Want to know the best ethical and sustainable knitwear brands in the UK for cosy jumpers, sweaters, and cardigans? I’ve got you covered with this handy guide to brands for men and women, as well as the ethical issues to be aware of.

Knitwear is a key winter staple, beloved by many for its natural thermoregulatory abilities to keep you warm without feeling sweaty. But beyond the cosy factor, many knitted items come with a footprint of animal cruelty, toxic dyes, and less-than-natural materials.

I’ve rounded up these issues, and the things to look out for and then shared my favourite ethical knitwear brands in the UK for you:

When Wool Isn’t Natural

Wool may be a natural and renewable material, but many brands blend synthetic fibres, such as acrylic and polyester, into their wool knitwear.

There are numerous reasons for this. The use of acrylic is said to reduce bobbling and help your item retain its shape. However, the main reason is that acrylic is cheaper than using natural wool. This means many brands lean towards these cheaper synthetic fibres.

The problem here is that acrylic is plastic, so this means your knitwear is derived from fossil fuels and will shed potentially harmful microplastics every time it’s washed.

Wool that’s blended with acrylic doesn’t last as long either. It will bobble faster, and whilst you can de-bobble knitwear, blended wool is harder to de-bobble. This means after a few wears and washes, your clothing can look less than great.

The Issues With 100% Wool

However, it’s not a simple case of 100% pure knitwear being good and synthetic fibres being bad. Within the wool industry, there are key issues of animal cruelty within the supply chain.

Mulesing, for example, is a practice carried out on merino lambs to help avoid flystrike – an infection caused by flies. Here, strips of skin are removed from the lambs in a painful procedure without anaesthesia. It’s a cruel practice that, thankfully, some countries have banned. Meanwhile, others, like Australia, continue to allow mulesing.

The Eco-Friendly Knitwear Brands To Know

Thankfully, there are more sustainable and kinder ways to buy knitwear. Some brands use recycled wool, others opt to give a new life to existing garments, and other eco-friendly brands use 100% natural wool sourced from transparent and traceable farms.

To help point you in the right direction, I’ve rounded up my favourite eco-friendly woollen brands in the UK that are as stylish as they are sustainable. I’ve only included brands that use 100% wool or 100% natural fibres – there are no sneaky synthetics here:

The price range key for this guide is:

 £ = Under £50 | ££ = £50 – 100 | £££ = £100+

BAM

• Budget: £ – ££
• Caters for men (sizes S – XXL) and women (UK sizes 8 – 18)
• Available directly from BAM

Although UK retailer BAM is better known for its wide range of bamboo clothing, it’s still a great choice for ethical and sustainable knitwear.

All of its lovely knits for men and women are made from 100% wool that’s been certified by the Responsible Wool Standard (RWS). This means that the wool used comes only from farms with high animal welfare and sustainable land management practices.

Each piece has also been certified recyclable by the Circular Textiles Foundation. This means that BAM has not only designed it to be recycled, but it has also guaranteed that there is a facility that can recycle it. As such, when your jumper is no longer wearable, you can send it back for free with BAM’s ’73 Zero’ Take-Back Scheme.

As well as this, BAM has set itself some big sustainability targets. By 2030, it wants to send nothing to landfill, create no pollution, and waste no water. These goals cover everything the company does – from the way its fabrics are made, to how the clothes themselves are produced, and even how they’re dealt with once they’ve reached the end of their life.

Sign up for the BAM mailing list and get 10% off your first order

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ERIBÉ Knitwear

• Budget: £££
• Caters for: men and women (sizes XS – XXL)
• Available directly from ERIBÉ

ERIBÉ is a well-established Scottish knitwear brand that is committed to using 100% natural fibres, alongside responsible manufacturing and timeless design. Its knitwear is truly stunning – there are a couple of ERIBÉ jumpers and cardigans that are high on my wish-list!

Since it was founded in 1986, ERIBÉ has only used natural fibres. This includes guaranteed non-mulesed RWS merino lambswool, and British wool.

Its knitwear is produced both in Scotland and the EU, where they are governed by strict labour laws.

ERIBÉ also works to minimise waste by producing in smaller batches and making garments to order, with faulty panels rewound into yarn or repurposed wherever possible. Plastic garment bags have also been replaced with biodegradable alternatives.

Get 10% off your first order when you sign up for the ERIBÉ Knitwear mailing list.

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Oxfam Online

• Budget: £
• Caters for: men (XS – 3XL) and women (UK sizes 6 – 24)
• Available from: Oxfam Online

Another super sustainable and budget-friendly way to shop for woollen clothing is Oxfam Online. Here you can shop for preloved knitwear for men and women, and help support a charitable cause, all from the comfort of your own home.

Oxfam Online is incredibly easy to navigate. It has dedicated knitwear sections for both men and women. From these sections, you can then filter by size, brand, price, colour, and condition to help find the perfect piece.

It’s so easy that I personally find it easier to find things on the website rather than in my local charity shop!

Everything on Oxfam is photographed well. All of the clothing listed is shot from multiple angles, so you can get a clear view of your potential purchase.

Items are reasonably priced, although I feel a little more expensive than in-store. It’s made up by the fact that delivery is just £3.95, no matter how many items you order. For extra peace of mind, returns are free. You also get the added bonus that your purchase is supporting Oxfam’s work to alleviate global poverty.

Get 10% off your first purchase when you sign up for the Oxfam Online mailing list.

