Sustainable Work Clothes For Women: 8 UK Brands To Know

Looking to dress sustainably smart? Try these 8 UK brands offering stylish ethical and sustainable work clothes for women.

Looking to revamp your work wardrobe with sustainability in mind? Whether you’re working in the office all of the time, or splitting your work week between home and the office, I’ve found 8 of the best UK brands offering stylish sustainable work clothes for women that mean you don’t have to leave your ethics at home.

Whether you prefer dresses, trousers, or skirts, I’ve found a range of brands catering to different styles. Plus I’ve looked for brands catering to different price points and sizes.

Ethical & Sustainable Work Clothes For Women

Here are my top ethical women’s workwear brands.

To help you out further, I’ve included a rough price range for each brand. The key to this guide is:

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

Komodo

• Budget: ££
• Caters for UK sizes 8 – 16
• Available directly from Komodo

A great choice for sustainable clothes for work is Komodo. As one of the very first ethical clothing brands – founded in 1988 – the brand has taken sustainable fashion seriously long before other retailers.

Komodo only uses premium quality organic, natural, and eco-friendly fibres. To back this up, the brand is both Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) certified and certified organic by the Soil Association.

Komodo manufactures its products in Kathmandu, Bali and India. It has a close working relationship with these factories – working with some of them since its inception in 1988. Komodo visits the factories regularly to ensure the people involved at every step of the process are treated with respect, receive a fair wage and are not expected to work in uncomfortable or hazardous conditions.

Komodo doesn’t stop there. Most of Komodo’s products are vegan and all are cruelty-free. It has phased out single-use plastic from its supply chain. Plus, as a member of 1% for the Planet, Komodo donates a percentage of its profits to the Sumatran Orangutan Society. This charity is restoring natural rainforests and ecosystems, through the purchase and repurposing of palm oil plantations.

Get 10% off your first order when you sign up for the Komodo newsletter.

---

Aspiga

• Budget – £ – £££
• Caters for UK sizes 8 – 18
• Available directly from Aspiga

Look no further than Aspiga, a fair trade, ethical, and sustainable fashion brand based in London.

This B-Corp specialises in dresses and resort wear, made using natural, organic and sustainable materials. These include organic cotton, linen, Ecovero, Tencel and Econyl.

Aspiga partners with small suppliers and skilled craftspeople in India and Kenya who share its ethos to create its beautiful fair trade pieces.

---

Albaray

• Budget: £ – ££
• Caters for UK sizes 8 – 18
• Available directly from Albaray

For smart trousers, pretty tops and dresses that would work well both at work and for going out, Albaray is a good place to check out. This UK-based fashion brand offers stylish, responsibly made clothing for women from environmentally friendly materials, including organic cotton and Ecovero viscose.

Albaray also prioritises ethical manufacturing processes, ensuring that workers are treated fairly and paid appropriately. Its factories are audited to ensure they meet the highest standards when it comes to health and safety, environment, business ethics and labour standards. 

---

Brora

• Budget: £££
• Caters for UK sizes: 6 – 18
• Available directly from Brora

Committed to making long-lasting, quality clothing in natural fibres, independent slow fashion brand Brora has been leading the way in British-made clothing for 30 years now.

Brora takes great pride in its slow fashion ethos and British manufacturing, as well as its commitment to renewable fabrics. These include organic cotton, wool and linen.

Brora also gives back, regularly raising money for charities including Save the Children, The British Red Cross, The Conservation Collective and more.

Famed for its heritage-inspired knitwear, Brora isn’t just about cardigans and jumpers. You’ll also find pretty dresses, skirts, trousers, tops and blouses in timeless styles that are perfect for both work and leisure

---

Ninety Percent

• Budget: ££ – £££
• Caters for sizes: XXS – XXL
• Available directly from Ninety Percent

Ninety Percent is a London-based ethical clothing label, that produces luxury sustainable basics and stylish clothes for work, all crafted from eco-friendly materials such as Tencel.

From tailored pieces to tops, dresses, shirts, skirts and blouses, there’s everything you need to look sustainably sharp at work.

Ninety Percent’s clothing is made in Bangladesh in an industry-leading garment manufacturing facility that puts people and the planet first. From fair wages, health insurance and childcare, to a free hot lunch every day, it’s dedicated to setting the very best standard.

Ninety Percent has also created a pioneering profit-sharing business model. This approach sees Ninety Percent sharing 90% of its profits between its garment workers and five charitable causes – including War Child UK, Wild Aid, and Big Life.

---

The Nearly New Cashmere Co.

• Budget: £ – £££
• Caters for sizes XS to XXL
• Available directly from The Nearly New Cashmere Co.

Up your style stakes at work the preloved way, by taking a look at The Nearly New Cashmere Co. This sustainable fashion brand offers a wide selection of preloved 100% pure cashmere knitwear.

The Yorkshire-based team rescues thousands of discarded 100% cashmere items each year. The team then meticulously reconditions and repairs each piece, where needed, to make every piece as good as new.

Whether it’s jumpers, cardigans, dresses, or polo necks that you are looking for – there is a wide range of recycled and restored styles and sizes to suit your needs.

What’s to also love is that The Nearly New Cashmere Co. also offers a reasonably priced repair service for cashmere jumpers that require some TLC. This helps to extend the life of your clothing so that you can go on wearing them for many years to come.

---

Nomads

• Budget: ££
• Caters for UK sizes 8 – 18
• Available at Ethical Superstore

Nomads is another great choice when it comes to sustainable clothes for work. This fashion brand is another sustainable stalwart, bringing Fairtrade fashion to the UK since 1989.

Always standing for slow, responsible fashion that’s crafted around a commitment to Fair Trade and sustainability, it makes stylish ethical clothes, all without the use of synthetic fibres. Instead, all of its pieces are fairly made in India using sustainable and natural fibres, such as GOTS-certified organic cotton.

Find vibrantly printed skirts and dresses, and pretty blouses and tops, to bring a touch of colour to your work wardrobe.

---

Seasalt

• Budget: £ – ££
• Caters for UK sizes 6 – 28
• Available directly from Seasalt

Finally, the UK clothing brand Seasalt specialises in beautiful timeless clothing in stunning prints, many of which are perfect for work. I have a couple of Seasalt dresses that have seen me through many a meeting!

Whilst it’s not the most ethical brand out there, I commend Seasalt for offering inclusive sizing and ethical style at more affordable High Street prices.

Seasalt has been a member of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) since 2018. This is a UK-based independent body that brings together companies, trade unions and non-governmental organisations to ensure compliance with international labour standards in the global supply chains of member companies. It’s also part of SEDEX.

Many of Seasalt’s clothes are made from GOTS-certified organic cotton and responsibly sourced viscose, which is made in closed-loop processes to reduce waste.

In fact, Seasalt was the very first fashion company to achieve Soil Association GOTS certification back in 2005. They’ve continued to do great things by bringing sustainability to the high street, whilst catering for a wide range of sizes.

More Ideas

And there you have it – my ethical ladies’ clothing picks for work or the office. I also have loads more ethical clothing brands listed in my women’s ethical clothing directory, if you are looking for more inspiration.  

Of course, your workwear wardrobe doesn’t have to be bought new. There are always charity shops, Oxfam’s online store (if you don’t have time to rummage through racks in your local charity shop), as well as lots of other great places to shop for secondhand clothes online if you’re looking to update your sustainable work wardrobe for less.

And if you’re looking to take action beyond your wardrobe, do check out my advice on how to make your workplace more sustainable.