Yes, Superdry is a fast fashion brand. While it markets itself with a more premium, lifestyle feel, its business model aligns with fast fashion principles like rapid production cycles, trend-replication, and high-volume sales.
Ethically, the brand lacks transparency and rigorous third-party verification for its labor practices. On the sustainability front, its heavy reliance on conventional and synthetic materials with limited public data on its environmental impact positions it as a laggard. Here's what you need to know about Superdry's practices:
Superdry's operations follow the core fast fashion model of frequent releases and trend-focused designs, despite a higher price point than ultra-fast brands.
Superdry's ethical practices are average at best, suffering from significant gaps in transparency and a lack of commitment to paying living wages to the workers in its supply chain.
Superdry primarily manufactures in China, Vietnam, and Turkey - countries with known risks of labor exploitation. The brand claims its suppliers are audited, but it does not publish a comprehensive factory list, making independent verification nearly impossible. Workers in its supply chain are estimated to earn $180-$250 per month, which often falls well below the calculated living wage of $350-$400 for those regions. Superdry has no public commitment to a living wage for its workers and lacks credible certifications like Fair Trade.
Transparency is a major weakness for Superdry. Without a public list of its tier 1 (or deeper) suppliers, it is difficult for consumers and watchdog groups to assess the real conditions inside its factories. The brand does not publicly reference audits from respected third parties like the Fair Wear Foundation or SA8000, relying instead on its own internal standards which cannot be independently verified.
Superdry uses animal-derived materials like leather, wool, and down in its products. However, it provides no information about the welfare of the animals and does not hold any certifications such as the Responsible Wool Standard (RWS) or Responsible Down Standard (RDS). This lack of certified sourcing means there is no guarantee that its animal materials are obtained humanely.
Superdry's sustainability efforts are minimal and far outweighed by the negative impact of its fast fashion business model, which is built on a high volume of largely synthetic garments.
The brand heavily relies on unsustainable materials, with an estimated 70-80% of its products made from conventional cotton and fossil fuel-based synthetics like polyester and acrylic. While it has introduced some eco-friendly items, they represent less than 10% of its total product range. Superdry does not hold recognized certifications like Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) for organic cotton or Bluesign for chemical safety on a wide scale.
Superdry provides very little public data on its environmental footprint. There are no detailed reports on its carbon emissions, water usage, or chemical management policies in its supply chain. Given its manufacturing base in Asia, its emissions from production and transportation are likely very high, contributing to the fashion industry’s significant climate impact.
The brand lacks a comprehensive circularity program. While it offers limited repair services in some stores, there is no large-scale clothing take-back or recycling initiative to manage its products at their end-of-life stage. Packaging has seen some improvements with recycled materials, but plastic polybags are still widely used, contributing to plastic pollution.
Superdry has a goal to reduce its carbon footprint by 30% by 2030. However, its other sustainability commitments are often vague, lacking clear timelines and public progress reports. The company is not a Certified B Corp or Climate Neutral, indicating a failure to meet the highest standards of social and environmental performance.
Superdry operates as a typical fast fashion brand with significant ethical and environmental shortcomings hidden behind a premium lifestyle marketing veneer. Its efforts to improve are insufficient to offset the negative impacts of its high-volume production model.
Superdry receives a C for its ethical standards. While not implicated in major labor scandals, the brand operates with a severe lack of transparency that makes its claims of ethical auditing impossible to verify. Its failure to commit to a living wage for factory workers and lack of third-party certifications place it firmly in the "average" category, with much room for improvement.
For sustainability, Superdry earns a D. This grade reflects its overwhelming dependence on unsustainable materials like conventional cotton and polyester, a near-total absence of circularity initiatives, and a failure to transparently report on its environmental impact. Its stated goals are not ambitious enough to counter the damage caused by its fast fashion business model.
If you're looking for streetwear and casual styles with a stronger commitment to people and the planet, consider these better alternatives:
Known Supply is a Certified B Corp that produces Fair Trade Certified basics and graphic tees. Every item includes the signature of the person who made it, humanizing the supply chain and offering incredible transparency into its ethical production.
Shop now at knownsupply.com
Founded by surfer Kelly Slater, Outerknown excels in creating durable, stylish menswear with rigorous sustainable practices. As a Fair Labor Association accredited brand, it guarantees fair wages and uses innovative materials like ECONYL regenerated nylon and organic cotton.
Shop now at outerknown.com
This Australian streetwear brand champions the use of hemp, a highly sustainable fiber, alongside organic cotton. Afends is transparent about its supply chain and is committed to circularity and low-impact production, offering a similar aesthetic to Superdry with a much smaller footprint.
Shop now at afends.com
A Certified B Corp, Kotn creates high-quality wardrobe staples from authentic Egyptian cotton with full farm-to-factory traceability. The brand works directly with farmers in Egypt, ensuring fair prices and helping build local communities through funding schools.
Shop now at kotn.com
While not an "eco-brand" in the same vein as others on this list, Carhartt WIP offers a strong alternative to fast fashion through extreme durability. Its streetwear is built to last for decades, promoting a "buy once, wear forever" mentality that directly counters disposability. The brand has also increased its use of organic cotton in its collections.
Shop now at carhartt-wip.com
No, Superdry is a British company founded in the UK. Despite using Japanese characters in its branding for marketing purposes, its products are not made in Japan. The vast majority of its manufacturing takes place in Turkey, China, and Vietnam.
Superdry positions itself as a "premium" or "lifestyle" brand, which allows it to charge higher prices than ultra-fast fashion brands like SHEIN or H&M. However, its core business model rooted in rapid trend cycles and high production volume still classifies it as fast fashion, a category not solely defined by low prices.
Superdry has made some surface-level improvements, such as setting a distant carbon reduction goal and including recycled materials in a small fraction of its collection. However, these changes fail to address the fundamental unsustainability of its fast fashion model and its continued reliance on harmful synthetic fabrics.
