One question we get a lot is “where can I find jobs in sustainable fashion?” It really comes as no surprise that many people who are conscious about their individual impact and lifestyle, also might want to make an impact in their work.
There are many ways to begin a career in the worlds of fashion, sustainability, and social impact. One is by networking with people already working in this field, whether they’re friends, family members, professors, classmates, or strangers (cold outreach). Another is by applying for internships, which can be a great way to get some experience and build your network.
Finally, there’s applying for jobs. What follows is a list of resources to help you network, find internships, and find your next job in sustainable fashion, social impact, and sustainability.
Note: We put each resource into the most applicable category but naturally there is overlap. For example, you can search for sustainability jobs on Idealist, even though it’s listed under social impact.
The Best Resources for Sustainable Fashion Jobs
Our top 6 resources for jobs in sustainable fashion are SFF, Kyna Intel, Conscious Fashion Collective, LinkedIn, Common Objective, and Jooble.
- Sustainable Fashion Forum – if you’re into sustainable fashion you likely already follow them on Instagram. Now they have a job board focused only on sustainable fashion jobs.
- Kyna Intel – the folks responsible for the Go Blu sustainable fashion newsletter have a job board! This one is pretty comprehensive and focuses on global opportunities. Browse the job board and join their newsletter for regular job updates.
- Conscious Fashion Collective – another great sustainable fashion specific job board! This one breaks out opportunities by internships, freelance, and experience (entry level to mid career to senior positions).
- LinkedIn – you’ve heard of it right? It’s a great place to network, have an online portfolio that functions like a resume, and apply for jobs! Search sustainable fashion or search for any Eco-Stylist certified brand on LinkedIN and see if they’re hiring.
- Jooble – is a large job board where you can find sustainable fashion jobs. The search is not as focused as the other options listed, so you’ll need to sift through the results to find the gems! Can search for remote jobs or by location.
- Common Objective – liked LinkedIn for sustainable fashion. They don’t have a job board but you can use CO to connect with sustainable fashion professionals for informational interviews. Great for networking!
The Best Places to Find Social Impact Jobs
Looking for a career in social impact? Here’s 10 resources we recommend checking out:
- Goodgigs – subscribe for impact jobs in your mailbox.
- B Work – find jobs at certified B Corporations.
- PCDN – Peace & Collaborative Development Network has been helping people find social change careers for years.
- Bmeaningful – find a job with impact.
- Net Impact – find jobs at non-profits and social enterprises.
- Skoll Foundation – find jobs in the NGO / Government and CSR space.
- Next Billion – jobs focused in the development community.
- Tech Jobs For Good – discover tech jobs focused on fighting climate change, ending homelessness, improving healthcare, and more.
- Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) – discover jobs more specific to the impact investing space.
- Idealist – a non-profit helping you find jobs, internships, and volunteer opportunities in the social impact space. At the time of this posting they had over 8,000 jobs listed.
The Best Places to Find Jobs in Sustainability
Looking for a job in sustainability? Here’s a few of our favorite resources:
- Green Jobs – a great resource for sustainability jobs.
- Green Jobs Board – built by Kristy Drutman, sustainable influencer and founder of Browngirl Green! This is an excellent resource for green jobs!
- Reconsidered – they break out jobs by internship, early career, mid career, and experienced. Join their newsletter or LinkedIn group for regular updates.
- BSR – discover CSR / sustainability focused jobs at BSR member companies. They have a lot of members.
- ReFi Jobs – the jobs board for the regenerative finance industry (coming soon).
Searching Sustainable Fashion Jobs by Remote, Location, or Near Me
Most of the resources listed above offer both remote and location based jobs opportunities. With the global pandemic we’re seeing more remote opportunities than ever before, so if that’s something you’re into, it’s not a bad time to look. Just search for or filter by remote jobs in any of the above websites.
The Best Places to List Yourself as Freelancer for Impact Jobs
Some of the resources mentioned above, such as Conscious Fashion Collective, also list freelance opportunities. If you’re a freelancer, or you’re looking to list yourself as one for impact opportunities, check out Work for Impact.
The Best Places to Find Internships in Sustainability
Internships can be a great way to get your feet wet, gain some experience, and serve as a stepping stone for your first job in sustainability. They come in two main types: paid and unpaid.
Unpaid internships can be a controversial topic, especially when they’re full time and offered by companies and organizations that could afford to pay their interns, but choose not to. Typically one must have a certain level of privilege to be able to work 40 hours per week unpaid and still afford living expenses in a big city.
