Sustainable style from Spain – 11 brands to know

This year’s instalment of Drapers spotlight on Spanish brands (part one here, part two here and part three here) focuses on sustainable labels.

We have selected 11 wholesale brands that buyers need to know – from well-established names reworking their operations to B Corp business and new launches pushing the boundaries when it comes to sustainable practices.

All prices are wholesale.

Alohas

Say hello to Alohas. The brand was launched by Alejandro Porras in 2015 in Hawaii, putting a fresh twist on the classic summer footwear staple espadrilles

In under 10 years the brand has expanded to offer extensive spring/ summer and autumn/winter footwear collections, as well as clothing and accessories ranges.

The Barcelona-based brand blends timeless and traditional styles, including boots, brogues and ballet flats, with trend-led updates and seasonally relevant catwalk inspired touches. All items are made in Spain or neighbouring Portugal.

An innovative champion of the “on demand” approach, for its direct-to-consumer channels the

brand offers a pre-order business model, which allows it to forecast consumer demand before going

into production, thereby avoiding waste by not over-producing.

Alohas is represented by Palladio Associates in the UK.

Prices range from €56 to €130 (£48 to £112). 020 7633 9888

alex@palladioassociates.com

alohas.io

Brava Fabrics

Barcelona’s Brava Fabrics is a B Corp-certified brand that will bring bold prints and bright colours to your buy. It collaborates with artists and illustrators, alongside official tie-ups with brands such as Playmobil, Where’s Wally, Snoopy and Dragon Ball, to fill its collections with unique prints, often with a kitschy, retro feel.

Its B Corp certification, for which it had to undergo a rigorous environmental and social impact audit, highlights its mantra of “fair, sustainable and locally made” products for men and women. Fabrics are a focus, particularly eco-friendly alternatives, such as Ecovero viscose derived from renewable wood sources using an eco-responsible production process, organic cotton and recycled wool. Buttons are made from natural corozo from the nut of the tagua tree, rather than plastic, and all packaging is plastic free, biodegradable and compostable.

Prices range from £12 to £40.

hola@bravafabrics.com

bravafabrics.com

Ecoalf

Ecoalf set out to make recycled products to match non-recycled fashion items, and has developed more than 500 recycled fabrics since its launch in 2009.

It achieved the demanding environmental and social impact standards of B Corp certification in 2018, and in July 2022, the Spanish brand earned Best for the World designation as one of the top 5% of the 5,000 B Corp companies globally.

The brand has now expanded to a full lifestyle offering, from signature functional outerwear and knitwear, to a full sportswear range, sneakers and wellness products. It has stores in Madrid, Barcelona, Berlin, Paris, Milan and Tokyo, and is represented by Egomark London in the UK.

Prices range from £15.40 to £74.10.

07813 123709

cristiana.filippini@egomark.co.uk

ecoalf.com

El Naturalista

As the name might suggest – it translates as “the naturalist” in English – this Spanish footwear brand takes its inspiration from nature and planet Earth, while also striving to “leave the smallest environmental footprint possible”.

Founded in the La Rioja region of northern Spain in 1998, it prioritises natural and more sustainable materials across its collections, as well as traditional handcrafting methods that mean each shoe and sandal is unique.

A full range of designs include smarter boots and casual shoes, alongside a popular sneaker collection. This includes the Geo sneaker, which has 60% of its components made from recycled materials.

The brand is represented by Cocoon Partners in the UK.

Prices range from €26 to €60 (£22 to £51).

07774 722757

rsewell@blueyonder.co.uk

elnaturalista.com

Flamingos Life

Looking for a brand that ticks off current footwear trends but also delivers on sustainability? Then look no further than Flamingos Life.

Launched in 2015 by a family-led business that originally began working in the footwear industry more than 40 years ago, the brand makes its retro-inspired casual shoes exclusively from plant-based materials.

Seeking out vegan alternatives to leather, Flamingos Life uses some uppers made from an innovative material created from corn waste, while linings are made from bamboo, shoelaces are organic cotton, and recycled materials such as nylon, Lycra and Seaqual are also used across different styles.

Prices range from£55 to £80.

