With many denim brands having a pretty bad rep when it comes to sustainability (did you know it can take up to 4,000 litres of water to create the average pair of jeans?), E.L.V Denim is helping to remedy the issue with some of the best fitting jeans we’ve ever pulled on. The styles are created from upcycled vintage jeans, spliced together to create contemporary, distinctive styles. “I want to debunk the myth that good-fitting jeans are hard to find,” says founder Anna Foster. Goodbye dreaded trips to find that ‘perfect’ pair of jeans and hello denim that’s tailored to both our shape, and our ethics.

At a time when ‘logomania’ continues to thrive, Amsterdam-based Permanent is wearing the authentic, thoughtful heart of its brand (quite literally) on its sleeve. Statements about conscious consumption appear across the collection, giving a call to arms for a generation that is more clued-up than ever before. Founder Iris van Melsen has focused on reducing water waste in the production process, noting: “It’s almost unbelievable that the production of one conventional cotton T-shirt can require 2,700 litres of water – the equivalent of taking a 5.6-hour long shower.” Luckily for us, this is a brand committed to creating a permanent solution to water waste.

Apart from supporting a range of charitable projects, including supplying over 3,000 pairs of pre-worn shoes to migrants and refugees, Good News shoes also makes its colourful skate styles with the planet in mind. Recycled rubber soles, organic cotton uppers and even the comfy inner footbed is formulated from castor beans (rather than petroleum, as with most trainers). The whole ethos of the brand is to “make people smile”, no more so than a certain family member. “My 102-year-old self-confessed dare-devil Great Grandpa,” says Co-founder Ben Tattersall, “jumped out of a plane last year in a pair of Good News and now holds the world record for the oldest person ever to do a sky dive.” Well, if they’re good enough for him…

Using the body as ‘a base to collage onto’, Central St Martins graduate Elliss Solomon creates swimwear, dresses and tops that have a distinctly vintage, surreal vibe about them – think Dada artist Hannah Höch meets minimal Scandi cool (if we’re going to get really ‘Fashion’ about it). From organic cotton to bamboo, each design is made from eco-friendly materials in a factory next door to the design studio (heard of low food miles? Well, this is low fashion miles). Fun, bold and dedicated to sustainable production – there could not be a more relevant brand for now.

Inspired in equal parts by the beauty of the ocean and women of all shapes, Stay Wild creates its perfectly cut swimwear using innovative fabrics regenerated from waste plastics, including discarded fishing nets. With up to 12 million tonnes of plastic dumped in our oceans every year, co-founders Natalie Glaze and Zanna Van Dijk are turning threat into thread for pieces that feel great and last for years to come. As Natalie puts it: “We don't promote excessive consumption. High-quality pieces like ours can be worn again and again, which is how all fashion items should be treated.”

Introducing: the new collections from our current Bright New Things

Each season, we add four new designers to our roster of Bright New Things. We caught up with the designers from last season to discover what their spring/summer collections have in store.

Inspired by nature, KITX’s latest collection is filled with luxurious textures, elegant draping and a seductive dreaming-of-summer vibe. Making clothes with people and the planet in mind is a core part of founder Kit Willow’s creative process – “I have the blinkers on to harmful materials,” she says. Dresses are cut from the softest organic cotton and all items are created through processes that put the environment and workers first. 

From used coffee grounds to discarded fishing nets, recycled cotton to plastic bottles (70 million and counting, to be exact) – Ecoalf reimagines materials to create high-performance technical pieces. “Ecoalf represents the new generation of recycled clothing with the same design, quality and technical properties as the best non-recycled clothing,” says founder Javier Goyeneche. This season’s latest offering includes outwear perfect for your Easter getaway and T-shirts emblazoned with the brand’s slogan: ‘because there is no planet B’. Amen to that.