Five Irish-owned businesses specialising in sustainable activewear

Whether you live in your gym gear, use fitness clothing as a motivational tool or just love the athleisure look, finding the right kind of activewear to suit your needs can be tricky.

Items of clothing that are meant to be durable, washed often and withstand a lot of movement, activewear can have quite the detrimental effect on the environment. Relying on synthetic materials and chemical-dense manufacturing, we may not realise just how harmful our purchases can be.

While there’s always the option of shopping secondhand, you might prefer your activewear to be all your own. After all, these clothes are made to get sweaty! Thankfully, this dilemma has been solved by activewear brands driven by sustainability, and we’ve got our fair share of such businesses right here in Ireland.

From gym leggings to sports bras, here are some of the top Irish businesses specialising in sustainable activewear…

Organic Movement

Carefully curating collections of organic cotton and sustainably made yoga wear, Organic Movement strives to make ethical and environmentally friendly activewear accessible to all. Hand-selecting beautifully designed yoga wear that is ethically and sustainably produced in Bali and Europe, all leggings from the core collection are high-waisted and made from a natural fabric that oozes comfort and softness while allowing your skin to breathe freely.

AWAVE Apparel

Set up by two young lads from Dublin, AWAVE Apparel aren’t just making comfortable, sustainable sportswear that you can feel good about purchasing. Taking things a step further, each AWAVE garment takes plastic out of circulation and puts profits back into cleaning our oceans. A regenerative business seeking to undo the damage already done, this Irish business have committed to putting 100% of profits back into ocean clean-up charities for a minimum of two years.

HOLDER Eight

This brand specialises in environmentally safe yoga products that will bring joy to your practice. Their range of carefully created, hand-drawn designs include mats made with naturally biodegradable rubber, BPA-free bottles, and a selection of 100% organic cotton sweatshirts with beautiful embroidery script detail. Ethically sourced and super soft for everyday wear, these HOLDER Eight jumpers come in an array of beautiful colours.

Fianna

Inspired by their customers to be a force of nature, Fianna put people and the planet first. The Anam Collection is carbon neutral, made with 100% Global Recycle Standard certified materials, and for each piece sold, the brand plants one tree. Their Thrive Collection is also 100% offset with Vita Ireland and made with up to 86% recycled materials.

Olly Olly & Co

The tagline ‘make waves, not waste’ is certainly apt for this sustainable activewear brand. Using fabric made from regenerated ocean waste, Olly Olly & Co make sure that every step of their supply chain has ethical standards, sustainable manufacturing and carbon footprint considerations at its core. Born in Ireland, designed in London and made in Portugal, each piece is crafted with care.

This article was originally published in June 2022. Feature image by Awave Apparel.