things don’t have to be that way. There are heaps of sustainable and ethical activewear brands out there that prioritise the use of natural or recycled materials. And they don’t stop there. They also work to ensure fair and safe working practices for their garment professionals.
The Ultimate Guide To UK Ethical Activewear Brands For Men & Women
Not sure where to start? I’ve rounded up my favourite UK brands, catering for men and women, so that your workout doesn’t place a strain on the planet. And to help save you time, I’ve included information about pricing and sizing for each brand.
The price range key for this guide is £ = Under £50 | ££ = £50 – £100 | £££ = £100+
Silverstick
- Budget: £ – ££
- Caters For: Men (sizes S – XXL)
- Available From: Brothers We Stand
For organic cotton t-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, and jogging bottoms for men, try Silverstick.
This British brand makes durable vegan-friendly clothing from Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS)-certified organic cotton and sustainable dyes. These are all manufactured in certified factories that meet high social standards.
Soft and breathable, and made without synthetic fibres, Silverstick’s pieces are perfect for every type of active lifestyle.
BAM
- Budget: £ – ££
- Caters For: Men (sizes S – XXL) and Women (UK sizes 8 – 16)
- Available From: BAM
With ambitious goals for zero waste to landfill, zero pollution, and zero wasted water – all by 2030 – BAM is an ethical clothing brand to look out for.
Making its men’s and women’s activewear predominantly from bamboo, BAM works with responsible bamboo fabric producers, who are committed to sustainable viscose production. Its producers are Oeko-Tex STeP certified. This is an independent certification that sets the highest standards for both social and environmental aspects of textile production.
With a commitment to fair wages and treatment throughout the supply chain too, and zero plastic packaging, BAM is a great choice for clothing for active lifestyles. Whether it’s gym and training gear, yoga and pilates, walking and hiking, running, or tennis gear – BAM offers a wide selection.
Get 10% off your first purchase when you sign up for the BAM mailing list.
Tala
- Budget: £ – ££
- Caters For: Women (UK sizes 6 – 18)
- Available From: Selfridges
TALA is a female-led brand on a mission to make consciously-made activewear – without a hefty price tag or sacrificing on performance or fit.
Working with ethical, accredited factories, TALA makes its clothing from certified recycled and naturally sourced materials. This includes recycled nylon, organic cotton, and TENCEL. Look out for leggings, swimwear, sports bras, shorts, active tops, and more.
Findra
- Budget: ££ – £££
- Caters For: Women (UK sizes 10 – 18)
- Available From: Findra
Findra is a Scottish ethical activewear brand that wants to empower women to be confident in leading an active outdoors lifestyle. Whether you like running, hiking, skiing, cycling, or wild swimming, Findra has all the gear you need to keep you cosy and protect you from the elements.
Using natural and recycled sustainable fabrics, Findra manufactures more than half of its collection in the UK – in Scotland and England. For items made outside the UK, Findra only works with factories that are certified to the highest standards both in environmental performance and labour conditions.
There’s even a handy repair service for your garments, should they get damaged.
Sign up for the Findra mailing list to get 20% off your first order.
Not Basics
- Budget: £
- Caters For: Women (UK sizes 6 – 20)
- Available From: Not Basics
Another top choice for natural fibre activewear is Not Basics.
Starting off life in 2021, making underwear from deadstock fibres, this budget-friendly British brand has recently expanded to offer women’s activewear staples. These include cycling shorts, leggings, tank tops, and t-shirts – all made from GOTS-certified organic cotton. This makes its sportswear super soft and breathable, and perfect for any workout.
As well as this, Not Basics gives back. It is a member of 1% For The Planet – meaning it donates 1% of its revenue to environmental causes. Plus, it plants a tree with every order.
Not Basics also carefully considers its packaging – shipping orders in recycled and recyclable paper bags or cardboard boxes. Products are also individually packaged in a non-toxic, compostable, and dissolvable bag.
