The world is abuzz with recycled items, it seems like every brand and their dog is now making some sort of sports wear, swimsuits, or trainers from recycled water-bottles or fishing nets. And don't get me wrong this is cool, apart from the fact a lot of these companies don't have ethical manufacturing processes, are still fast fashion brands, and only seem to be doing this for one item as a marketing campaign. But what about the stuff that isn't conventionally recycled? And what about brands who's whole business practice is about sustainability and recycling? Well, that's where this post comes in.
14 Brands Taking Recycling to the Next Level on background of someone wearing a flowery dress

In this post we're talking about brands who really do take recycling seriously, and also have ethical manufacturing processes because on this site we value people and the environment! I got quite carried away looking through instagram and other sustainable fashion sites researching these posts because I just kept seeing really cool things I didn't expect to. With brands giving life to lots of things that would otherwise have just ended up in landfill.

Because let's be honest the future of sustainable fashion has to, in some way, incorporate recycled fashion. You can have as many new eco textiles as you want and use them but to truly sustainable these textiles have to be reused, and reused again until they can't be any more.
Silly Girl Club
Starting with the brand that inspired this post! I discovered Silly Girl Club a few months ago through a video I saw on facebook interviewing Nikki who owns the brand. She collects old, and very nostalgic, bed sheets from all over the place and makes them into dungarees, bumbags, and embellished denim jackets as well as making accessories from old toys! It's really nice to be able to get such bright, vibrant, and also "branded merchandise" pieces which are sustainably and ethically made! She gives new life to bed sheets and curtains that are probably just sat in lofts and cupboards. If you want any of the pieces it's worth following their instagram account because new product drops are announced on their and usually sell out incredible quickly!

Wyatt & Jack
Another inspiration for this post and one of the most unique things I've seen recycled . Wyatt and Jack make bags from recycled bouncy castles and inflatables! Which i absolutely love because where else are they going to end up when broken but landfill? At the moment they're on holiday and posting on instagram about the broken inflatables they're saving from the poolside bins, it's amazing. Also sold on their website are jewellery and accessory pieces made from the offcuts of their bags that are too small to make it onto other bags, made by British artists.

House of Wabi Sabi
Creating slow fashion from recycled Japanese military garments, making tiny quantities to order House of Wabi Sabi are committed to a sustainable business practice. They don't seem to have an online store open at the moment, but they do have a store in Leister (which is close to me, I may have to visit!)

Peep Eyewear
Sunglasses, and glasses in general, are always something I've struggled to get ethically and sustainable. I used to always buy my sunglasses from vintage shops, and they're not actually vintage (usually cheaply made and don't really protect your eyes). But Peep Eyewear are different, they up-cycle and restore vintage frames inserting brand new lenses into them meaning new life can be put into some amazing frames! This is something I didn't even imagine existing

Upcycled Classics
Though this post is mainly about apperal brands, I saw this brand on etsy and thought that I had to include them. Polaroid photography has really come back into fashion recently meaning thousands of brand new cameras are made. But if you're looking for an up-cyled and very cool looking version then take a look at upcycled classics. Plus they're about the same price as the brand new ones, win win!

Batoko
100% Recycled swimwear, these guys make swimwear, in the cutest prints, from plastic waste. A micro-business making sure they sure each piece they make is as low impact as possible. Ethically manufactured in China and contributors to the Marine Conservation Society they care about people and the planet.  Oh, and they do kids swimwear!

UNIK
An Edinburgh slow fashion label UNIK make bags from new materials in very limited quantities and the coolest up-cycled shirts. I want to focus on the shirts though, firstly because this post is about recycling and secondly because they're super unique and I want to own like every single one of them! They would make a great addition to my funky shirt collection..

Suave Kenya 
Suave Kenya make bags and accessories, all up-cycled. Working with second hand traders, factories and tanneries they source material from off cut fabrics and unwanted leather. Making sustainable fashion by breathing new life into material that would otherwise be discarded.

Ecoalf
A lot of recycled products have that vintage look, the thrifty vibe. And while I love that, a lot of people don't. So if you're looking for recycled fashion but don't like the "typical" look of a lot of recycled brands then Ecoalf is for you. They make clothing you would never know is made from recycled materials, recycled nylon, wool, cotton, and tyres.

Girlfriend
This is now the third or fourth blog post that girlfriend have been in, including my plus size ethical brand roundup, but it's for good reason. Girlfriend make super comfy leggings and other activewear from recycled plastic bottles. Plus recently they've started to take back old and worn products to recycle into new ones, creating a close loop system and giving a $15 voucher to the person returning them. They were my very first purchase from an ethical brand. Oh and did I mention that they have a size range of XXS-6XL, yay for inclusivity.

RE;CODE
A Korean brand creating new clothing from deadstock. I can't tell you too much about them as a lot of the information on their site is in Korean but they make some pretty stylish pieces and seem to hold workshops regularly! Also they are just one brand on the site linked that is selling their pieces so be wary of that!

The Series NY
For all bodies, all beings The Series makes reworked pieces all from existing materials. All upcycled and stitched in New York they have some seriously cute pieces. And they're a brand firmly of the opinion that clothing has no gender, a message I can get behind.

Fade and Jaye
Fade a Jaye are a small British brand making dungarees, duster jackets, and more from old curtains and table cloths. They also do tiny little children's dungarees which are just the cutest! Oh and if you have some old curtains you want to recycle then contact them! They take donations to make into more amazing clothing.

SugaMat
Wetsuits, reincarnated, Suga make yoga mats from . Also if you have any old wetsuits they're happy to take them off your hands for a 10% discount on their mats, and once your mat is no longer useable it can be recycled again to make another one. We love a close loop system
Rareform
A 15th Brand has been added! I saw these guys on a facebook add hours after I'd hit publish on this post and had to add them. They make bags and accessories from old Billboard ads how cool is that?!
This means that each piece from them is completely one of a kind. Looking around at signs and billboards I do always wonder what happens to all of this advertising once the time is up and now I know... well for some of it anyhow. They even do surf board bags, which sadly I am not in need of right now.


So that's it for now on the recycled brands, honestly I really do believe they're the future of sustainable fashion and cannot wait to seem more innovation and awesome things done with already existing materials!

If you know of any brands like these let me know! I'm especially looking for brands recycling festival tents, I've seen a few people/brands starting to do it but no fully fledged projects yet.