Best Sustainable Running Clothes 2024

We only have one earth and we want to make sure that we are taking care of it.

There are many tips and tricks that runners can do to reduce their footprint with sustainability efforts, such as run commuting to work or purchasing products that are more sustainable. Many brands are working to be more environmentally conscious as they develop running apparel—without sacrificing performance.

There are several ways that some of our favorite brands are also looking to decrease their carbon footprint and waste.

1. Recycled Materials: Using recycled materials is one of the main ways that running apparel is becoming more sustainable. This limits the amount of fossil fuels used for sourcing raw materials and reduces landfill usage.
2. TENCEL™: TENCEL is a new material made from sustainably managed beechwood forests that leaves less of an environmental footprint. The production process uses renewable energy from the pulp mill and recovers the remaining materials as co-products, so nothing goes to waste. The TENCEL fibers are biodegradable and compostable. These fibers are great for running clothes because they are incredibly soft to the touch and naturally wick moisture away.
3. Remnants: Another way to make clothes sustainable is to use the fabric leftover from other products that would otherwise end up in landfills.
4. Packaging: Finding new ways to minimize the waste of the packaging that your clothes come in goes a long way towards sustainability.

We have highlighted a few companies that are working to make more sustainable running clothes as well as some of our favorite apparel pieces from each of these brands.

Here is your guide to some of the best eco-friendly running clothes:

• Cotopaxi
• On Running
• ALWRLD
• Brooks
• Patagonia
• Vuori
• Kari Traa
• Saucony
• icebreaker
• New Balance

[This article is part of the Best Running Clothes of 2024 Buyer’s Guide. Pair your sustainable running clothes with some of the best sustainable running shoes.]

Cotopaxi’s mission is to “do good” and that sustainability means acting ethically during every phase of a product’s lifecycle—making sure to source recycled and alternative materials and that human rights are maintained throughout the supply chain. Over 94% of Cotopaxi’s products contain repurpose, recycled or responsible materials.

They focus on using remnant fabric that is leftover from other companies’ larger product runs, recycled fabrics and fabrics that are sustainable and fair trade certified. Finally, they are Climate Neutral Certified, having measured their emissions and purchased carbon offers to become carbon neutral.

Here are some of our favorite sustainable clothes from Cotopaxi:

On Running is always striving to use more recycled and sustainable materials in their garments while maintaining the same high-quality performance that you know and love. They are continuing to find new ways that performance and sustainability can complement each other, such as including recycled materials, using alternative materials, and reducing the carbon emissions and circular lifecycle of their apparel.

On Running also changed their packaging to try to reduce the environmental impact. They switched from their signature all-black packaging to recycled material with minimal water-based ink instead of fully PVC ink, making On Running a sustainability MVP.

Here are a few of our favorite eco-friendly apparel options from On:

Every day is Earth Day at ALWRLD (pronounced All World). Their entire company is about making performance apparel that works while reducing the impact on the planet through thoughtful and responsible use of sustainable and recycled fabrics. Here are some of our favorite ALWRLD running apparel pieces:

Brooks cares about the planet that we run on and have pledged to become carbon zero by 2040. In addition to the LEED Platinum Certified design of their corporate headquarters, they have many initiatives to help protect the planet, including using recycled polyester in their shoes and apparel, and decreasing manufacturing waste and sourcing recycled or renewable materials. Here are some of our favorite eco-friendly Brooks running clothes:

Patagonia’s environmental stewardship is a part of everything that they do. They work to sustainably source materials and make sure that their products are ethically constructed. Patagonia also donates 1% of their sales to the preservation and restoration of the natural environment. Here are some of our favorite sustainable Patagonia clothes:

Vuori has made an investment in happiness and knows that you should feel good about the things you buy and how they are made. They have a robust sustainability program which includes a commitment to using 80% sustainable materials in their clothing by the end of 2022 and a 100% offset of their carbon emissions. They are also reducing the plastic used in their shipping and supply chains by 80% and offset the remaining plastic use by investing in recycling programs that keep our oceans clean. Here are a few of our favorite sustainable Vuori clothes:

Kari Traa makes Scandinavian-inspired apparel for active women. In 2019, they took the Green Points Plastics Pledge to reduce their plastic usage. They switched to cardboard packaging that is easy to recycle, reduced the size of their packaging so that it’s more efficient to ship and reduced their plastic usage by 97%. They also use sustainable fabrics in their apparel, including TENCEL and make sure that the sheep they source their merino wool from are treated humanely. Here are our favorite Kari Traa apparel:

Saucony is continuously innovating to bring you the best apparel with the lightest footprint possible. Saucony is trying to minimize the use of virgin plastic by utilizing recycled, natural or other eco-friendly materials wherever possible. Plus, they are members of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition to learn more about inefficiencies and how to improve.

Nearly all of Saucony’s apparel collection contains either recycled or more sustainable content and is engineered to provide long-lasting performance, so you don’t need to replace it as often. Saucony is also working to reduce waste from packaging, including making their hangtags 80% post-consumer waste and 20% Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified paper stock from responsibly managed forests. Here are some of our favorite sustainable Saucony apparel:

Sustainability isn’t just a feature of icebreaker products, it is the value and design of the business. They aim to be plastic-free by 2023 and currently are using over 90% natural fibers. Making sure that they hold themselves to the highest environmental and sustainability standards, icebreaker puts out a transparency report that details their plans. Here are some of our favorite sustainable icebreaker pieces:

New Balance wants to lead responsibly and has developed their Green Leaf Standard that finds ways to incorporate environmentally preferred materials, use fewer materials and drive to more circularity through repairing and recycling. To meet New Balance’s Green Leaf Standard, at least 50% of the product has to be made with environmentally preferred materials. Here is our favorite New Balance green leaf apparel:

How We Picked the Best Sustainable Running Clothes

The best sustainable running clothes are the ones that perform well and have a light environmental footprint. Fit, features and style all play a role in finding the right gear. We made sure that the brands included on this list use more sustainable production methods and materials than standard running apparel.

We picked the best sustainable running clothes based on a combination of real-life use, quality of materials, details and our own top-sellers lists. With all of that in mind, we picked sustainable running clothes that lived up to our own personal (and professional) expectations.

Standing Behind Our Picks

We’re confident this gear is some of the best you’ll find, but we don’t want you to get stuck with running shoes or apparel that don’t work for you. That’s why we offer our Happy Fit Guarantee.

Our return policy means you have 60 days to put your gear to work. Wear it, run in it, wash it. If you’re not satisfied with the way it looks, fits or performs, we’ll take it back within 60 days and give you a full refund.

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