There is an overwhelming number of wonderful clothing brands out there for babies and children. And, fortunately, there are increasingly more companies that strive to utilize natural, chemical-free materials and dyes, many of which have achieved certifications to give parents greater confidence that they are making a safe choice for their children. In this post, I share many of the brands that I’ve found and love.
Note that I largely organize this section by type of certification, starting with the ones that have the most stringent standards (GOTS or IVN). GOTS and IVN are the gold standard, because they cover the entire production process. Oeko-Tex certification is also helpful, though it only tests the final product and also only accounts for 100 of the worst offending chemicals – which is good, but it doesn’t account for the thousands of others (such as the significant number of types of PFAs). If a product is not certified it could mean the material is organic but the production is conventional, and there could still be hazardous chemicals in the production.
A few companies even have more than one certification for the entirety of their collection, ie. GOTS + IVN, GOTS + Oeko-Tek, etc. The first two sections below – those companies that are both GOTS and IVN certified and those that are GOTS certified, are essentially the same in that they have the most stringent standards in place, and you can feel assured that your child is wearing clothing that is safe for their health. It’s also important to note that many brands may offer GOTS-certified clothing, but not all of their items in their collections have the certification, which I also try to highlight in my summaries below.
Lastly, I recognize that many of the brands below are in a higher price range than may be desirable, given their high quality. There are some more affordable brands mixed in the list as well, so I try to indicate what may be on the higher end versus more affordable where possible, using a very simplistic key: $, $$, and $$$.
Recommendations for Brands with both IVN and GOTS Certifications for Entire Collection
Disana ($$)
Disana is a family-owned German company with high standards of sustainable production and a focus on the health of little ones. All of their items are produced in Germany with all steps overseen by Disana to ensure high quality. They use organic cotton, organic wool, and silk – their organic cotton and pure new wool are independently inspected and certified by GOTS. Disana also is a member of the International Natural Textiles Association (IVN) and is committed to producing under strict ecological guidelines for every stage of production.
Engel ($$)
Engel is a German company focused on sustainability and on ensuring no chemicals in their production or final product. They use organic cotton, organic merino virgin wool, and natural organic merino virgin wool with silk. Their dyes are free from heavy metals and from harmful AZO-dyes; what they use is bio-degradable and does not pollute soil, air or water. And all materials used are nickel-free, while buttons are made from natural, renewable raw materials. Their certifications include GOTS, Internationaler Verband der Naturtextilwirtschaft e.V. (IVN), and ”Grüner Knopf”, and all of their products are made in Germany.
Reiff ($$)
Reiff is yet another German company that uses natural textiles and products/processes everything themselves at their location in the Swabian Alps. They offer wool apparel that is GOTS certified. From their website: “We are a member of the International Association of the Natural Textile Industry (IVN), and fully comply with their guidelines in the production of our natural textiles. Even before the establishment of the Working Group on Natural Textiles (AKN) (which then became the IVN), we tried to exclusively use yarns without toxic and/or heavy metal-containing compounds.”
Recommendations for Brands with GOTS Certification for Entire Collection
Cosilana ($$)
Cosilana is a German company that uses all natural, untreated fibers, including GOTS certified cotton, wool, and silk. You can read more about their materials here.
Bayiri ($$$)
Bayiri Spain – A Spanish company offering lovely knitted, GOTS-certified clothing, blankets, and soft toys for babies. They offer both muted-colored pieces, and colorful options as well. Their items are made in Spain.
Monica & Andy ($$)
Monica & Andy is a U.S.-based company that has a focus on safety of the clothes for children and uses GOTS certified fabrics. They have fun and colorful prints that change each season. They globally source their fabrics, with the majority of manufacturing done at an organic and GOTS-certified factory in Mumbai, India.
Copenhagen Colors ($$$)
Copenhagen Colors – a Danish company offering knitwear in GOTS-certified organic cotton and merino wool. They offer a range of color options, and the pieces are produced in India, in GOTS-certified factories.
Viverano ($$)
Viverano – A U.S. company focused on healthy products and sustainable production. They use GOTS certified cotton and work with “a ‘farmer-owned’ social cooperative in India that works with a growing number of smallholder organic cotton farmers with the intent to enhance and improve their livelihood options by making their small farm systems more sustainable and profitable, and creating access to ethical and robust Fair-Trade markets for Non GMO cotton.” Their products are produced in a GOTS-certified, fair trade factory in India.
Loud + Proud ($$)
Loud + Proud – a German company that uses GOTS-certified organic cotton and wool and offers pieces with a lot of bright colors and fun prints. I’m glad to see that they also offer fleece pieces made of wool rather than polyester/plastic bottles. Their suppliers and manufacturers are in Hungary and Portugal. The company is also climate neutral.
