UpCircle Beauty

This sustainable brand capitalizes on the idea that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. By utilizing old coffee grounds and chai tea blends, the company upcycles natural ingredients that provide beauty benefits. After being founded in the U.K. by brother-sister team William and Anna Brightman, they’re finally bringing their world-changing ideas across the pond. UpCircle Beauty is launching some of their selected products in the U.S., which is available for purchase online and in Ulta stores.

Cariuma Sustainable Sneakers

Cariuma sneakers are made entirely from raw materials such as bamboo, natural rubber, organic cotton, sugar cane, cork, mamona oil, recycled PET, leather, suede, recycled paper and Bluesign-certified chemicals. They aim to empower conscious consumers to buy quality over quantity by embracing personal style over status-quo trends. They maintain ethical factories and employ a strict code of conduct in their day-to-day operations. Using eco-textiles and ensuring their workers are properly treated, Cariuma aims to make your carbon footprint a bit smaller with their sneaker brand, and encourages you to remember that good things take time.

KADA

Headed by Kassia Davis, an entrepreneur from Boston, KADA is changing the landscape of sustainable fashion. After working at New Balance for a decade, Davis knows the ins and outs of the fashion industry, and she noticed a need for staple clothing that is made with sustainable and ethical practices. As a result, KADA was born, with dual focuses on sustainability and female empowerment that Davis hopes will drive the world of fashion forward. KADA garments are made in the U.S. from materials that are either sustainably produced, salvaged or surplus items.

Veja Sustainable Sneakers

With most mainstream sneaker brands, 70% of revenue goes towards advertising and marketing, whereas only 30% goes into materials and the people who make them. A favorite French sneaker brand of Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton, Veja began by trying to redesign this business model by reallocating all advertising resources into production. The soles of their shoes are made from 40% natural rubber sourced in Brazil. For textiles, they source organic agro-ecological cotton from a small cooperative of 35 producers supported by an NGO in northern Brazil, and since 2005, they have incorporated B-mesh, a fabric made of plastic water bottles. With a passion for fashion, transparency, Fair Trade efforts and climate justice, Veja is taking one step at a time to revise the sneaker industry.

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