Where To Buy Ethically Made Plus Size Clothing In The UK

Are you looking to buy ethically made plus-size clothing? Here are the best sustainable and ethical clothing brands that cater for women up to a UK size 38.

Moral Fibres readers first asked me about sustainable and ethical plus-size clothing around about the time when I started the blog way back in 2013.

At the time, I planned to write a blog post, similar to my guide to ethically made clothing. However, after doing some fairly intensive research, it seemed there were only a handful of US brands and nothing UK-based. It was a truly woeful picture.

The average woman in the UK is a size 16, but for a long time, the UK ethical clothing scene was not representative of this at all.

Make no mistake, ethical fashion still has a long way to go in terms of representation. However, things are slowly changing. There are now more British sustainable brands catering for curvy women and diverse body shapes – offering extended sizes across a wide range of budgets.

Where To Buy Sustainable Plus Size Clothing

Wondering where to find them? Here are nine brands producing ethically made and beautiful plus-size clothing for curvy women, and that cater to up to a UK size 38.

The price range key for this guide is:

 £ = Under £50 | ££ = £50 – 100 | £££ = £100+

Seasalt

• Caters up to UK size 28
• Price range: £ – ££

Offering inclusive sizing at really reasonable high-street prices, Seasalt is a solid place to look for plus-size clothing that is more sustainably made.

Much of Seasalt’s clothes are made from GOTS-certified organic cotton and/or recycled fibres. In fact, Seasalt was the very first fashion company to achieve Soil Association GOTS certification back in 2005.

It’s continued to do great things by bringing sustainability to the high street, whilst catering for a wide range of sizes.

My only criticism is that despite catering for up to a UK size 28, it is tricky to find plus-size models on the Seasalt website. I’d love to see Seasalt do better on this front.

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The Spark Company

• Caters up to UK size 26
• Price range: £

Size-inclusive and vegan-friendly sustainable apparel brand The Spark Company makes fun and funky T-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies and jogging bottoms with progressive feminist and LGBTQ+ messages. These are all made from organic cotton, and everything is reasonably priced – with every item coming in at under £50. T-shirts cost around £28, joggers are £44, and sweatshirts are £46.

The Spark Company say “We promise to manufacture ethical products with humane and fair work practices – absolutely no sweatshops or child labour, ever. We also promise to work sustainably and to keep finding more ways to do so. Whether it’s our zero-waste policy, using vegan dyes, or opting for biodegradable packaging.”

Every purchase you make includes a donation to Bloody Good Period – a charity that fights for menstrual equity on behalf of displaced people who are in need of period supplies.

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Not Basics

• Caters up to a UK size 22
• Price range: £

Not Basics is another great brand to check out. Here you’ll find a good range of wardrobe staples, including underwear, tops, t-shirts, leggings, jumpers and trousers in sizes up to a UK 22.

Its underwear is particularly sustainable because it’s all made from unsold deadstock fabric from other manufacturers, brands or cotton mills. This approach helps to keep fabric out of landfill and tackle textile waste in the fashion industry.

Meanwhile, other items of clothing are made from breathably soft organic cotton, for the most comfortable fit without a cocktail of pesticides.

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The Nearly New Cashmere Co.

• Caters up to a UK size 26
• Price range: £ – £££

For sustainable knitwear, try The Nearly New Cashmere Co. This Yorkshire brand sells preloved 100% pure cashmere knitwear that its team have rescued and restored to as good as new condition.

Find a cosy selection of jumpers, V-neck vests, polo necks, and cardigans, up to a UK size 26. There’s even a reasonably priced repair service so that your pieces can be part of your wardrobe for many years to come.

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Girlfriend Collective

• Caters up to UK size 30
• Price range ££ – £££

If you are looking for inclusively sized and ethically made activewear, then look no further than Girlfriend Collective.

Catering for up to a UK size 30, and available in the UK at The Sports Edit, its activewear is made from recycled plastic. Meanwhile, its t-shirts and tops are made from Cupro. This is a fibre made from waste the cotton industry leaves behind.

