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Better Brand Edit: 10 Brands Making Polyester-free Activewear

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11 Feb, 2025

This post was originally published on Good on You

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Our editors have picked out the best activewear brands using lower impact materials to make polyester-free tights, tops, and bras you’ll love to sweat in.

Leaving polyester at the gym door

For the avid gym-goer, yogi, runner, or sportsperson, high quality activewear that is both breathable and moisture-wicking is essential. But unfortunately, many of the most popular activewear brands are still using polyester to achieve those characteristics. Polyester is the most notorious and overused plastic-based fibre on the market today, and it might even be exposing shoppers to toxic BPA.

While polyester has some desirable qualities for activewear—since it is stretchy and long-lasting—but its impact on the environment is catastrophic, including shedding harmful microplastics into the air and waterways, and taking centuries to break down in landfill.

But it is possible to avoid polyester in activewear, and our editors have selected products from top-rated brands doing exactly that. All of the brands below use lower-impact materials like organic cotton and lyocell to form the majority of their garments, but you’ll notice almost all of them do contain some level of elastane. That’s because as yet there is no perfect solution to hardy activewear that can stand the tests of time and trials without some stretchy component.

So while elastane isn’t a lower-impact material, the impact of your shopping choice is still reduced by opting for a garment made from a low percentage of a plastic-based synthetic like elastane, compared with a new pair of virgin polyester or nylon leggings from a brand like Lululemon that is doing little for people, the planet, and animals in production.

The more responsibly created activewear you’ll find here is a great alternative for those who don’t want to sweat it out in polyester—recycled or not—for the benefit of their bodies and the planet.

Why you can trust our recommendations

At Good On You, we provide trustworthy recommendations that align with your values and needs. Our mission is to simplify informed choices while embracing the “buy less, buy better” motto.

To ensure credibility, we aggregate comprehensive, transparent information on fashion sustainability—assessing brands using our leading methodology, developed by diverse experts. Our ratings directory of over 6,000 brands employs a simple five-point scale, curating a list of “Good” or “Great” brands making significant contributions to sustainable fashion.

Our editorial team, driven by expertise and passion, carefully reviews and approves each recommendation, upholding high standards of quality, longevity, and trend-transcendence.

While we recognise the value of reusing, mending, and second-hand shopping, our expert ratings system guides you toward new brands aligned with your values and sustainability goals.

Polyester-free activewear from more sustainable brands

collage of more sustainable polyester-free activewear

1. Purusha People TENCEL Lyocell Yoga Pants

2. POPLINEN TENCEL Lyocell-Blend Jogging Bottoms

3. Happy Earth Organic Cotton-Blend Reversible Tank Top and Leggings

4. LANIUS Organic Cotton and TENCEL Modal-Blend Cycling Shorts

5. Miakoda Bamboo-Blend High-Waisted Leggings

6. NIKIN Organic Cotton Treeshorts Jogging Shorts

7. 1 People Organic Cotton-Blend Sports Bra

8. Organique TENCEL Lyocell-Blend Crop Top and Leggings

9. Tripulse TENCEL Lyocell T-Shirt

10. Natasha Tonić Hemp-Blend High-Rise Biker Short

The post Better Brand Edit: 10 Brands Making Polyester-free Activewear appeared first on Good On You.

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Image credit: iStock.com/wenich-mit

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