PACT Organics ($)
PACT Organics – A U.S. company offering organic clothing. The baby and children’s selection is fairly limited, but I like that they use GOTS certified organic cotton. I especially like their underwear (both for kids and women). They seem mostly to source cotton from and produce their products in India.
Recommendations for Brands with GOTS Certification for Most or Parts of Their Collection
Serendipity Organics ($$$)
Serendipity Organics is a family-owned Danish company that uses only natural materials, with GOTS certified cotton and wool, as well as llama and baby alpaca from Bolivia (so I put them in the category of being fully GOTS certified, even though their llama/baby alpaca are not). Prints are hand-drawn by the company. It produces its apparel in factories in India.
Okker-Gokker ($$)
Okker-Gokker is also a Danish company based on the island of Bornholm (in the town that my mother grew up in). The founder and designer’s focus is on offering comfortable, safe, ecological clothing for kids and incorporating Danish design. They strive for GOTS-certified materials where possible and otherwise organic or recycled materials.
Monkind ($$$)
Monkind – is a socially responsible family-run Berlin brand that offers minimal clothing for kids largely using GOTS-certified organic (I mostly found GOTS-certified items when I poked around on their site). They avoid bright, gender-specific colors and styles. Their clothes are manufactured by small, family-run factories in northern Portugal.
Hess Natur ($$)
Hess Natur – A German company offering apparel, as well as linens/bedding, for kids and adults. They largely use GOTS certified materials and also non-certified organic wool and cotton. They also sell a small collection of wool and felt shoes. From their website: “We deliberately renounce the use of toxins, harmful substances, and dubious methods and strive to treat our environment in a respectful way. For example, the GOTS-Certificate ensures the high ecological status of our textiles. No person should suffer because of our products. This is why we oblige our manufacturers and suppliers to treat their employees humanely and pair them fairly. When choosing hessnatur you also make a statement for more sustainability, responsibility, and health and contribute to the preservation of our beautiful planet.” I love that their fleece items are made of organic wool, rather than polyester.
Wheat ($$)
Wheat was originally founded by a Danish couple, and then bought by a Canadian family in 2014. I am impressed by their commitment to reducing chemicals and to corporate social responsibility. They largely use organic cotton sourced from GOTS certified suppliers, but it appears they are not yet fully GOTS certified themselves. Their apparel has a sort of romantic feel.
Milkbarn ($)
Milkbarn is a U.S.based company that offers some GOTS certified clothing in adorable prints, including cozy pajamas that my daughter has loved. I love that they post their documentation for their GOTS certification and CPSIA (Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act) certifications for specific products. I believe their products are produced in China, but I haven’t yet verified that.
Frugi ($$)
Frugi is a British clothing company that offers really fun, colorful clothes that uses certified GOTS organic cotton and some pieces with non-certified organic cotton; for outwear, recycled plastic bottles and fluorocarbon-free coating for waterproofing. The company has a firm commitment to sustainability and ethical production. Their factories are in India.
Oeuf ($$$$)
Oeuf is a New York-based company that sources and produces its clothing in Peru & Bolivia from/with local artisans. They use primarily organic, GOTS certified Pima cotton and baby alpaca wool; they also use cotton yarn for knits and 100% linen from flax plants for some of their items. Their items are high quality and on the expensive side.
Popolini Iobio ($$)
Popolini Iobio is an Austrian brand that ensures safe, high quality products with OEKO-TEX and GOTS certifications (though not all products have both or even one of these certifications). Popolini refers to their cloth nappies, and the Iobio brand covers their certified organic clothing. Their production facilities are in Hungary.
Jellymade ($$$)
Jellymade is a Spanish company that products high quality pieces in Portugal in small batches. Their materials range from eco-friendly linens to GOTS certified organic or recycled cottons. The style is simple – lots of solids with interesting cuts – and charming.
Polarn O. Pyret ($$$)
Polarn O. Pyret is a Swedish brand that has been around since 1976. They focus on high quality pieces, many of which are GOTS certified, as well as on sustainability for the environment – to the point where they are starting to drastically reduce the number of pieces they offer at one time so as to not contribute to “fast fashion”. Their stated goal is to to have 3 children use the same item, via hand-me-downs. So their clothing tends to be on the pricier side. It is hard to tell exactly where their factories are located – they state they are across the world – thought it looks like they put a lot of care into social responsibility.
Mini Rodini ($$$)
Mini Rodini is a Swedish company with a fun, original prints and a focus on sustainability. The company talks about the materials it uses, including GOTS certified organic cotton and wool, linen, Tencel TM Lyocell, and recycled polyester. They also talk about how to limit the amount of micro plastics released into the water by using a “Guppyfriend washing bag”. For their outwear, they use BIONIC-FINISH ECO®, which is free from fluorocarbons, formaldehyde and paraffin. They also have a chemical management program which includes a restricted chemicals list that goes further than the European Reach standards, and they also do annual chemical testing on 42% of their collection. Their apparel looks to be primarily made in Turkey and India.
