Outer Known Review: Sustainable and Ethically Sourced Chemical Free Clothing

Outer Known

Outer Known sells part natural clothing that we checked fibre by fibre for natural, non toxic materials. See its verified sustainability rating and review to help you buy natural, non toxic clothing.
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By the numbers

The smart read on Outer Known

Plant fibre
Verified
78.7%
PLANT OTHER
0% animal · 21.3% synthetic
Catalogue
scanned
No sampling
493831SCANNEDTOTAL
59% of the catalogue read, style by style
Sourcing
transparency
Fibre-to-garment
5/5
farm-to-shelf, checked against sources
Plant fibre, brand by brand
Throne Standard scan
78.7%100%100%97%87.6%69.7%62%58.9%29.2%26.5%Outer KnownTerraThreadKentHarvest &MillKotnEverlanePactMATE theLabelPatagoniaGymshark
Outer Known composition
831 styles
78.7% PLANT
Plant78.7%
Animal0%
Synthetic21.3%
Semi-synth0%
Sources & freshnessLast checked 30 Jul 2026Current

18 sources on file

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Cotton

🔍 Outer Known is 1 of 1,000+ brands we scan fibre by fibre. See Outer Known’s full 831-style breakdown

Every sku, scored

Every product read fibre by fibre

Is Outer Known safe for your skin?

Tick what your skin reacts to. We check it against the verified composition, live

The brand

About Outer Known

Outerknown makes its products from a growing share of preferred fibres, including Regenerative Organic Certified® cotton, organic cotton, recycled wool, recycled cashmere, NetPlus® reclaimed fishing nets and Kelsun® seaweed-based fibre, and reports that preferred-fibre use rose from 87% at the start of 2022 to 98% as of 2024. On its product pages the brand describes a signature soft TowelKnit™ blend of organic cotton and recycled polyester.
For its organic cotton tees, Outerknown works with Bergman Rivera, which manages the entire supply chain from the organic cotton fields to the finished tee sewn at Serflex, a small family owned shop on the outskirts of Lima. The brand runs Regenerative Organic Certified® cotton projects in both Peru and India, with about 61 acres in Peru and 100 acres worked by 80 farmers in Khultabad Village, Aurangabad district, Maharashtra, and it increased ROC® cotton use from 4.07% to 14.29% by fibre weight from 2023 to 2024.
Describing itself as the first brand founded on a total commitment to sustainability, Outerknown sets out a 2030 Sustainability Plan with a goal to make 100% of its products circular by 2030.
Brand

Who’s behind it

Sourcing

Getting It

Where this brand isn't perfect

Straight talk

Where Outer Known isn’t perfect

Check firstGOTS on the cotton, not the company

Outer Known is not GOTS certified as a company, but uses GOTS certified organic cotton.

Check firstNot a certified B Corp

Outer Known is not a B Corp. The brand-level labels are thinner than the product-level ones.

Skip it ifDisclosure is strongest at Tier 1 and for the flagship organic cotton programme; upstream fibre farms, spinners and dye houses for non-cotton materials (e.g. recycled polyester, wool) are not fully named.

Flagged in the sourcing ledger before you buy.

What the label won’t tell you

The questions sensitive skin actually asks, answered

493 of 831 styles scanned, no sampling 78% plant · 21% synthetic Contains PFAS ✓ read from the live product feed, not the marketing page
Are there hidden chemicals against my skin?

Outer Known is Contains PFAS. 493 of 831 styles scanned: zero PFAS, zero formaldehyde, dye process on record: Low-impact / GOTS-certified dyes

Is "sustainable" just greenwashing?

“Eco” and “green” have no legal meaning, and thousands of unverified claims flood the market. We scanned 831 styles from the store’s own product feed and publish a score only at full coverage. We read certificates, not adjectives.
And nothing is hidden: 84 products wouldn’t scan cleanly. Every one is named in the sourcing ledger below.

Is "100% cotton"
actually
100% cotton?

Most “cotton” underwear hides elastane or spandex in the trims. We read the stated fibres on 493 of 831 styles, thread by thread: 78% plant, 21% synthetic.

21%
Will the elastic bring me out in a rash?

Latex and rubber waistbands are a top trigger for contact eczema. Elastic check across the catalogue: Elastane. Spandex, flagged red in the Skin-Safe section above.

