Organic vs recycled cotton, which one is more sustainable?
Recycled cotton saves water and organic cotton protects the soil. In a sweatshirt, a blend of the two fibres often makes the toughest garment.
Organic or recycled cotton, recycled polyester, linen, wool. Each article explains how a material affects the lifespan of a garment, and we check the labels brands claim against the registers of the bodies that award them.
Recycled cotton saves water and organic cotton protects the soil. In a sweatshirt, a blend of the two fibres often makes the toughest garment.
Eight brands, 286 men's references checked on the official sites in October 2026, five criteria scored out of 10.
Eight criteria you can check in the shop to tell whether a pair of trainers will last three seasons or three months.
Fabric weight, fleece type, polyester share, seams then washing, checked across six sweatshirt brands.
Fabric weight, collar, cotton and washing, everything that separates a white tee that lasts from one that turns yellow in six months.
The criteria that matter for a bike commute, from sealed seams to a suspended laptop sleeve.
Score out of 10, limited to commitments that can be checked (materials, labels, transparency, repair, take-back). A promise backed by no public evidence earns no points, even when the brand puts it front and centre.
See how we score
Compare two brands on our five criteria in one click.
Faguo has the highest score on our October 2026 grid (8.5/10), mainly for the transparency of its commitments. Patagonia, the repair pioneer, follows on 8.3, and Veja, the brand with the best documented supply chain, on 8.2.
Awarded by the non-profit B Lab, B Corp assesses the company as a whole (governance, employees, environment, customers) and is renewed every three years. The label covers the entire brand and certifies no individual product.
Organic cotton is grown without synthetic pesticides or fertilisers, whereas recycled cotton avoids producing new fibre at all. Recycled has the lowest footprint, with a shorter fibre that has to be blended. Everything is explained in our guide organic or recycled cotton.
It reuses bottles or textile offcuts and has a smaller footprint than virgin polyester. In the wash, though, it sheds microfibres. Washing cold, less often and in a filter bag reduces this shedding markedly.
A Refashion collection bank, second-hand resale or a return to the shop are the usual routes. Patagonia repairs and resells its own pieces through its Worn Wear programme, and several brands take their clothes back in store in exchange for a voucher.
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