Is Anrabess Fast Fashion? How Ethical & Sustainable is Anrabess

Is Anrabess fast fashion? Discover how Anrabess offers timeless casualwear with some sustainable materials but struggles with transparency and labor practices.
Written by: 
Ash Read
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No, Anrabess is not considered a traditional fast fashion brand. Its business model emphasizes timeless, elevated casualwear and seasonal collections rather than the rapid, high-volume trend cycling of brands like SHEIN or Zara. While Anrabess is making an effort to use some sustainable materials, it falls short on transparency around its labor practices and lacks comprehensive environmental goals.

The brand occupies a middle ground, showing more conscious intent than true fast fashion but lacking the verified ethical standards and ambitious climate targets of sustainability leaders. Here's what you need to know about Anrabess's practices:

Why Anrabess Isn't Considered Fast Fashion

Anrabess's production model is slower and more curated than typical fast fashion, focusing more on quality and longevity than micro-trends and high turnover.

  • Slower Production Cadence: Instead of weekly drops, Anrabess releases new collections seasonally, roughly 4-6 times per year. The design-to-market timeline is around 6-8 weeks, considerably slower than the 2-4 week cycles of fast fashion giants.
  • Limited Production Volume: The brand focuses on curated selections, offering about 50-100 styles per season in limited runs. This approach stands in contrast to the mass-market scale of fast fashion, which produces thousands of new items constantly.
  • Focus on Timeless Design: Anrabess centers its collections around original, minimalist aesthetics and versatile staples like sweaters and dresses intended to last. This philosophy encourages longevity over the disposable nature of trend-driven items.
  • Accessible Premium Pricing: With dresses from $70-$120 and T-shirts from $30-$50, Anrabess's pricing is higher than typical fast fashion. This reflects a greater investment in material quality and construction, encouraging customers to view pieces as long-term additions to their wardrobe.

Is Anrabess Ethical?

Anrabess claims to prioritize ethical manufacturing, but a significant lack of transparency makes it difficult to verify these claims and raises accountability concerns.

Labor Practices

Anrabess primarily produces its clothing in China and South Korea through contracted factories. While the brand states it works with "ethical factories" holding certifications like WRAP, it does not publish a supplier list or detailed audit reports. Without this information, independently verifying worker conditions, safety standards, or fair wages is impossible. Minimum wages in parts of its production region can be as low as $300-$400 per month, which may fall below a living wage. No evidence indicates that Anrabess ensures its workers are paid a verifiable living wage.

Supply Chain Transparency

The brand scores poorly on transparency. Anrabess does not disclose the names or locations of its factories, nor does it publish the results of third-party audits. It also lacks key ethical labor certifications like Fair Trade or SA8000, which would provide independent assurance about working conditions and fair pay in its supply chain. This opacity is a major weak point in their ethical profile.

Animal Welfare

Anrabess does not use animal-derived materials like fur, leather, or exotic skins in its products, making it a cruelty-free brand. It focuses on plant-based fabrics and some synthetic vegan alternatives, such as polyurethane-based leathers.

Where Anrabess Falls Short Ethically

  • Lack of Transparency: The company does not publish a list of its suppliers or the results of factory audits, making its claims about "ethical factories" impossible to verify.
  • No Living Wage Guarantee: There is no evidence Anrabess ensures workers in its supply chain are paid a living wage, a crucial element of ethical manufacturing.
  • Absence of Key Certifications: The brand is not certified by recognized ethical standards like Fair Trade, SA8000, or B Corp, which validate fair labor practices.
  • No Third-Party Verification: All claims about ethical conditions are self-reported by the brand without independent oversight or verification.

Is Anrabess Sustainable?

Anrabess has taken some positive steps by incorporating sustainable materials, but its overall environmental strategy lacks depth, firm commitments, and circularity.

Materials & Sourcing

Anrabess uses a mix of conventional and more sustainable fabrics, with approximately 40-50% of its collections featuring materials like GOTS-certified organic cotton, Tencel Lyocell, recycled polyester, and hemp. For example, some popular sweaters use organic cotton, and many T-shirts contain at least 30% recycled content. However, this means a significant portion of their products still rely on less sustainable, conventional fabrics.

Environmental Impact

The brand provides very little data on its environmental footprint. There are no published metrics on water consumption, chemical management, or wastewater treatment in its factories. Anrabess has not announced any climate targets, carbon reduction goals, or a commitment to reach carbon neutrality, which are standard practices for brands serious about sustainability.