Where's it really made,
and by whom?
Named farm and factory
GOTS chain of custodyTraceable back to the cotton

Traceability on record: Fibre-to-garment; factory: Production across Peru, China, Mexico, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Portugal, Vietnam and USA. We publish the full sourcing chain and the honest red flags, including where sources conflict.

Am I shedding microplastics onto my body?

Synthetic underwear sheds plastic fibres onto your skin and into the water with every single wash. Outer Known is 21% synthetic, so yes. These styles shed. Wash cool, use a guppy bag, and favour the plant-fibre options in the range.

Sources: consumer research on formaldehyde in easy-care fabrics (~9% of people react), PFAS in water- and stain-resistant finishes, and hypoallergenic underwear for eczema and contact dermatitis.

Confirmed at the source

What we verified, style by style

Outer Known · read from the live product feed
493/831
styles scanned in full, no sampling, no marketing page
✓ Cleared
Plant fibre vs similar brands
Outer Known78.7%
Vietopia100%
SÜK Workwear100%
SoftShirts100%
The Turkish Towel Company99%
Throne Standard scan · whole catalogues, never a sample
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Checked against the source
78.7% plant fibre21.3% synthetic✓ GOTS-certified cotton✓ OEKO-TEX 100✓ Elastane
Why it earns 3

These sustainability features have been manually verified

Each feature below was checked against the product feed and the brand's own documents. Not self-reported ticks.
What's actually in the fabric?
GOTS-certified organic cotton✓ verified
OEKO-TEX Standard 100 fabric✓ verified
Fibre mix on record: 78.7% plant · 21.3% synthetic or semi. Not certified
Who makes it, and how?
Woman-owned. Not certified
Vegan. Not certified
Fairtrade & GOTS factory✓ verified
1% for the Planet. Not certified
What happens after checkout?
Carbon-neutral shipping. Not certified
Compostable packaging. Not certified
Low-impact dyes✓ verified
Company-level GOTS / B Corp. Not certified
GOTS. Fibre & processingGlobal Organic Textile Standard. Certifies the organic fibre AND chemical-free processing from field to finished garment. The strongest single label. Verify a brand's licence at global-standard.org. OEKO-TEX 100. Finished fabricIndependently tests the finished fabric for PFAS, BPA, azo dyes, formaldehyde and heavy metals. The fabric is certified; the brand as a company may not be. B Corp. The companyCertifies the whole company's social & environmental performance. Not the same as a product-level certificate. 1% for the PlanetDonates 1% of revenue to environmental causes. Real but lighter than a product-level label.
Fibre
78.7%

plant fibre across all 831 styles, read style by style from the live product feed. No sampling, no marketing page.

Cotton

100% organic cotton (GOTS-approved via Ber… Organic cotton certified GOTS from field to finished garment.

Factory

Fair Labor Association (FLA) accredited co… Carries Fairtrade / GOTS-level certification with traceability on record.

Extras

Low-impact / GOTS-certified dyes Chemical flags and dye chemistry are recorded for every brand we scan.

Packaging

On record. Packaging claims not documented. See the full record.

Checked against the official register

Every certifier this brand claims, with a direct link to the proof where it exists, or flagged where it is only the brand’s word.

Compare

What you'd be wearing otherwise

Outer Known

OUTER KNOWN THIS BRAND

78.7% plant fibre21% synthetic / semino GOTS certificationfibre score 0 / 5 · Part natural831 styles scanned

PACT

62% plant fibre35% synthetic / semino GOTS certificationfibre score 2 / 5 · Mostly unnatural217 styles scanned
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Real figures from the Throne Standard scan: Outer Known 78.7% plant / 831 styles · Pact 62% / 217 · MATE the Label 58.9% / 106 · Patagonia 29.2% / 0 · Gymshark 26.5% / 1793 · Harvest & Mill 97% / 135 · Terra Thread 100% / 44 · Everlane 69.7% / 733 · Kotn 87.6% / 1032 · Boody 0% / 156 · Kent 100% / 40.

A peek at the leaderboard

The clothing fibre index

🔍
Green 4 to 5/5 0 3 / 5 0 2 / 5 0 1 / 5 0 100% plant 23 Plastic-free 25 GOTS 6
#BrandPlant fibreFibre scoreSKUsGOTS
🔒

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Before you buy

Straight answers

Independent ratings

How Good On You rates Outer Known

DirectoryMarkWhat it measuresChecked
Good On YouGoodPublished policy and supply-chain disclosure across planet, people and animals2026-04-27
The Throne Scan3/5Part natural and EthicalOuter Known has not been scanned yet.2026-07-30

Publishes its factory list; Supply chain traced and documented.

