A t-shirt is something all of us have in our closets. Whether it’s a brand new, crisp undershirt or a ratty old pajama tee, T-shirts give us comfort, style, and most of all, versatility.
While tees are great on their own, one way we can make them even better is by sourcing them from sustainable vegan brands.
The truth is most shirts manufactured today come from vegan sources. That is, they’re commonly made from either polyester or cotton, or a combination of both. However, our search for sustainable vegan tees doesn’t stop there.
It is also essential to consider whether the brand uses vegan inks and sustainable fabrics and if they manufacture their vegan clothing under ethical conditions.
Here are some of the best vegan companies on the market today. These brands are all 100% vegan, and none of them sell t-shirts made from animal or animal-derived components.
This list has everything from funny vegan shirts to vegan apparel that talks about vegan awareness and animal liberation—all made ethically and without harm.
But before we jump in, here are some reminders when shopping for vegan shirts:
If possible, go for brands that sell t-shirts made from organic cotton. In nearly all situations, organic cotton is better than the conventional alternative. However, in cases where it isn’t possible or your budget doesn’t cut it, just make sure to source from ethical and sustainable vegan companies.
Try to go for PETA-approved vegan brands and shirts. The PETA-approved vegan symbol is a good way for beginners to tell which products are made vegan or not. While the PETA-approved vegan symbol is by no means required for a product to be considered vegan, it’s still a pretty helpful tool.
Check if the brand partners with suppliers that operate under sweatshop-free conditions. Many workers in the fashion industry work under unsafe circumstances, so going for sweatshop-free options is a really good way to avoid supporting unethical labor practices in the industry. If a brand states they work with WRAP-certified manufacturers, this is usually a good sign that they operate sweatshop-free.
Sassy Spud - Ireland
Founded by an Irish vegan in 2017, Sassy Spud is a brand that believes in spreading the vegan message with bold colors and funny vegan sayings, all while staying true to a sustainable and ethical narrative.
Sassy Spud’s creators are firm believers in the potential of clothing to act as billboards to promote the things we believe in and create a better world for all.
The Tshirt Collection
Sassy Spud’s collection of vegan t-shirts perfectly embodies a fun, vegan lifestyle. Full of funny vegan lines and cute graphics of farm animals, their organic cotton vegan shirts are excellent conversation starters and are sure to make you and your friends crack a smile.
The brand’s shirts are available in pastel colors like powder blue, baby pink, soft teal, gray, and many others. But if you want to go for classics, black and white are available as well.
The designs are either printed or embroidered onto the shirts, depending on the style you’re looking for. If you want more depth and texture to your vegan tees, we suggest going for the embroidered options.
If you go for embroidered shirts, remember to wash them at the lowest setting to preserve the embroidery as much as possible.
Sassy Spud’s vegan shirts have a unisex fit, which means a boxy, untapered shape.
The brand’s vegan clothing is available in seven sizes from XS to 3XL, which is a pretty decent selection.
We highly recommend Sassy Spud if you’re a fan of fun prints on t-shirts and want to showcase your personality through cute designs and funny vegan messaging.
Materials & Sustainability
Sassy Spud buys its organic cotton shirts from t-shirt brand Stanley & Stella. And upon further digging, we found that the supplier has excellent ethical practices and is a big fan of transparency in business.
The t-shirt supplier works closely with the Fair Wear Foundation to ensure their products are made under safe and ethical working conditions. It follows that Sassy Spud’s shirts are also made this way.
The shirts from Stanley & Stella are made of 100% organic cotton, so you can rest assured that they’re free from toxic chemicals and dyes.
The embroidery and printing are done in the UK using vegan, water-based ink.
While Sassy Spud doesn’t specifically indicate that they use plastic-free packaging, we do know they use 100% recyclable and biodegradable packaging materials to ship their goods. You may read more about packaging materials and their life cycle assessments here.
Ethics & Community
One thing that sets Sassy Spud apart from the other brands on this list is how they don’t manufacture the shirts themselves or source them from a wholesale factory. Their t-shirts come from another eco friendly brand, Stanley & Stella.
To assess the ethics of Sassy Spud’s brand operations, we have to take a closer look at the supplier’s operations and ensure they operate above acceptable ethical criteria.
Fortunately, Stanley & Stella is another great example of an ethical and sustainable company. They currently work with five factories and one in Bangladesh, and as previously said, they work very closely with the Fair Wear Foundation to ensure workers are given what they are due.
The supplier also makes frequent trips to their cotton suppliers to guarantee conditions are up to their standards. You may read more about Stanley & Stella’s operations here.
And because Sassy Spud prints its clothing in the UK, we’re proud to share that their operations are entirely done in sweatshop-free factories.