That said, unpaid internships can also be part time, meaning you can tack them onto another part time gig, gain experience for 3-6 months, and then transition into a paid full time role. At the end of the day, paid or unpaid internship: don’t do anything that’s not right for you.
You may find some internships listed in the above resources. If you don’t see what you’re looking for—reach out to the company directly!
Many organizations don’t have official job listings open but still need help. By reaching out, you can impress them with your ambition and they may create a position just for you. We’ve hired interns at Eco-Stylist who proactively reached out to us.
The key to a great internship is to do a great job! Even though it may be unpaid, if you’re not planning to put in the effort then skip this option altogether.
If you’re willing to do the work, drive performance, and impress your boss then unpaid opportunities become worth it because your boss will become your advocate, eager to hire you, refer you, or recommend you. You’ll also have great stories to tell during your job interviews that include how you delivered results.
How to Prepare for Your Future Job
Here’s a checklist of things to do to prepare for your job application:
- Update your resume
- Update your LinkedIn
- Get experience (if you can)
- Boost your knowledge
- Do informational interviews
If you’re unfamiliar with informational interviews, this can be a great way to build your network, learn from people in the field, and meet people at your dream company. Essentially, it’s reaching out to people in the roles you want and at the companies you want to work for, with the purpose of learning from them.
You can do this with cold outreach on Common Objective or LinkedIn. Reach out to prospective folks and ask them for 15 minutes of their time to learn more about their journey and their work.
Remember, the point of these interviews is to be curious and learn. Ask lots of questions, and at the end ask who else you should talk to.
Generally, avoid outright asking for a job as this makes the whole thing feel transactional. Focus instead on building a genuine relationship with this person so you can later ask if they’re hiring or if they’d feel comfortable recommending you.
How to Increase Your Sustainable Fashion Knowledge
If you’re starting or building a career in sustainable fashion, expanding your knowledge base can improve your job performance and the likelihood of you getting hired! Here’s some resources we recommend.
Books to Prepare for Careers in Sustainable Fashion
- Consumed by Aja Barber
- Wardrobe Crisis by Clare Press
- The Intersectional Environmentalist by Leah Thomas
- Cradle to Cradle by William McDonough and Michael Braungart
- Buy the Change You Want to See by Jane Morris
Podcasts on Sustainability and Ethical Fashion
Here’s a few more along with the episodes we recommend.
Sustainable Fashion Blogs
- Eco-Stylist – obviously, you should be reading our blog.
- Remake
- Brightly
Why You Might Want to Consider a Career in Sustainable Fashion
On the fence about working in sustainability or social impact? If you’re new to the space you might have some questions such as:
- Are these businesses profitable?
- Is this a trend/fad?
- Will I still have a job in 5 years?
If there’s one thing I can tell you from working in sustainable fashion for 4 years it’s that it has exploded. Four years ago people told me a business built on sustainability would never work. Four years later, with quite easily 10x the number of competitors as we had in 2018, nobody says that.
- Searches for sustainable fashion doubled from 2019 to 2020
- 1200 new businesses joined 1% for the Planet in 2019
- B Corporations (purpose driven businesses) went from inception to 3500 businesses in ~15 years
- In the UK B Corporations are growing 28 times faster than the national average
Furthermore, people care about these issues and want to work for these companies. At least 12 peer-reviewed studies show that many job seekers are attracted to organizations with sustainable practices.
How to Support Sustainable Fashion
New to sustainable fashion? Check out these resources:
- Shop good brands in our Shop where we feature over 1,000 stylish pieces from Certified brands.
- Read our Sustainable Fashion 101 content to get woke.
- Wondering who the fakers, greenwashers, and wannabees are? Check out Brands to Avoid.
Where to Find Sustainable Brands
Looking for ethical and sustainable fashion brands? Check out our Brand Guide for over 90 Certified clothing brands.
This is a great way to support good brands when you’re shopping or to find good brands to work for.
Got Recommendations?
If your dream job is in sustainable fashion, sustainability, or social impact we want you to find it. For that, we need this to be the best resource it can be.
While we’ve provided you with many great resources, this guide is of course, a work in progress. If you have feedback or resources you think we should add, please share them in the comments!
Garik Himebaugh is the founder of Eco-Stylist, the go-to resource for ethical clothing. He’s also an international speaker on all things sustainable fashion. Garik loves coffee, climbing, and clothes.
