Image: Village Thrive at Made Trade
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The Best Sustainable & Eco Friendly Hat Brands
Even though hats aren’t a centerpiece in your wardrobe, it is usually very convenient and helpful to have a few around all year long.
For hot summer days, having a good Panama hat or a bucket hat will help you stay protected under the scorching sun. Baseball caps are also ideal for when you’re more active and exploring outdoors.
As is sunscreen, wearing a sun hat is essential for your health and will prevent sunstroke, eye damage and sunburns.
In the winter, a soft and comfy beanie protects your head and ears and keeps them warm, especially when it is freezing outside.
Whatever the season, hats are also great accessories to style and elevate your outfits!
However, most hats are made unsustainably by unethical brands, and the production process often comes at the expense of the environment and factory workers.
Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be that way and you can choose to buy better, more eco-friendly hats.
To help you with that, here is a list of 15 sustainable hat brands that sell beautiful and eco-friendly hats. They will have you covered for all seasons!
WHAT MAKES A HAT SUSTAINABLE?
A sustainable hat is always well-made and high-quality, and it should keep its shape over time.
Ideally, it is made in a Fair Trade Certified factory by a transparent brand that follows fair labor principles. The brand needs to pay its workers fairly, and offer them decent and humane working conditions.
An eco-friendly hat is also made using natural or recycled materials. Producing hats should not pollute the environment or contribute to the depletion of natural resources.
WHAT ECO-FRIENDLY MATERIALS SHOULD YOU SEARCH FOR?
There are many sustainable fabrics you should look for when buying a hat, whether a sun hat or a beanie.
These are some of the best ones you shouldn’t ignore:
Recycled and/or cruelty-free wool
Bamboo
Sustainably-harvested straw
Recycled polyester
Recycled nylon
Each of these fabrics has its environmental benefits, so pick the one that you prefer!
NOW, OUR TOP PICKS FOR SUSTAINABLE HATS:
1) tentree
Category: Wool Hats, Bucket Hats, Beanies, Baseball Caps
For: Men & Women
Materials: Recycled Wool, Tencel, Organic Cotton, Recycled Polyester, Hemp
Price: $13-50
tentree creates all kinds of sustainably made clothes and accessories for women and men. The brand sells a huge variety of sun hats, featuring multiple styles, colors and materials.
You can choose between sun hats made of organic cotton, recycled wool, hemp, Tencel or recycled polyester. There are even bucket hats if that’s the style you’re looking for!
The company partnered with environmental organizations to plant ten trees for every item purchased, and has contributed to planting more than 61 million trees to date.
tentree is entirely climate-neutral and a certified B Corporation. The brand also works with Go Climate Plus and allows you to offset your own carbon footprint directly on tentree’s website.
2) Made Trade
Category: Sun Visors, Bucket Hats, Sun Hats, Beanies
For: Men & Women
Materials: Wool, Organic Cotton, Palm Leaves, Cork, Rattan
Price: $25-105
Made Trade is a w woman-owned and family-run company with various ethical and sustainable brands.
They value fair trade and handcrafted products by workers paid fair wages, and we love that you can shop multiple brands at once.
Made Trade is known for its excellent customer experience, where you can sort items by values like POC-owned, vegan, fair trade, etc.
use code SUSTAINABLYCHIC for $20 off your first order of $150+
3) Happy Earth
Category: Beanies, Caps
For: Men & Women
Materials: Organic Cotton
Price: $24-28
Happy Earth is a brand selling eco-friendly clothing, blankets and accessories for women. The brand offers a combination of beanies and sun hats in various colors, with fun logos inspired by nature. Whichever hat you choose to purchase, they are all affordable and made of organic cotton that is ethically grown.
With every item you buy, you get to decide a project Happy Earth will give back to. It could be tree-planting, nature clean-ups or projects that help prevent greenhouse gas emissions.
The company is a member of 1% For The Planet and a certified B Corporation. It is also climate positive and all its products are vegan. Happy Earth works with a partner factory that is certified by the World Fair Trade Organization.