Plant-Faced Clothing - UK
Plant Faced Clothing is a UK-based streetwear brand with a mission of promoting a new wave of consciousness that doesn’t exploit or harm any part of our ecosystem, whether it’s animals, people, or the planet itself.
With its goal of creating a new, ethical movement, the brand has managed to merge the concepts behind fashion, design, music, skating, surfing, and art and create a line of fun, engaging vegan apparel that doesn’t come at the price of the environment.
The Tshirt Collection
Plant Faced Clothing is very much a streetwear brand. Their vegan t-shirts are reminiscent of the hip, street culture with eye-catching graphics and striking styles.
Their colors lean very strongly towards black and white, but they do have pops of color here and there with their pink, orange, and even yellow shirts!
And while Plant Faced vegan clothing often has a busy theme at the forefront of each design, there are still some minimalist shirts with simple graphic detailing.
If you want to buy vegan apparel from the brand but aren’t too fond of the streetwear aesthetic, you can go for those designs instead.
True to the nature of tees, many of the company’s vegan shirts take on a funny or “punny” approach to imparting the vegan message.
We like that many of their organic cotton shirts can convey good messages about vegan awareness and kindness without feeling too pretentious and preachy—which is unfortunately common in vegan merch.
Plant-Faced vegan clothing is available in sizes XS up to 3XL.
Materials & Sustainability
Around 90% of Plant Faced’s materials are either organic cotton or recycled polyester. While recycled polyester may not be the most sustainable fabric as it can still shed microplastics, it’s a good way to help deal with the waste crisis generated by too much PET.
As a vegan brand, Plant Faced favors materials that can be sustainably sourced from the earth, hence their dedication to using organic cotton for their shirts. And while not all of their materials may be organic cotton or plant-based, they are moving in the right direction.
The company also uses water-based vegan inks that do not contain any toxic chemicals or heavy metals that could harm the environment. Plus, using water-based ink means being able to clean printing screens without any solvent!
Sustainability is at the heart of what Plant Faced Clothing does as a company. Their garments are GOTS-certified, which applies not only to the fabric itself but also to the entire production process from start to finish.
The GOTS certification can be a good indication that the brand is determined to create its products using safe and environmentally friendly means.
In addition, the company’s vegan clothing is shipped in recyclable kraft mailer boxes, and they are currently in the process of transitioning to compostable and biodegradable paper mailers—no individual plastic poly bags here!
Ethics & Community
Almost all Plant Faced products are created in WRAP-certified factories or suppliers certified by the Fair Wear Foundation. These two independent organizations help guarantee that the production of clothing is done under ethical and sweatshop-free conditions.
It follows that all employees under the brand’s supply chain are paid a fair wage for their labor and work under safe conditions. While this degree of care should be the status quo in the fashion industry, the average clothing manufacturer does not perform nearly as well in the ethics department.
Plant Faced does all its screen printing and embroidery in the UK, where they partner with factories specializing in sustainable materials and vegan, eco-friendly inks.
In addition to planting one tree for every single purchase, Plant Faced also regularly donates to their chosen charities such as Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation (BLMGNF), WIRES (Australian Wildlife Rescue Organisation), animal rights organizations, and animal sanctuaries, among others.
ETHICS - UK
ETHICS is a conscious clothing brand founded on the idea of helping everyone create a lesser impact.
Through responsible production and efficient manufacturing processes, this UK-based clothing brand truly embodies the vegan lifestyle of inflicting the least amount of harm possible.
The T-shirt Collection
ETHICS collection of vegan t-shirts is small but generates plenty of positive impacts. Most of their designs are minimalist statement pieces that spread sustainability and vegan awareness while remaining respectful of others.
The brand’s organic cotton vegan t-shirts are only available in black and white, so they may not be the best option if you’re looking for more colorful tees. However, they do have some colorful and vibrant designs that go well with the classic black-and-white backdrop.
The shirts have a unisex fit and are available in sizes XS to 2XL.
If you’re looking for a vegan T-shirt with a minimalist design for everyday wear, we cannot recommend this brand more.
Materials & Sustainability
ETHICS exclusively uses 100% organic cotton in their vegan T-shirt collection. They also do not use any other fabric that is derived from animals, and all their products bear the PETA-approved vegan and cruelty-free certifications.
These certifications are a good guide for beginners in navigating the world of vegan fashion because while they are by no means perfect, they provide a sound basis for which claims to trust and which ones to steer clear of.
All of the brand’s organic cotton vegan shirts are manufactured climate-neutral using renewable energy from wind and solar power. Energy is one of the most environmentally taxing aspects of production, so we’re glad to see ETHCS take initiative in this department.
