The Most Sustainable Jeans Brands
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There’s nothing quite like a great pair of jeans. And the most sustainable pair of jeans are the ones that you can wear hundreds of times. So we set out to find the most well made, sustainable denim brands with jeans that are likely to become a well-loved staple in your wardrobe.
We vetted denim brands based on transparency, carbon emissions measurement and reduction efforts, material selection, and business model. We also looked into ethical labor, packaging and waste, and other environmental efforts. Based on these criteria, we ranked brands on a scale of 1 to 5.
All of our picks are over $100, which is notably more than you’ll spend on jeans at most fast fashion brands. Shopping more sustainably often means shopping for the long term. A sustainably made, durable pair of jeans can last you 10 years, while fast fashion jeans, made with a lot of synthetic fibers stretch and deteriorate in a couple years making the cost per wear the same, if not higher, than jeans that will last you longer and have a lower cost on the planet.
If you want to save money on sustainable jeans, we highly recommend shopping secondhand. You can even search for these brands on secondhand marketplaces like Depop or Poshmark.
Note: Depending on where you live and your total order value, international purchases may be subject to a VAT tax or additional duties.
Before you buy new jeans, consider why you want a new pair. Here are a few questions to consider:
- Could your current jeans be mended or resized to your liking?
- Could you upcycle your jeans with patches or embellishments to add some extra excitement?
- Do you want new jeans to fit into a fleeting trend that’ll die down in a month or so?
- Could you thrift a new-to-you pair of jeans or host a clothing swap with friends?
If you’re still in the market for jeans, we’ve curated our top picks below.
Commons’ Top Pick
- Price Point: starting around $110 USD per pair
- Size range: men 29-38; women 25-34
- Locations: HQ in Germany; manufactured in Germany, Portugal, Turkey, Romania, and Tunisia
- Transparency: 2022 Action Report
ARMEDANGELS shows support for building a “conscious wardrobe” by focusing on timeless, durable designs. We love that the brand explicitly encourages customers to limit their new garment purchases to no more than five items per year. The jeans are priced on par with other big denim brands like Madewell.
We like that ARMEDANGELS publicly reports its carbon emissions and is taking action to reduce the biggest carbon drivers. The brand’s material selection is primarily natural fibers, and ARMEDANGELS actively encourages circularity, both with its resale platform and within its own manufacturing.
ARMEDANGELS is transparent about its supply chain, is Fair Trade Certified and has a supplier code of conduct.
A More Size-Inclusive Option
- Price Point: starting at $88
- Size range: men: 28-42 waist; women: 00-24
- Locations: HQ and manufacturing in U.S.
- Transparency: Sustainability Page
Warp + Weft has a wide range of jeans for women in the tried-and-true washes and colors. For women, you’ll find wide leg, skinny, boot cut in straight across the denim color spectrum, from size 00 to 24. For men, the options are a bit more limited with slim or straight jeans for sizes 28-42 waist.
We like that Warp + Weft is a family-owned, vertically-integrated company that has been in the denim business for over 30 years. While the team doesn’t yet report on company greenhouse gas emissions, they have taken some of the most important emissions-reducing activities already.
The brand uses a majority natural, more sustainable fibers like cotton certified by the Better Cotton Institute, and recycled fibers saved from landfills by Recover. Because Warp + Weft owns its factory, it’s been able to implement key clean energy projects, like 200 kW worth of solar panels and an in-house power plant that uses heat recovered from its manufacturing processes to power itself.
We’d like to see more details on the brand’s greenhouse gas emissions, labor practices, and packaging, as well as more circular offerings such as a take-back or resale program.
For a Personalized Fit
- Price Point: starting around $175 USD
- Size range: men 30-34; women 28-38
- Transparency: 2022 Impact Report
- Locations: HQ in Sweden; manufactured primarily in Portugal and Italy
ASKET’s focus in on essentials, rather than trends, with collections of pieces that are designed and built to last. When you order jeans from ASKET, you can specify slim or regular build to ensure a better fit. Though, we wish the size range extended to plus sizes. The largest women's size is 38 (around a US size 14) and men’s, 34.
ASKET scores highly across the board on our criteria — from transparently sharing detailed emissions and supply chain information to investing in renewable energy in production. The brand also buys back used ASKET apparel for store credit through The Revival Program. The brand stands in defiance of the reigning fast fashion paradigm by only producing “one, single permanent collection.”
While all manufacturing is done in Europe, and thus governed by European labor laws, we’d still like to see further details on their labor policies, especially further up in their supply chain.
One-of-a-Kind Splurge
- Price Point: starting around $325 USD
- Size range: men 28-38; women 24-38
- Locations: HQ and manufacturing in the UK
- Transparency: Sustainability Page
If you’re looking for investment jeans with more unique fits and colors, you may want to splurge on a pair from E.L.V. The denim collection features bleach tie dye, exaggerated wide legs, and statement stovepipes.
It’s impressive that E.L.V. Denim creates its jeans from local, 100% upcycled materials. All of its products are created in an East London atelier by local craftspeople. Dedicated to their circular, zero-waste vision, E.L.V. offers both a takeback and resale program and finds creative uses for all fabric scraps created during the production process.
We wish the size range extended to plus sizes, but unfortunately, the largest women’s size is 38 (around a US size 14) and men’s, 34. We’d also like to see more details about their packaging, their fair labor and wage practices, and their carbon emissions.
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How Commons Evaluates Brands
Commons' mission is to help you sift through the greenwashing to find the most sustainable choices for you. We're empowering a collective shift to more intentional spending while influencing brands to operate more sustainably.
Commons’ Brand Ratings
- Best: Throughout their supply chains, these brands are taking responsibility for their impact on the people and planet. They're sustainability leaders in their industry, doing more than their fair share.
- Good: These brands are exceeding expectations by actively reducing their carbon footprint and minimizing waste.
- Fair: These brands are meeting the minimum sustainable efforts we'd expect from brands their size.
- Poor: These are medium-to-large brands with fewer sustainability practices than we'd expect at their scale. These may also be small brands that lack public reporting on their sustainability goals or efforts.
- Harmful: These brands are far from meeting the minimum sustainability efforts and reporting that we'd expect from them. Their business and manufacturing practices likely harm ecosystems and employees.
Commons' Criteria and Methodology
Our criteria focus on the root causes of the climate crisis. Brands that excel in these areas are building more sustainable industries.
- Materials: How is this brand using sustainable materials, packaging, sourcing, and shipping to reduce its impact?
- Slow Consumption: Does this brand encourage conscious consumption and facilitate long-term product use?
- Accountability: Is this brand transparent about its sustainability goals and how it's working toward them?
We aim to empower people to get what they need by buying less and buying better. When we do need to buy things, we can use our dollars to support brands actively building more sustainable economic systems. Here are some key tenants to our methodology:
- Transparency is crucial: Our approach is data-driven and expert-curated. Our team of carbon experts finds publicly available information to evaluate, summarize, and rate each brand.
- Scaling expectations: We have higher expectations of big brands because they have a larger impact and resources to invest in more sustainable practices.
- Evaluations are evolving: We may not always get it right. We welcome questions, feedback, or additional information. On each brand page, you can see the date each rating was last updated.
You can see the full Commons Rating Rubric here.
Brands to Avoid
The business model of fast-fashion brands relies on overconsumption, unethical labor, and fossil-fuel-based fabrics. We recommend avoiding these brands when buying jeans or other clothing:
- Shein
- Zara
- Forever 21
- Uniqlo
- Mango
- ASOS
- Temu
- Amazon and Amazon Basics
- Abercrombie & Fitch
For a more expansive list of fast fashion brands, check here.
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