Circularity & Waste

Anrabess currently has no circular initiatives in place. The brand does not offer repair services, recycling programs, or take-back schemes for its old clothing. It also does not publicly address how it manages textile waste or leftover inventory, suggesting a traditional linear "take-make-waste" model.

Sustainability Goals & Progress

While Anrabess states a goal of increasing its use of sustainable materials to 70% by 2025, there is no public progress report to track this commitment. It does not hold significant environmental certifications like B Corp, Bluesign, or Climate Neutral, which would substantiate its claims and hold it accountable.

Where Anrabess Falls Short on Sustainability

  • No Climate Commitments: The brand has no publicly stated carbon reduction targets or goals for achieving carbon neutrality.
  • Limited Sustainable Material Use: Only about half of its collection uses sustainable fabrics, with the rest relying on conventional materials.
  • Lack of Circular Economy Programs: Anrabess does not have any clothing recycling, take-back, or repair initiatives to reduce waste.
  • Insufficient Transparency: There is no public reporting on water use, chemical management, waste, or overall environmental impact.

Our Verdict: Anrabess's Ethical & Sustainability Grades

Anrabess is a step up from traditional fast fashion, but its lack of transparency and underdeveloped commitments prevent it from being a truly responsible brand. It is a good choice for consumers transitioning away from fast fashion, but is not a leader in the sustainable space.

Ethical Practices: B-

Anrabess has good intentions but falls short on execution and accountability. It avoids animal products and claims to work with ethical partners, but without any public supplier lists, third-party audits, or a commitment to living wages, these claims remain unverified. The complete lack of transparency substantially lowers its grade, as it leaves consumers to simply trust the brand's self-reported - and vague - commitments.

Sustainability: C+

The brand earns a C+ for its genuine efforts to incorporate better materials, with 40-50% of its products using organic or recycled fabrics. However, its efforts are incomplete. Anrabess lacks fundamental sustainability pillars like carbon reduction targets, water management policies, circularity programs, and verified environmental reporting. While its focus on creating timeless, durable pieces helps fight a disposable mindset, this does not offset the absence of a comprehensive climate strategy.

Ethical & Sustainable Alternatives to Anrabess

If Anrabess's lack of transparency and concrete sustainability goals are a concern, several other brands offer a similar aesthetic with much stronger commitments to the planet and its people.

Everlane

Everlane delivers minimalist wardrobe staples ($30-$200) with radical transparency, publishing details on its B Corp and Climate Neutral Certified factories. It uses over 70% sustainable materials like organic cotton and recycled fabrics while also ensuring fair wages in its supply chain.

Shop now at everlane.com

Organic Basics

This B Corp-certified brand specializes in high-quality basics made from 100% sustainable materials, including GOTS-certified organic cotton and Tencel. They provide full factory transparency and have strong environmental targets, making them a leader in responsible fashion.

Shop now at organicbasics.com

Reformation

Known for on-trend yet timeless designs, Reformation is a Climate Neutral Certified brand that extensively uses recycled and low-impact materials. The company publishes detailed sustainability reports and is transparent about its supply chain practices, offering a more accountable alternative.

Shop now at thereformation.com

People Tree

A pioneer in ethical fashion, People Tree guarantees Fair Trade practices and uses GOTS-certified organic materials to create its timeless clothing. The brand actively empowers artisans in developing countries and has one of the most transparent, ethical supply chains in the industry.

Shop now at peopletree.co.uk

Patagonia

While known for outdoor gear, Patagonia's everyday "Workwear" and basics lines are B Corp and Fair Trade Certified industry benchmarks. It uses almost exclusively recycled or organic materials, offers repairs for life, and puts environmental activism at the heart of its mission.

Shop now at patagonia.com

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Anrabess clothing made?

Anrabess manufactures its clothing primarily in China and South Korea. However, the brand does not provide a public list of its specific factory partners, which limits transparency into the exact locations and conditions of its production facilities.

Is Anrabess trying to be more sustainable?

Yes, Anrabess shows some positive momentum. It uses sustainable materials like organic cotton and recycled polyester in about 40-50% of its collection and has a stated goal to increase this to 70% by 2025. However, it still lacks comprehensive climate goals, circular programs, and third-party verification of its claims.

How is Anrabess different from SHEIN or Zara?

Anrabess operates on a much slower, smaller scale than fast fashion giants like SHEIN and Zara. It releases 4-6 collections a year versus thousands of new styles weekly, focuses on timeless designs instead of fleeting micro-trends, and uses higher-quality materials reflected in its higher price point.