Sign up for the Not Basics mailing list to get 10% off your first order.
Allbirds
- Budget: £ – ££
- Caters For: Men (XS – 3XL) and Women (UK sizes 4 – 26)
- Available From: Allbirds
Allbirds may be a brand better known for its range of sustainable shoes, but it also offers a carefully considered ethical activewear selection.
Made from regenerative materials, such as organic cotton, hemp, and Tencel, Allbirds offers t-shirts and sweatshirts in inclusive sizes. These are all made in factories that operate using safe, lawful, humane, and ethical manufacturing practices.
TenTree
- Budget: £ – ££
- Caters For: Men and Women (XS – XXL)
- Available From: Cotswold Outdoor
TenTree, a Canadian brand available in the UK at Cotswold Outdoor, makes versatile and durable leisure and activewear. Using what TenTree describes as an ‘Earth-First approach’, TenTree says all of its clothing is made in safe and fair working conditions, and constructed using only sustainably sourced and recycled materials.
What’s also to love is that TenTree plants 10 trees for every product sold. Every piece of clothing comes with a unique tag code, which, when registered, lets you track your trees and see where they are planted.
Yes Friends
- Budget: £
- Caters For: Men (sizes 3XS – 4XL) and Women (UK sizes 4 – 28)
- Available From: Yes Friends
If you’re looking for fairtrade and organic activewear that won’t break the bank, then try Yes Friends. This budget-friendly and fully vegan brand makes organic cotton clothing, in its solar-powered certified Fair Trade factory in India.
Offcuts and waste materials from its production processes are also recycled to make other garments, for a zero-waste approach to manufacturing.
Yes Friends ensures its workers in its supply chain are paid a living wage. And in a pioneering scheme, you can even tip the garment workers directly.
Find t-shirts, hoodies, shorts, and fleeces in inclusive sizes at budget-friendly prices.
Beaumont Organic
- Budget: ££
- Caters For: Women (UK sizes 8 – 16)
- Available From: Beaumont Organic
Specialising in organic and sustainable fabrics, Beaumont Organic is a great choice for natural fibre clothing for low-impact activities, such as yoga.
Its active range is designed to move with your body without restricting movement during stretching and exercise. In particular, look out for organic cotton yoga trousers and bra tops. And should you stretch a bit too far, then don’t worry! The brand offers free repairs on all Beaumont Organic garments to UK customers. This helps to extend your clothes’ lifespan and reduce textile waste.
All of Beaumont Organic’s clothing is sustainably produced and ethically made in Europe. And if you fall out of love with your clothing, then Beaumont Organic also runs a circular resale scheme online. This allows customers to pass their preloved Beaumont Organic clothing items onto a new home. In return, you will receive gift vouchers towards a new garment.
Get 10% off your first order when you sign up for the Beaumont Organic newsletter.
Finisterre
- Budget: ££ – £££
- Caters For: Men and Women (UK sizes 6 – 18)
- Available From: Finisterre
Finisterre is a Cornwall-based sustainable brand, dedicated to making high-quality clothes for active lifestyles.
Catering for both men and women, this certified B Corp (meaning it prioritises people and planet) has a great range of clothing for men and women. These include leggings, fleeces, shorts, t-shirts, swimwear, and more.
These are all made from sustainable and responsible fabrics, including renewable and recyclable textiles, as well as natural fibres and finishes.
Should your clothes get a rip or tear in them, Finisterre runs a handy repair service. Plus, it runs a takeback scheme that ensures your worn-out clothes are either upcycled into new items of clothing or recycled.
Get 10% off your first order when you sign up for the Finisterre newsletter.
Colorful Standard
- Budget: £ – ££
- Caters For: Men (XS – 2XL) and Women (UK sizes 6 – 16)
- Available From: END Clothing
Who says activewear needs to come only in black? If you’re looking for shorts, t-shirts, jogging bottoms, sweatshirts, hoodies, leggings, or sports bras in a wide palette of colours, then head to Colorful Standard.