Additionally, all of its clothing is made in SA8000-certified factories. This certification guarantees fair wages, safe and healthy conditions, and zero forced labour or child labour.

And there’s more to love. Through its ReGirlfriend Scheme, Girlfriend Collective takes back your old Girlfriend Collective pieces. Here they are recycled and turned into brand-new Girlfriend Collective pieces, rather than being downcycled into insulation products.

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Snag

• Caters up to UK size 38
• Price range: £ – £££

Snag, which is famous for its tights, don’t just sell ethically made tights. Oh no. As well as fun patterned tights and plain tights, you’ll also find leggings, t-shirts, skirts, swimwear, and chub rub shorts. These are all ethically made and cater for extended sizes up to a UK size 38.

Snag says that it is committed to doing things ethically and sustainably. As such, its entire clothing range is made from materials that are carefully considered – including organic cotton. Snag also says all of its factories treat their workers fairly and pay living wages.

What’s more, Snag Tights are now fully recyclable. Snag has created a process specifically for its tights that turns your old tights into permanent industrial components. You can post them back to Snag for recycling (only Snag tights are accepted right now). You do have to pay postage for this, but the good news is that Snag is currently working on funding for you to send your tights back to them for free.

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The Emperor’s Old Clothes

• Caters up to UK size 28
• Price range ££ – £££

All of The Emperor’s Old Clothes’ body-positive ethical clothing is handmade in Brighton, plus they cater for sizes up to size 28.

Here you’ll find one-of-a-kind clothing, created from vintage and dead-stock fabric by people paid a living wage. The Emperor’s Old Clothes also invests in its local community, with free sewing traineeships to encourage the continuation of their craft.

They have a strict zero-fabric waste policy in their Brighton studio. This means that all of their garments are made from end-of-roll fabrics. What’s more, the remnants created during the cutting of their garments go to making their accessories. Any leftover scraps from this are then either donated to local craft projects, sent to a textile recycling scheme or made into scrap kits so you can get crafty at home.

The Emperor’s Old Clothes is also working to make its products as financially accessible as possible for its customers without compromising on its living wage ethos or the quality of its products. As such, they have introduced payment plans. Now customers can spread the cost of their ready-to-wear and design your own garments across 2 to 6 months rather than having to pay in full upfront.

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Lora Gene

• Caters up to UK size 28
• Price range ££ – £££

Lora Gene makes beautiful, ethically made clothing that caters to a UK size 28. And as a certified B-Corp, this means that Lora Gene meets the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose.

Lora Gene’s main priority is to minimise waste in every step of the product life cycle. From the production of sustainably sourced materials, design, manufacturing, storage, transport, marketing, sales, reuse and recycling – Lora Gene takes responsibility for everything that they create. And unlike fast fashion, Lora Gene’s approach involves prioritising quality over quantity at all times.

All of Lora Gene’s garments are made to order, so you need to allow 3 to 4 weeks for delivery.

More Clothing Resources

If you’re looking for underwear, try my guide to plus-size ethical underwear. I’ve found lots of UK brands offering sustainably made underwear in extended sizes.

How To Make Ethical Clothing More Representative of Plus-Size Bodies

Sadly, there are many more ethical brands that don’t cater for plus sizes. Many go up to a UK 16 or 18 and no further, and some even stop at a size 14.

Brands tell me they cater to perceived demand. If there is a particular brand that you would like to shop from that doesn’t cater for you, do email them and tell them you would shop with them if they made clothes that cater to more representative sizing.

I also make a point of asking ethical fashion brands I work with if they have limited sizing options, about their plans to introduce greater size ranges, to let them know that this is an important consideration for customers.

What If I Can’t Afford To Buy Plus Size Ethical Clothing?

I have aimed to cater to a wide range of price points in this article. However, if plus-size ethical clothing is still out of your reach, then it’s important to remember that you don’t have to buy ethical clothing to support the ethical fashion movement.

From supporting the rights of garment workers across the globe to pressing brands for greater transparency and calling out greenwashing when you see it, there’s much that can be done to support the movement and those most negatively impacted by fast fashion.

As always, do let me know if you come across any more ethically made plus-size clothing.