7 Sustainable Beanies Keeping Your Ears Eco-Friendly & Warm
As the leaves begin to turn, so does our wardrobe—meaning it’s time to top off your winter wardrobe with some sustainable beanies.
From chunky organic cotton knits with pom-poms on top to sophisticated, sustainable wool beanies, these winter-ready fair trade hats make us feel snug and stylish—even when our favorite sustainable sweater is hidden beneath outer layers.
For the bad hair days you just can’t be bothered with, these sustainable beanie brands will save you time and keep your head warm without contributing to a warming planet.
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Sustainable & Ethical Beanies We Love
Wanting a sustainable knit beanie from a brand who’s ambitious and innovative fabrics match their strong ethics?
Then Frank And Oak is your go-to for cozy and conscious headwear.
For beanies perfect for pow days or just a good old-fashioned snowball fight, Patagonia helps insulate you and the planet from fast-fashion-induced climate change.
Bogged down by all your winter sports and need a quick summary?
Shred on down to the bottom of the ski run where the melted snow reveals how we chose these sustainable brands.
The Full List Of Eco-Friendly Beanie Brands
- Coal Headwear | Visit Store
- Frank And Oak | Visit Store
- Patagonia | Visit Store
- Pact | Visit Store
- tentree | Visit Store
- Organic Basics | Visit Store
- Menique | Visit Store
1. Coal Headwear
About Coal Headwear
For over two decades, USA-based Coal Headwear has refined the art of sustainable beanie hats, creating sizes and styles to fit every head (including kids).
Made for adventure seekers and explorers of the great outdoors, they offer a huge selection of cuffed and fisherman styles with low, mid, and tall profile lengths.
Headwear is (obviously) their specialty, but that includes ski and snow face masks, too.
Coal Headwear’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Coal Headwear uses Polylana® Fiber in some eco-friendly beanies. This OEKO-TEX-certified and PETA Approved Vegan yarn is made from rPET flakes and pellets that can be blended with other recycled fibers.
They also use recycled wool and blend recycled PET with Recover™, a low-impact recycled cotton fiber.
Other materials include wool and cashmere (unknown cruelty-free status— we’ll be reaching out to this brand for further information) as well as sherpa fleece and virgin acrylic. We recommend avoiding these as they transition to more fully sustainable options.
Supply chain & labor practices:
We know Coal Headwear’s factory partners are WRAP-certified, but we’ll be reaching out to fill in the gaps (er, caps?) in their supply chain information.
Green business practices:
Along with using eco-friendly fabrics in their recycled beanies, Coal Headwear further reduces the use of single-use virgin plastics by choosing Bio-logiQ plant-based poly bags to package all of their goods.
Community & charitable giving:
Keeping your heads and hearts warmed, Coal Headwear supports three organizations: Boarding for Breast Cancer, Skate Like A Girl, and Protect Our Winters.
2. Frank And Oak
About Frank And Oak
Innovation, authenticity, community, and purpose are the values behind Frank and Oak.
A leading lifestyle brand in Canada, they carry everything from workwear and circular denim to sustainable coats and accessories.
Choose between four different women’s and men’s sustainable wool beanies—including the innovative Seawool® recycled beanie.
Frank And Oak’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Frank & Oak’s winter headwear weaves together cruelty-free, non-mulesed animal fibers like lambswool, yak wool, and merino wool, either in 100% natural blends or with recycled nylon.
One style features their patented Seawool® fabric made from recycled plastic bottles and upcycled oyster shells.
A small amount of virgin spandex, nylon, and acrylic is used in a select few styles.
They come with recycled polyester labels and colors courtesy of aniline-free sustainable dyes.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Frank And Oak is a Certified B Corporation with a Fair Trade USA-certified HQ.
This tells us that workers are protected by third-party audits, but their manufacturing locations aren’t readily available to the public. We’ve reached out to gather more information.
Green business practices:
They are currently striving towards 100% emission offsets and eliminating virgin polyester from their lines.
Currently, 78% of Frank And Oak garments utilize eco-friendly materials
Packaging consists of recycled paper kraft boxes, biodegradable tape, composable polybags, and biodegradable sugarcane tags printed using soy-based inks.
Community & charitable giving:
Frank and Oak donate 1% of profits to one of four non-profits of your choice.
They also collaborated with Town Brewery in Toronto to design a beer can which saw profits go towards preserving Canada’s coastal waters.
3. Patagonia
About Patagonia
Have you skied those vegan gloves into repair or donate territory?
Patagonia has an extensive and transparent ethical track record to equally match their vast collection of sustainable outdoor clothing to fill the hole in your drawer.
Top it off with an eco-friendly fleece-lined beanie or knit sustainable hats. The pom-top Powder Town men’s and women’s sustainable beanies have become one of the brand’s many cult classic pieces.
They also offer sun-protective bucket hats and trucker caps for warmer weather.