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Herd

• Budget: £££
• Caters for: women (sizes XS – XL)
• Available from Herd

Another way to shop for ethical knitwear is to look for products made locally from locally sourced wool. Herd is a luxury fashion label offering this very option.

On a mission to revive British wool, of which demand has dropped dramatically, Herd is looking to reinvent British wool.

Each piece Herd makes has a total journey, from sheep to finished product, of just 230 miles.

Herd’s wool is Grown and made from 100% Bluefaced Leicester fleece from the Northern Uplands of Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Cumbria.

The brand then draws on the expertise of farmers, spinners, makers, knitters, and skilled craftspeople across England to create stylish knitwear that will stand the test of time. These are dyed using plant dyes for the lowest impact possible.

Sign up for the Herd newsletter and get 10% off your first order.

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Komodo

• Budget ££ – £££
• Caters for men (S – XL) and women (UK sizes 8 – 16)
• Available from Ethical Superstore

Komodo – one of the UK’s longest-running ethical clothing brands – has a great selection of stylish, ethical knitwear pieces for men and women that are well worth checking out. These are all made from either 100% wool or 100% organic cotton.

As one of the longest-running ethical clothing brands – operating since 1988 – this brand has sustainability in the bag. It only makes clothing from premium quality organic, natural, and eco-friendly fibres. There are no wool and polyester blends here, and Komodo does not allow single-use plastic in its supply chain.

And as a member of 1% for the Planet, Komodo donates to the Sumatran Orangutan Society. This charity is restoring natural rainforests and ecosystems through the purchase and repurposing of palm oil plantations.

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Beaumont Organic

• Budget: ££ – £££
• Caters for: women UK sizes 8 – 20
• Available from Beaumont Organic

Beaumont Organic – a Manchester-based women’s ethical clothing retailer – makes beautiful casual clothing solely from sustainable fabrics.

This brand only works with factories in the EU and is open about exactly which ones it uses. Beaumont Organic even says every piece of clothing can be traced right back to the individual machinist, thanks to the small, family-run factories it partners with.

Beaumont Organic is also committed to paying fair wages and providing good working conditions. This means you can be sure your clothing is made as ethically as possible.

Whilst Beaumont Organic offers a wide range of clothing, when it comes to knitwear, this is made from responsibly sourced and non-mulesed lambswool. No synthetic fibres are added, so your knitwear is always 100% natural.

What’s also to love is that Beaumont Organic offers free repairs to all UK customers on all its garments to extend their lifespan and reduce textile waste.

Get 10% off your first order when you sign up for the Beaumont Organic newsletter.

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The Nearly New Cashmere Co.

• Budget: £ – £££
• Caters for: men and women, sizes XS to XXL
• Available directly from The Nearly New Cashmere Co.

Offering one of the most sustainable ways to buy knitwear, The Nearly New Cashmere Co. offers a wide selection of preloved 100% pure cashmere knitwear.

The Yorkshire-based team rescues thousands of discarded 100% cashmere items each year. These rescued pieces are then meticulously reconditioned, and where necessary, repaired, to make every piece as good as new.

With a wide selection of jumpers, cardigans, polo necks, dresses, and loungewear – there is a huge selection of recycled and restored styles and sizes to choose from.

And not content with just selling preloved cashmere, The Nearly New Cashmere Co. works to keep your knitwear in good shape for as long as possible. Should your cashmere knitwear need some TLC, then The Nearly New Cashmere Co. offers a reasonably priced repair service so that your pieces can be part of your wardrobe for many years to come.

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Rokit

• Budget: £ – ££
• Caters for: men ( sizes XXXS – XXXL and women (sizes XXS – XXL)
• Available from Rokit

Vintage retailer Rokit has a vast collection of preloved vintage & designer knitwear for men and women in the UK that can be bought online.

Whatever your style or era, from handmade knitwear to vintage designer jumpers, Rokit is sure to stock it. And with a vast inventory, covering sizes 3XS to 3XL, Rokit’s size inclusivity is something to applaud.

Rokit has also developed its own Rokit Originals Range. This is a collection of reworked vintage pieces. This gives new life to old garments and creates new items to be loved over the long term, keeping old clothes out of landfill.

Every item is thoroughly inspected, cleaned, and pressed before being added to the website. This means you won’t get any nasty surprises when you receive your item.

Get 10% off at Rokit by using the discount code TAKE10 at the checkout.

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Rapanui

• Budget: ££
• Caters For: Men (sizes S – 2XL) and Women (UK sizes 8 – 18)
• Available from Rapanui

Finally, if you’re looking for vegan-friendly knitwear that avoids the use of synthetic fibres, then head to Rapanui. This Isle of Wight-based brand makes a lovely range of jumpers and cardigans from 100% organic cotton and nothing else. There are no sneaky synthetic fibres blended in with it.

This commitment to natural fibres isn’t the only reason to love Rapanui. Every product it makes is designed to be sent back for recycling when it is worn out. Once returned to Rapanui, the organic cotton is processed and spun into organic yarn, ready to make new products for a truly circular approach to clothing.

Get 10% off your first order when you sign up for the Rapanui mailing list.

More Sustainable Clothing Guides

If you need any more sustainable wardrobe inspiration, then I can help. I’ve been writing about ethical fashion for over a decade, and keep all my guides updated:

• Check out my guide to over 50 women’s ethical clothing brands.
• For more cosy clothes guides, check out my guide to ethical hats, to keep your head cosy.
• You can also try my guide to eco-friendly socks for warm toes.
• And when it comes to helping your jumpers look better for longer, I’ve got a handy guide on how to wash wool.

Wendy Graham