Material guide

The future of fashion is full of materials which are good not only for designers and wearers, but for people, our fellow animals and the planet, too.

Meanwhile, materials derived from the bodies of animals are needlessly violent and responsible for disproportionate environmental destruction as well as human harm. Virgin synthetics derived from fossil fuels, deforestation-linked cellulose materials and others are also important for fashion to move beyond, to better align with total ethics fashion.

No material is perfect or without impact, but some are far more aligned with total ethics than others, and worth looking out for!

Materials to move beyond

These materials cause harm to people, our fellow animals and the planet when we have far better, more ethical and sustainable options available to us. These are the materials the fashion industry must and is slowly moving beyond, and which people can seek to avoid.

Total ethics materials

These are the next-generation materials of the future, those that align with the values of a total ethics fashion system. They are not derived from animal exploitation, their impact on the planet we share is for smaller and less harmful, and they work to protect the people who produce them.