The best part about ETHCS’ practices is their acknowledgment that creating the least amount of impact involves buying new clothing only when necessary.
All clothes, even vegan clothing, have an impact. And if we want to reduce that as much as possible, we need to recognize that solutions are not rooted in shopping or buying new things.
If you want to know more about how ETHCS practices sustainability, you can read more about it here.
Ethics & Community
Most of ETHCS’ clothing is certified by the Fair Wear Foundation, which means safe and healthy working conditions, a fair living wage, and legal labor contracts between the employer and employees.
ETHICS also frequently works with factories that carry the SA800- Social Accountability International certification.
The brand sources labor from different suppliers across the world, but they disclose from which country each particular product is made. For example, their shirts are made in India and are Fair Wear Foundation and GOTS certified.
ETHICS printing partner is London-based Fifth Column.
Etiko - Australia
Established in 2005, Etiko is a shoewear and apparel brand built on the premise of wearing “no evil.” That is, wearing no clothing items borne out of human exploitation and animal cruelty.
Now a B Corporation, Etiko is one of Australia’s leading ethical clothing companies that make ethical, vegan clothes and shoes accessible to all.
The T-shirt Collection
Etiko’s t-shirt collection is pretty extensive but simple. Their designs are either basic graphics or just plain tees. While this style may not be for everyone, some people like the versatility of plain shirts as they can be worn on their own or layered with other pieces.
You can buy these organic cotton vegan t-shirts in the conventional unisex cut, or you can get them in the women’s cut, which is essentially just a more tapered, silhouetted fit. Of course, you can get any cut or style you prefer; just be mindful of the fit and measurements.
If you’re a fan of cute, wholesome designs, then Etiko’s vegan t-shirts are going to be right up your alley.
The shirts are available in sizes XS to XXXL, so there’s a pretty good range to choose from!
Materials & Sustainability
All Etiko products are vegan and cruelty-free, true to their promise of creating apparel that doesn’t harm on all accounts. All materials used in production, even glue for shoes, are never made from animal or animal-derived components
Their material of choice for their vegan t-shirts is 100% organic cotton, an environmentally superior alternative to conventionally grown cotton, which is a dirty, thirsty crop.
Etiko’s vegan shirts are also GOTS-certified, signifying that they are made of at least 95% organic fibers, yarns, and textiles—although, in Etiko’s case, the material is 100% organic cotton.
Etiko’s carbon footprint is markedly lower than the average clothing manufacturer’s. However, they decided to take it a step further by offsetting their emissions through Carbon Social. As of writing, they’re still on track to achieving net zero, but we’re hopeful they’ll reach that milestone soon.
The brand also uses FSC-certified cardboard packaging as much as possible. And in areas where they cannot yet use cardboard, they make sure to use biodegradable and compostable plastic.
Ethics & Community
Etiko is big on transparency and ethics throughout its supply chain—a value we highly appreciate in any brand.
Etiko primarily sources from two suppliers in India, both of which operate under rigorous environmental and ethical standards. These companies pay their suppliers a fair living wage, which is then assessed by third-party providers for validity.
As a FairTrade-certified company, we know that Etiko always sources from suppliers that pay workers a living wage. One of their suppliers even assesses wages every six months to ensure all workers are paid above the living wage at all times.
In addition to the FairTrade certification, Etiko is also a certified B Corp, which means they operate under some of the highest environmental and ethical standards today. Being a B Corp means Etiko can balance profit with the greater good.
The Vegan Vibe - The Netherlands
The Vegan Vibe is an apparel store committed to spreading—as the name suggests—good vegan vibes through fun but profound messaging.
Founded by two brothers, this brand wants to raise awareness for animal rights, their liberation, and how we can be kinder human beings overall.
The T-Shirt Collection
The Vegan Vibe’s vegan t-shirt collection is a unique mix and match of different aesthetics and tones.
While they have plenty of funny vegan shirts in their shop, they also have more serious t-shirts that are perfect for vegan activists.
If you want a funny vegan shirt as a quick conversation starter, there are plenty of those available in The Vegan Vibes’ selection. But if you’re all about more nuanced vegan merch, go for their more serious graphics.
These vegan shirts are available for men and women, which is to say they’re available in a boxier cut and a more tapered cut. Whichever one you prefer is completely up to you and your style.
Each vegan shirt comes in sizes XS to 3XL, so there’s a pretty good range to choose from.
Just like with any other clothing item, make sure to care for your Vegan Vibe tees properly to make them last longer and, therefore, become more sustainable.
Materials & Sustainability
Vegan Vibes’ clothing is primarily made from cotton. As the brand did not specifically indicate they use organic cotton, we have to assume this cotton is cultivated conventionally.