4) Girlfriend
Category: Bucket Hats, Visors, Beanies
For: Women
Materials: Organic Cotton, Recycled Cotton, Recycled Plastic Bottles
Price: $14-38
Girlfriend Collective is an ethical activewear brand crafting workout clothes using recycled materials, like recycled plastic and fabric scraps.
All its shipping packaging is 100% recycled, and once you are done with them, you can send back your worn-out Girlfriend Collective sports bras, & the company will recycle them into new clothing.
One of the great things Girlfriend Collective does is make it easy for consumers to understand exactly what they are buying. Underneath each product is a comprehensive description of what it’s made of. They also clearly and boldly list how many plastic bottles were used to make it, as well as the CO2 and water it saved.
5) Patagonia
Category: Trucker Hats, Caps, Beanies, Bucket, Brimmer, Earflap
For: Men & Women
Materials: Wool, Recycled Wool, Recycled Polyester, Recycled Nylon, Organic Cotton, Hemp
Price: $39-59
Patagonia is a brand that sells outdoor clothing and gear for adults and children who love adventures. The brand has a very large selection of sun hats and beanies for both women and men, and they are Fair Trade Certified.
Patagonia’s beanies are made using recycled polyester, recycled wool, recycled nylon or wool that received the Responsible Wool Standard certification. They are very soft and warm, perfect for hiking in the winter!
The brand’s baseball caps are available in a wide range of colors, and they are made from organic cotton, hemp, and recycled polyester. The brims are made of 100% recycled fishing nets.
The company is a member of 1% For The Planet. It offers to repair worn-out Patagonia clothes, and has a second-hand marketplace where you can buy used clothing and gear to give them a new life.
6) Vitamin A
Category: Bucket Hats
For: Women
Materials: Recycled Toyo Straw, Organic Cotton
Price: $45-99
We love Vitamin A’s hand-woven bucket straw hats that come in 4 colors - black, white, natural, and carmel.
They also have bucket hats made from organic cotton with prints matching some of their gorgeous swimwear designs.
While Vitamin A started with swimsuits, they have expanded to include other fun summer-inspired styles like rompers, ribbed tank dresses, crop tops, shorts, oversized shirts, midi dresses, wide-legged pants, and more.
7) Organic Basics
Category: Beanies
For: Men & Women
Materials: Recycled Merino Wool, Recycled Cashmere
Price: $28-38
Organic Basics is a fashion brand creating clothing and accessories from sustainable materials, for women and men.
The brand sells two models of very soft and warm beanies in a few colors.
You can choose a beanie made with GRS-certified recycled cashmere yarn that is produced in Italy from used, worn-out cashmere textiles.
Organic Basics also has a beanie made of 100% recycled merino wool, made using pre-consumer textile waste. The brand completely cuts out the dyeing process, which saves chemicals and water and eliminates wastewater production.
Organic Basics is a certified B Corporation and a member of 1% For The Planet. It is also very transparent about where and how its products are made.
8) Outerknown
Category: Trucker Hats, Caps, Beanies
For: Men & Women
Materials: Organic Cotton, Recycled Polyester, Hemp, Recycled Cashmere, Econyl
Price: $30-98
Outerknown is a fashion brand creating sustainable clothing for men and women.
The brand sells a huge selection of baseball caps for men. Most of them are made with organic cotton and recycled polyester. But you can also choose a sun hat made of Econyl, produced using recycled fishing nets and other nylon waste.
Outerknown also sells beanies for both women and men. They are made using cashmere, recycled cashmere, merino wool and organic cotton. If you’re a woman, you might also buy the brand’s bucket hat made from recycled nylon and recycled polyester.
The company works with three partners that are certified through Fair Trade USA. Plus, Outerknown is fully accredited by the Fair Labor Association.
9) Underprotection
Category: Bucket & Sun Hats
For: Women
Materials: Recycled Polyester
Price: $21-33
Underprotection is a Danish brand making sustainable lingerie, swimwear, loungewear, and hosiery using eco-friendly materials only. So naturally, adding a few sun hats to go with their swimwear was a must! Underprotection is a certified B Corporation, and most of its products are approved vegan by PETA.