+34 615 373886

juan.sanchez@flamingoslife.com

flamingoslife.com

Genuins

This family business has been making footwear in Alicante since 1940. In 2014, the third generation took over and launched a new brand, Genuins – a 100% “made in Spain” label that focuses on cork sandals with comfortable anatomical soles. Today, it makes a wide variety of sandals for women, men and children.

Bringing a design-focused, trend-led twist to the classic slip-on sandal style, bold buckles, cosy linings and statement soles combine across colourful collections.

Stockists include Amari in Cork, Doodie Stark in London and Kiti in Cardiff.

The brand is represented by Goldfinch Agency.

Prices range from €22 to €30 (£19 to £25).

07957123213

angie@goldfinchagency.com

genuins.com

Leap Concept

Leap Concept is a knitwear brand for men and women. Launched in 2021, it creates premium knitted basics and elevated pieces in limited editions and short production runs, using some of the most up-to-date sustainable practices and certified materials.

For instance, its Good Cashmere Standard (GCS) cashmere is sourced from ethical farms in Inner Mongolia, while its wool yarn supplier is a member of wool industry certification body Woolmark and certified by the Responsible Wool Standard (RWS), making its fibres fully traceable. Even labelling and packaging are made of 100% Global Recycled Standard (GRS) recycled materials and are Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified. Leap Concept has nine UK stockists, including online stores Lone Design Club, Rêve En Vert and The Clothing Lounge, and is represented by Glow Agency.

Prices range from €60 to €150 (£51 to £129).

michelle@glowagency.co.uk

leapconceptstore.com

Loess

New womenswear brand Loess offers a soft take on minimalism, creating paredback, timeless clothing made in Spain.

Launched in 2022 by Felipe and Carmen Martinez, the label’s first collections have focused on simple designs, such as long, boxy dresses, loose blouses and wide trousers. Stylish details elevate many of the largely linen pieces via subtle pleats, tucks and gathers, to create shape and interest.

Prices range from €30 to €145 (£25 to £125).

sales@loessbrand.com

loessbrand.com

SKFK

Describing itself as “functional, feminine and casual”, and for women looking for “unique designs, exclusive prints and a wide range of products”, SKFK – formerly known as Skunkfunk – first launched in Bilbao in the 1990s.

Originally positioned as a youthful streetwear brand, the business has relaunched as a more grown-up womenswear label – think pretty printed dresses and casual tailoring – while also reviewing its entire operations.

Now taking a more sustainable approach, the brand says it was the first in Spain to be OTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) and Fairtrade-certified for its use of organic, fair trade cotton.

As part of its mission to be more transparent while reducing carbon emissions, it has also created a Carbon Footprint tool online, which allows customers to check the carbon emissions impact of SKFK items throughout their lifecycle, from sea transport through to packaging used.

Prices range from €20 to €120 (£17 to £103).

sales@skfk.eu

skfk-ethicalfashion.com

Thinking Mu

Hemp, organic cotton and recycled wool – these are just some of the environmentally friendly fabrics that make up Thinking Mu’s colourful collections.

Founded by Pepe Barguñó and Miquel Castells in 2008, the brand has been built on the values of transparency, fair trade and a circular approach. Today, it focuses on two pillars: reduce and regenerate. For instance, hemp is used throughout the range as it needs 95% less water than cotton and produces 2.5 times more fibre, the brand says.

It is stocked by Aida in London’s Shoreditch and is represented by Palladio Associates in the UK.

Prices range from £19 to £116.

megan@palladioassociates.com

thinkingmu.com

Trendsplant

Casual men’s, women’s and children’s wear brand Trendsplant launched in Spain’s Alicante in 2009. It makes easy-to-wear wardrobe staples and accessories: everything from hats and caps to sunglasses and beach towels – putting sustainable materials and environmental initiatives at the heart of its business.

For example, its Colour Block signature hoodies, quarter-zip sweaters and T-shirts takes leftover materials from its production process, and reuses them across patchwork-style designs, all made in Portugal from GOTS-certified (Global Organic Textile Standard) cotton. The brand achieved B Corp certification in 2021, and is part of 1% For The Planet, donating 1% of revenue for environmental initiatives.

Prices range from €6 to €170 (£5 to £147)

luis@trendsplant.com

trendsplant.com

This activity is eligible for co-financing with European Union funds.