While regular cotton may not be our top fabric of choice, it can still be an option, provided the brand takes initiative in other areas, which The VeganVibe does.
In addition to this, The Vegan Vibes only uses ring-spun cotton, which is typically more durable and long-lasting than regular cotton.
So, with proper care, this shirt will last you years—much better than buying ten different polyester shirts in the same time frame.
All materials for the brand’s vegan apparel are PETA-approved vegan, so we have added assurance that they’re true to their word.
If you want to know more about vegan materials and how sustainable they are, check out our guide here.
Ethics & Community
All vegan clothing from The Vegan Vibe is made by WRAP-certified factories. For their tees, in particular, all the US factories and offices by the brand’s suppliers have been given a Platinum accreditation by WRAP.
The WRAP certification assures us that The Vegan Vibe’s products were made under ethical, humane, and lawful conditions and practices in all manufacturing facilities.
The WRAP certification makes room for twelve principles that brands must adhere to before receiving accreditation. These principles revolve around fair pay, freedom of association, health and safety, and the environment, among others.
If you want to know more about the WRAP-certified factories the brand works with, you can learn more about them here.
Viva La Vegan - UK
Viva La Vegan was founded by a vegan activist, graphic artist, and fashion designer who, like many others in the field, became disenchanted by the world of modern, fast fashion and the toll it takes on our environment.
Now, Viva La Vegan is a repository of vegan clothing that spreads the message through shirts, hoodies, bags, caps, pins, and much more.
The T-Shirt Collection
Viva La Vegan’s vegan t-shirt collection is designed with compassion and designed to stand out. They offer eye-catching graphic designs for all you graphic tee lovers, but they also have some minimalistic styles for people who want to take a more subdued approach to spread the vegan agenda.
Much of their t-shirts’ themes focus on animal liberation, which is great for vegan activists and enthusiasts alike.
If you’re a fan of graphic typography and ink illustrations, then Viva La Vegan’s designs will catch your eye. Their vegan t-shirts are available in pastel colors, neon colors, as well as black, white, and gray.
Their color and design selection is one of the most extensive among the brands we’ve featured, so at least a few of them are sure to be right up your alley.
These vegan shirts come in a unisex fit, but they also have t-shirts in women’s cut, which is more figure-hugging than a regular shirt. If you’re a big fan of crop tops, their cropped vegan tees are great options as well.
One of the best things about Viva La Vegan’s collection is that their shirts are available in sizes S to 5XL, an eight-size range that’s inclusive to all.
Materials & Sustainability
Viva La Vegan vegan t-shirts are made from 100% GOTS-certified organic cotton. Their vegan clothing is made without any GMOs, pesticides, and other toxic chemicals commonly present in many fashion items today.
These organic cotton clothes are also Climate Neutral and generate 90% fewer carbon emissions compared to traditional clothing on the market.
Viva La Vegan also uses water-based, vegan inks for printing. Surprising as it may seem, many of the dyes used in clothing are pretty harmful to the environment, especially in the form of effluent that may leak into our bodies of water.
As s sustainable brand, Viva La Vegan also participates in creating a better future for all by partnering with Trees.org and planting one tree for each garment sold.
Ethics & Community
Viva La Vegan’s organic cotton vegan clothing is made in Istanbul, Dhaka, and Southern India. To make sure each vegan t-shirt is produced in an ethical working space, the company closely works with the Fair Wear Foundation to make sure all workers operate in sweatshop-free conditions and are paid fair wages.
This means that suppliers must undergo rigorous audits and follow a strict code of conduct before being accepted as part of the supply chain.
What we love most about Viva La Vegan’s operations is their acknowledgment that buying new things isn’t the long-term solution to our environmental woes. That said, investing in quality clothing that will last you years is a move in the right direction.
As consumers, we’re often taught to think that one of the best ways to influence the future is through what we buy. And while that is certainly the case in many scenarios, it’s not the only option we should be gearing ourselves towards.
Buying eco friendly items with frequency can be just as harmful as buying unsustainable things one time.
With the acknowledgment that long-term solutions require innovative thinking, we can propel ourselves into a better future for animals, the planet, and ourselves.
Final Thoughts
A good vegan T-shirt is a valuable closet staple. You can dress it up or down, and it can be an excellent companion with you anywhere you go.
But looking for good vegan apparel can be challenging, especially considering the rampant greenwashing that occurs in the fashion industry. But with extra diligence and some research, it’s perfectly possible to score vegan shirts made under the best possible conditions with the most eco friendly inks and fabrics.
For more information on vegan fashion, we highly suggest going through our comprehensive guide here.