They also have a great take-back program and regularly partner with different organizations working to help the environment.
10) Dazey LA
Category: Bucket Hats
For: Women
Materials: Silk
Price: $34-46
Dazey LA is one of the best sustainable clothing brands for dopamine dressing.
From funky accessories to graphic tees and printed swimwear, Dazey LA has what you need to spice up your wardrobe.
Everything is designed by the founder, Dani Dazey, and made to order locally in LA. We love that they make matching hats in their fun prints to go with their unique designs!
11) Hyer Goods
Category: Beanie
For: Women
Materials: Merino Wool
Price: $53
HYER GOODS is a brand that offers accessories made of leather and fabric sourced from deadstock materials and factory scraps, which helps keep these materials from ending up in landfills! For example, their limited edition beanies are sourced, knit, and finished in NYC using leftover Italian merino yarns abandoned by the fashion industry.
Their Better Beanie was knit a 20-minute drive from their studio. Find it in over 10 colors!
12) prAna
Category: Bucket Hats, Beanies, Trucker Hats, Flat Brim Hats, Snap Back
For: Men & Women
Materials: Recycled Polyester, Organic Cotton, Hemp, Merino Wool, Tencel, Acrylic
Price: $20-45
prAna is a fashion brand creating sustainable clothing for both men and women. The brand has a large selection of sun hats, baseball caps and beanies to choose from. They feature cute and fun patterns and logos, and they are well-made using sustainable materials, like organic cotton, hemp, Tencel, recycled polyester and merino wool.
prAna has partnered with Fair Trade USA and works with Fair Trade Certified factories to make its products. It is also an accredited participating company of the Fair Labor Association.
The company works with The Renewal Workshop to renew and repair used prAna products, before reselling them. This initiative has helped divert 44,000 pounds of garments from the landfill since 2016!
13) Eileen Fisher
Category: Beanies, Sun Hats, Bucket Hats
For: Women
Materials: Recycled Denim Fabric, Raffia
Price: $64-125
Eileen Fisher is a fashion brand making timeless, well-made clothing, shoes and accessories for women. The brand sells three different sun hats that are perfect for hot summer days on the beach. Two of them are handcrafted by artisans in Madagascar using responsibly sourced raffia palm fiber.
You can also choose Eileen Fisher’s denim hat made with upcycled denim fabric that is collected through the brand’s take-back program.
Eileen Fisher is a certified B Corporation, and its products are dyed in dyehouses that are Bluesign-certified, meaning that they do not use hazardous chemicals in the dyeing process, and use less water and energy.
The company is very transparent about where its factories are located and how its products are made.
14) Faherty
Category: Sun Hats, Rancher, Straw Hats, Beanies, Baseball Hats
For: Men & Women
Materials: Merino Wool, Wool, Raffia, Cotton, Recycled Polyester
Price: $29-168
Faherty is a family-owned company that creates clothing for the whole family, as well as various fashion accessories and blankets. The brand sells different kinds of sun hats for both women and men.
The women’s models are comfortable and easy to wear, and they are the perfect summer accessory to style your outfits! They are made of merino wool, wool or raffia.
Faherty also has several styles of sun hats for men, that are made of recycled polyester or cotton.
The company is a member of 1% For The Planet, received the Bluesign certification and is a partner of the Surfrider Foundation. Faherty also regularly works with Native American artists to create new designs and promote their work.
15) Afends
Category: Bucket Bags, Beanies, Caps,
For: Men & Women
Materials: Hemp, Recycled Fabrics, Organic Cotton
Price: $18-65
This Australian brand grows its own hemp and offers beanies, knit sweaters, and other garments made from the planet, as well as from recycled and organic cotton. The brand also details how much better its hemp products are for the environment than others made across the fashion industry.
Choose from over 40 different hats, and make sure to check out each piece’s journey from its origin to the final product!
use code SUSTAINABLYCHIC15 for 15% off full-priced items
About the Author:
Eva Astoul is a French freelance writer, specializing in content related to sustainability, simple living, and a growth-focused healthy lifestyle. She runs her own blog, Green With Less, to inspire people to live a more minimalist and sustainable life.
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