Meghan Markle is strategic in her fashion choices. She doesn’t just want to be
known for beautiful clothing but wants to provide creative and sustainability solutions. As a leader Duchess Meghan wants to ensure that her clothes reflect her belief in ethical and sustainable fashion. She is a leader in the green movement to give a shot to the environment.

 
It is going to have such an impact, I know for sure, because she is such a role model to many in many different age categories,” says Tamara Zwart, Director of Textiles & Apparel, at Cradle to Cradle’s Products Innovation Institute, a non-profit that promotes sustainable manufacturing.

Tamara Zwart, Director of Textiles & Apparel, at Cradle to Cradle’s Products Innovation Institute, a non-profit that promotes sustainable manufacturing.

Duchess Meghan’s royal endorsement of the brand resulted in:

• Outland denim experienced 950% sales increase from items made from ethically sourced materials according to Elle magazine.
• Outland employs women in Cambodia who are at risk of falling into poverty.
• 640% increase in sales proving that purposeful work can be profitable.
• Outland hired 46 more seamstresses. Outland pays a living wage, so that its workers can provide for their children in terms of nutrition, care and education. The women working at Outland gain new skills and confidence in a positive workplace environment.
• There was a 3000 % spike in web traffic to Outland’s Australian website
• 948 % global increase in web traffic resulting in the jeans sold out within 24 hours.

Meghan has enabled us to grow our business in a very tangible, immediate way.

Pippa Smalls

Hiut Jeans

Brings sustainability to the denim industry as each pair is made by hand, rather than in a huge polluting factory like many fast-fashion brands do.

Cuyana

Meghan wore the brand Cuyana to board a plane at Sydney Airport, and the bag sold out that day, and the black version sold out the following. There were more than 1,000 on the waitlist for the bag in the color Meghan Markle wore. Plus, the brand gained more than 1,500 followers on Instagram and saw 25 press mentions. Cuyana is a social enterprise brand. Cuyana, along with its non-profit partner, H.E.A.R.T., will donate your unwanted items to women in need and give you a ThredUp and Cuyana credit toward a future purchase.

Duchess Meghan wore a white tuxedo dress by Maggie Marilyn during their Royal visit to New Zealand. Maggie Marilyn is an ethical and sustainable brand that uses local manufacturers and pays workers a fair living wage. They pay attention to the impact that making luxury fashion can have on the environment.

I am just so honoured she chose to wear one of my designs!

Designer Maggie Hewitt

Veja French brand

Duchess of Sussex wore the brand’s Esplar trainers, named after a Brazilian NGO, that supports cotton farmers, while watching a sailing event during the Invictus Games in Sydney in October 2018. Since 2005, Veja has been making classic trainers with a difference. They offer environmentally friendly shoes made with raw materials, which have been sourced from organic farming and ecological agriculture, without using any chemicals or polluting processes.

Rothy

The Rothy brand not only makes its products thinking about the environment, they also use their social media channels to help their customers become greener too. Each month, the shoe label shares a tip on how we can work together to help the planet and live more sustainably, not just in fashion, but in all parts of our everyday lives.

[Markle] is modelling those choices in a way that is inspiring consumers more broadly to make the same choices — if that’s to buy the same product, that’s fabulous and it’s my hope that it will also then inspire them to make other choices based on similar values. Maybe the gateway is to buy the same pair of jeans or shoes but ideally then that starts to become a practice.

Emma Williams, the Acting Head of Communications at Cradle to Cradle

Theory

Theory uses renewable materials to bring their customers the most modern, luxurious and sustainable clothing. The label has a dedicated Good Wool collection which is made from premium traceable Australian merino wool that is woven by pioneers of renewable manufacturing in Italy.

Reformation

Reformation can go from sketch to dress in about a month. They only use sustainable materials rescued from dead-stock fabrics and repurposed vintage clothing. The brand recognizes that fashion is the third most polluting industry in the world, so they keep sustainability at the heart of what they do.

Stella McCartney

Stella McCartney is an innovative brand in terms of their use of sustainable processes and materials to respect our earth. From recycled plastics to faux fur, McCartney leads the way when it comes to eco-fashion.