Patagonia’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Patagonia specializes in recycled beanies made of mostly recycled polyester and recycled nylon, both of which are moisture-wicking (ideal for when you’re freezing but also sweating).
Their eco-friendly materials also include virgin and recycled wool that meet the Responsible Wool Standard.
The R1® Daily Beanie incorporates a few other fabrics like spandex flat-faced fleece, miDori™ bioSoft, and HeiQ® Pure odor control technology.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Want to hit the slopes knowing your ethical beanie also helped (ski) lift up those who made it?
Each product listing has “Footprint Chronicles” detailing the eco-friendly materials, impact report, and where it was made for your viewing pleasure.
As a Fair Labor Association founding member and Certified B Corp, Patagonia is fully transparent about its manufacturing factories and partners.
All beanies are Fair Trade™ Certified sewn, along with 87% of their line.
Green business practices:
Patagonia is aiming for carbon neutrality by 2025, but they understand and take responsibility for cutting emissions in their manufacturing process instead of simply offsetting.
They support other organizations that are working on regenerative soil practices, renewable energy, and removing virgin fibers from their clothes.
Their Worn Wear program encourages a circular economy by accepting, repairing/upcycling, and re-selling Patagonia branded items.
More importantly, they offer a lifetime guarantee of repairs or replacements for damaged items.
With 87% of their line using recycled materials, they also ensure that 100% of their cotton is organic, recycled, or regenerative (thanks to their piloting a certification for regenerative agriculture).
Community & charitable giving:
Patagonia’s Action Works tool is available to anyone online and connects hopeful volunteers with grassroots groups through events, campaigns, or petitions.
They’ve donated over $100 million since 1985 to various environmental groups through 1% for the Planet (which they founded) and now, founder Yvon Chouinard sold his stake in the company to two environmental nonprofits who will receive all earnings henceforth.
4. Pact
About Pact
When it comes to making an impact with the smallest pieces in your wardrobe, turn to Pact and their collection of sustainable basics.
Layer up the whole family in their organic hoodies, t-shirts, and undergarments.
With their Classic Foldover Beanie, Honeycomb Beanie, and Cozy Knit Pom Beanie, you’ll want to pack them all for your next wintery weekend getaway.
Pact’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Pact believes in uncomplicated designs and simple, sustainable fabrics, so their 100% sustainable organic cotton beanies are GOTS-certified.
Supply chain & labor practices:
As a Fair Trade Certified™ company, the factories and farms adhere to ethical labor practices.
They manufacture where they source (in India) keeping shipping emissions down and establishing a stronger relationship with the local community.
Green business practices:
Pact offsets its entire carbon footprint by donating to projects that focus on renewable energy, reforestation, and community building.
If your finger is on the “Purchase Now” button, be sure to click on their option for offsetting your carbon from shipping! All packaging comes in biodegradable and recyclable/recycled materials.
Community & charitable giving:
How can you partake in their Give Back. Wear Forward program?
First, Give Back your gently used clothes (which don’t have to be Pact brand) using the box your order came in. The Wear Forward part comes when Pact sends them to those in need.
5. tentree
About tentree
Based in Canada, tentree is one of the best slow fashion brands around that lives up to its name: they plant ten trees for every order.
This creator of “earth-first apparel” fully understands that without the planet, there won’t be any people so they make products—everything from sustainable leggings to sweats—designed to help both coexist in harmony.
With foldover embroidered beanies, and faux fur pom sustainable knit beanies for women, men, and kids, they have a classic fit beanie or bucket hat to keep everyone’s head covered.
tentree’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Choose between recycled polyester, hemp, organic cotton, recycled wool, and TENCEL lyocell, in various combinations.
While they do use small amounts of spandex/elastane, it allows for a snug yet flexible fit.
Supply chain & labor practices:
As a top-ranking Certified B Corp, all product descriptions detail where their beanies were manufactured. Most are ethically made in Vietnam and China.
All of tentree’s partners follow a Code of Conduct based on ILO standards with a majority having some kind of certification including WRAP, BSCI, SA8000, Fair Trade, and Fair Wear Foundation.
Green business practices:
With their GreenStep-assessed Eco Log, you can find information about each garment’s environmental impacts such as CO2e, water, and waste saved compared to traditionally-made products.
They are also Climate Neutral-certified and offer monthly subscriptions or one-off payment options to offset your events, travels, or daily life activities.
Community & charitable giving:
With a major focus on reforesting areas that have lost biodiversity, tentree intends to plant one billion trees by 2030 (planting ten trees for every order).
6. Organic Basics
About Organic Basics
If the name didn’t clue you in, Organic Basics knows a thing or two about producing organic clothing—from sustainable sports bras and other activewear to circular denim.
To create a CAPsule wardrobe, we just need the basics, which definitely include winter accessories like a sustainable hat or recycled beanie offered in a classic, timeless style and neutral colors.