Hope & Henry ($$)
Hope & Henry – This U.S. company offers mostly organic clothing – some pieces are GOTS certified cotton, some are OCS-certified (which means a certain percentage of the fabric is organic cotton, the rest unknown, and some are not certified but organic cotton. Although they are startup, one year they did give bonuses to their factory workers and hope to do so again. Their factories are in China, India, and Indonesia.
Fub ($$$)
Fub – a Danish company that offers high quality knitwear in classic styles, using all-natural materials, including GOTS certified organic cotton and wool that is mulesing free, OEKOTEX-, and Bluesign certified.
Mini a Ture ($$-$$$)
Mini a Ture – a Danish company that sells outerwear, some knitwear, and some basic GOTS-certified cotton pieces. Many of their pieces are OEKO-tex certified, but not all (such as their polyester-based fleece). I like that their outerwear uses a BIONIC eco-coating.
Hust and Claire ($$)
Hust and Claire – is a Danish company offering apparel in a range of materials – merino wool, cotton, bamboo viscose, organic cotton, and GOTS-certified cotton and wool, including some OEKO-TEK certified items. What I really like is that when you are browsing the items, they clearly label each thumbnail with a label stating what materials the item is made out of, so you don’t have to click in to each one to read the fine print. Their collection has a wide variety of styles, colors, and patterns.
Soft Gallery ($$)
Soft Gallery – a company selling apparel that is designed in Denmark, though I can’t quite identify where they are made. They use a mix of materials, including a collection that is GOTS certified, as well as mule sling-free merino wool, but they also use materials such as regular cotton and other non-organic or non-certified materials, so you need to look closely at each item.
Recommendations for Brands with OEKO-TEX 100 Certification for Parts of Their Collection
MarMar Copenhagen ($$-$$$)
MarMar Copenhagen – a Danish company offerings items that are a mix of OEKO-Tex certified, organic cotton, and Tencel. You need to look closely at each item to see whether it is Oeko-Tex certified and what the materials are.
Maison Tadaboum ($$-$$$)
Maison Tadaboum – a French company offering fun, colorful pieces that are OEKO-Tex certified and largely made of organic cotton (one exception example being a fleece top made of polyester). They are produced in Portugal and Turkey.
Joha ($$)
Joha – a Danish company offering apparel made mostly of cotton, bamboo, or mule sling-free wool, sometimes organic, and all pieces are Oeko-Tex certified. Most pieces are basic, simple colors, with some cute prints as well. The pieces are produced in the Ukraine.
Hvid ($$$)
Hvid – is a small, family-owned Belgian business, and all of its knitwear are conceived and produced in small batches in Belgium – you can read more about how it all works here. Definitely slow fashion! Their pieces are basic, timeless and all made of 100% merino wool that is Oeko-Tek certified.
Recommendations for Brands With Some Use of Organics or Other Natural Material Without Dyes
A Monday in Copenhagen – is a Danish company offering apparel that includes organic cotton items, but also non-organic materials, so it helps to do a search for organic if that is what you’re interested in. I like their mix of different patterns, colors, and styles.
Fin & Vince ($$$)
Fin & Vince – Sustainably made in Peru and Portugal. Patterns are custom-designed in the US and fabrics are milled from scratch. Fun, original clothing, some made from organic cotton, some from regular cotton.
My Alpaca Copenhagen ($$$)
My Alpaca Copenhagen – is a Danish company with a neat story. They have a limited supply of handmade knitwear made of alpaca. From their website: “We take special care in promoting the use of alpaca fibres in their natural shades of whites, browns and greys, which means no use of dyes. We also work with dyed fibres but only under low impact processes, perfect for those concerned about toxins and for those with sensitive skin. All garments are handmade by skilled and organised groups of Peruvian women, following strict quality standards.”
Avoiding Fast Fashion
It is disheartening to hear about how a lot of our clothing eventually fills landfills and that we cycle through them (especially the low quality pieces) very rapidly. However, many of the aforementioned companies are trying to find ways to encourage their high quality pieces to be used again and again, to pass through many hands, whether by selling used apparels that is sold back to them, renting out the apparel, or partnering with organizations like Kidizen, which is a company dedicated to selling used children’s apparel. (In fact, buying on Kidizen, especially as more and more people sell on the platform, could be a great way of finding well-made, non-toxic clothes at an affordable price.) There is also the classic option of handing down your clothing to relatives and friends, of course, as well as selling in your local Facebook parents/mom’s marketplace.