All of Colorful Standard’s clothing is ethically made in Portugal from organic cotton, recycled wool, or recycled polyester. Available in a veritable rainbow of colours, all of its clothing is made with environmentally friendly dyes and using zero-waste practices.
Plainandsimple
- Budget: £ – ££
- Caters For: Men (sizes XS – XXL) and women (UK sizes 4 – 18)
- Available From: Plainandsimple
If you’re looking for an ethical activewear brand that avoids the use of synthetic fabric, then try Plainandsimple.
This circular clothing company ethically makes all of its apparel – including t-shirts, hoodies, jumpers, and sweatpants – from organic cotton certified by GOTS.
Plainandsimple is also entirely plastic-free. Everything from the threads used to the garment labels are free from plastic. This means your clothes can be recycled or composted once you’re done. Simply send them back to Plainandsimple (for free) for recycling or composting, and you’ll get 15% off your next order.
Get 10% off your first order when you sign up for the Plainandsimple mailing list.
Rapanui
- Budget: £
- Caters For: Men (sizes S – 5XL) and Women (UK sizes 8 – 24)
- Available From: Rapanui
Making all of its products from GOTS-certified organic cotton, Rapanui takes a circular approach to clothing. Each product is made to be recycled, so when you’re done with it, you can send it back to Rapanui for recycling into new Rapanui clothing. You’ll receive £5 in store credit by way of thanks.
Rapanui’s factories are powered by renewable energy and run on technology that Rapanui built to maximise efficiency and prevent overproduction. This helps to both save energy and eliminate waste. In terms of production, Rapanui works with its partners and is independently audited to ensure the fair treatment of workers, safe conditions, and fair pay.
Find t-shirts, vests, shorts, hoodies, and sweatshirts, as well as handy swim towels for wild swimming.
Girlfriend Collective
- Budget: £ – ££
- Caters For: Women (UK sizes 4 – 30)
- Available From: The Sports Edit
Finally, this size-inclusive ethical activewear brand – available in the UK at The Sports Edit – has everything you need to support your active lifestyle. Whether you’re looking for sports bras and shorts or leggings and jogging bottoms, Girlfriend Collective is on it.
All of its products are ethically made in certified factories from recycled materials, such as plastic bottles. These are dyed using eco-friendly dyes and using responsible water recycling methods. And once you’re done with your Girlfriend Collective pieces, you can send them back for recycling to keep the loop going.
What About Microplastics?
Buying activewear is tricky, particularly performance wear. At the moment, it’s not possible to make certain products, such as leggings, swimsuits, cycling shorts, or sports bras for sport from 100% natural fabrics, and still have the properties that we expect performance sportswear to have.
Yet even clothing made from recycled plastics sheds microplastics every time they are washed. These are tiny pieces of plastic, some of which can be invisible to the naked eye, but can potentially harm wildlife, habitats, and ourselves.
To help keep microplastic shedding at a minimum, the current advice is to only wash your clothes when necessary and to wash them in cool water. Tumble drying should also be avoided where possible. See my tips on how to avoid microplastics when washing your clothes for more ideas.
Another solution is to wash synthetic clothing in a Guppyfriend – a special bag which helps to catch microplastics. It’s one step, but ultimately, I think the responsibility should lie with the Government, clothing manufacturers, and washing machine manufacturers. They need to come up with a solution that doesn’t shoulder the responsibility and cost onto us.
Promisingly, as of January 2025, legally all new washing machines in France have to include a filter to catch microplastics from synthetic clothes. I hope that this legislation will spread beyond France, and it’s something we will see in the UK in the not-too-distant future.
Looking For More Ethical Wardrobe Help?
Try my handy guides to discover more brands:
- Guide to sustainable yoga clothes
- Ethical leggings
- Ethical sports bras
- Sustainable trainers
- Sustainable t-shirts
- Ethical shorts
- Sustainable hoodies
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