Organic Basics’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Choose between 100% recycled sustainable merino wool beanies or those made of 85% recycled cashmere, 12% virgin cashmere, and 3% merino wool.
Supply chain & labor practices:
All knitwear is processed by their ETI partner in Ayrshire, Scotland who only works with eco yarns—so if you’re looking for ethical beanies made in the UK, this is it.
This factory is SMETA and SEDEX-certified.
As a Certified B Corp, all other BSCI-compliant factories provide employees with a safe environment and adequate pay.
Green business practices:
Provides the public with a carbon emission Impact Report, which they offset with One Carbon World—though the goal is to reduce their carbon emissions by 50% by 2025.
The brand believes in the long-term solution of ethical fashion and is working on collaborating with a recycling partner to close the loop on their products.
Community & charitable giving:
Organic Basics supports WWF Turkey’s regenerative organic cotton pilot project, Rewilding Europe, and Nordic Ocean Watch through 1% For the Planet.
7. Menique
About Menique
Menique is on a mission to “help you live comfortably without making our mother Earth uncomfortable”.
Providing linen sleepwear, underwear, and activewear, they have the essentials (and ears) covered.
Hailing from Lithuania (where they certainly know a thing or two about cold winters), they produce some of the best sustainable beanies for men and women in knitted and ribbed styles.
Menique’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Menique handcrafts their organic sustainable merino wool beanies, sourced from cruelty-free sheep farms in New Zealand.
This OEKO-TEX-certified fabric absorbs odors, is temperature regulating, and biodegrades at end-of-life.
Everything is dyed using plant-based alternatives.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Menique states their apparel is made in a safe environment and compensates their workers fairly, they do not have any certifications or information available on their garment factories. We will be getting in touch to find out more.
Green business practices:
This planet-conscious brand prides itself on zero-plastic packaging, working with recyclable and biodegradable products that are printed with water-based inks.
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How We Found The Best Sustainable Beanies
It seems like a no-brainer to shop ethically for sustainable clothing if your values are to live in harmony with the Earth.
But sometimes, wading through the piles of greenwashing can be disheartening, and we end up impulse-purchasing fast fashion trends.
You may not be a hat person, but maybe someone special to you is looking to shop more sustainably and doesn’t know what to look for.
That’s why we make sure to be as thorough as possible when researching and bringing brands to your attention that meet our sustainable and ethical fashion criteria.
So what is a sustainable beanie? It’s a beanie (brand) that has considered and made steps towards each of these aspects in its manufacture.
Materials:
Beanies can be made with everything from organic cotton to oyster shells, so paying attention to sourcing and impact is crucial.
Some of the most sustainable fabrics for beanies on this list included those from natural resources like recycled or organic cotton, recycled wool, and lyocell fabric.
If opting for sustainable alpaca beanies or other ethical wool beanies, we just look to ensure the wool was ethically-sourced via cruelty-free farms that prohibit the practice of mulesing.
We included some cashmere beanies on this list but because cashmere has more problems than other types of wool, we prioritized those that used recycled cashmere (AKA the most ethical cashmere).
Second to organic fabrics, we looked for synthetics made of recycled materials, like recycled polyester and nylon.
- Certifications: Global Organic Textile Standards (GOTS), People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), OEKO-TEX, Recycled Wool Standard (RWS),
Supply chain and labor practices:
It warms our heads and hearts to think of happy, healthy workers making our ethical beanies in a safe working environment in exchange for living wages.
Third-party certifications mean regular audits of factories and suppliers but bear in mind they’re not the only thing you should look for. There are concerns of even B Corp’s reliability.
That’s why we want full transparency of where our garments come from, so we know children are out playing in the snow, not in sweatshops.
- Certifications: Fair trade, Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI), Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production (WRAP), B Corporation, Ethical Trade Initiative (ETI), Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit (SMETA), International Labour Organization (ILO), SA8000
Green business practices:
Every part of the process is important to a company’s green practices including the sustainable materials they use, their suppliers, renewable energy used in manufacturing, shipping methods, packaging, carbon offset programs, and how they deal with garments at the end of their lives.
Community & charitable giving:
By giving back to charities, brands establish relationships and foster a sense of unity that weaves throughout their company culture. Plus, helping others makes an already warm hat feel warmer still.
Final Thoughts On Sustainable Organic Beanies
If we leave you with one thing, we hope it isn’t static hair caused by an acrylic-based beanie. That aside, synthetic fabrics are causing a huge problem: microplastics.
For something that sits on our head and accumulates sweat (no matter how moisture-wicking), beanies need washing more often than other accessories—which could put out thousands of microplastics into the world.
That said, you should first continue to use the beanies you already own or find one secondhand—synthetic or not—since wearing out what already exists is always the most sustainable solution to the fashion industry.
Just be sure to use a microfiber-catching bag when washing these or any of the recycled polyester beanies on this list.
And be sure to pass this list along to your friends that are always complaining about being cold. With their help, we can all make sure winters don’t continue to get colder still!
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