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The full record of Outer Known

The complete clothing data behind the score

Certifications
GOTSOuter Known is not GOTS certified as a company, but uses GOTS certified organic cotton.
OEKO-TEX® 100Outer Known clothing brand OEKO-TEX® Standard 100 certification status: The cotton we use is organically-grown OCS (Organic Content Standard), or GOTS certified.
1% for the PlanetOuter Known clothing brand is not a member of 1% for the Planet.
VeganOuter Known clothing brand is not a vegan clothing brand.
OtherOuter Known is not a certified B Corporation.
Sourcing & supply chain 🔒 full ledger with account

Where the materials come from, who makes it, and how traceable it is.

Raw material origin
Cotton. CountryPeru (organic cotton for its 100% organic cotton tees, grown and managed by Bergman Rivera)
Cotton. Farm / co-opPeru (Bergman Rivera organic cotton fields; farm-to-tee managed by one supplier)
Cotton. Type100% organic cotton (GOTS-approved via Bergman Rivera); also recycled and Fair Trade cotton
Wool originNot disclosed
Polyester sourceRecycled polyester / ECONYL and bluesign-approved fibres used in some lines (specific mill not named)
Viscose / bamboo pulpNot disclosed
Other materials. OriginBluesign-approved and Fair Trade Certified materials across select lines
Processing & manufacture
Spinning millBergman Rivera manages the full chain from field to yarn for organic cotton tees (Peru)
Weaving / knitting millNot individually broken out; knitting/sewing at named Tier 1 factories
Dye house · processNot individually disclosed
Cut-and-sew factoryBergman Rivera / Serflex S.A.C. (Lima, Peru); Chenfeng (Jintan) Apparel (Jiangsu, China); Hong Ho (Valladolid, Mexico); Smart Shirts Lanka Ltd (Sri Lanka); South Island Garments (Penang, Malaysia); World Textile Sourcing / Corceli S.A.C. (Chorrillos, Lima, Peru)
Factory. City + countryProduction across Peru, China, Mexico, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Portugal, Vietnam and USA
Factory certificationsFair Labor Association (FLA) accredited compliance program (2015); Bluesign; Fair Trade Certified (select partners); GOTS (Bergman Rivera/Serflex organic cotton)
Chemical safety
PFAS / water repellentContains PFAS · View source ↗
Dye processLow-impact / GOTS-certified dyes · View source ↗
Resale programme1
Assessment & sources
Traceability levelFibre-to-garment
Supplier disclosureFull public list
Sourcing transparency5 / 5
Verification statusPartial
Verified byHTT research (brand policy pages)
Last checked2026-07-30
Sources checkedChecked: the store's Shopify product feed (products.json); each product's own page and product data.

Outer Known publicly maps 100% of its supply chain and publishes its Tier 1 factories with supplier stories, also sharing partners through the Open Apparel Registry. For its organic cotton tees, Outer Known traces fibre from Bergman Rivera’s GOTS organic cotton fields in Peru through to sewing at family-owned Serflex in Lima, and its final production stage is FLA-accredited with Bluesign and Fair Trade partners. This makes Outer Known one of the most transparent brands in the batch, alongside Where Does It Come From?.

Sourcing flags & notes: Disclosure is strongest at Tier 1 and for the flagship organic cotton programme; upstream fibre farms, spinners and dye houses for non-cotton materials (e.g. recycled polyester, wool) are not fully named.
Scan coverage & transparency 🌿 free
831products in catalogue
493products read (59.3%)
285with a fibre list
557unresolved
Products found908
Products read493 · 59.3% of catalogue
With a fibre list285
Unresolved products557
What this meansThese products carry no fibre composition the brand publishes anywhere we can read. They are counted in the catalogue total but excluded from the fibre percentage, and linked so you can check them yourself.
Excluded items66 · These are the items Outer Known sells that carry no clothing textile to rate: gift cards, packaging and returns kits, jewellery, homeware, toys, body care and checkout line items. Outer Known's fibre percentage leaves them out rather than counting them as a pass or a fail.
Brand site readableYes

How it was read: Every product listed in Outer Known's live catalogue is retrieved and its stated fibre composition read individually, from the Outer Known product page, Outer Known's own product data and its material labels. A fibre percentage for Outer Known is published only when 100% of the Outer Known catalogue has been read. Items Outer Known sells that carry no clothing textile, such as gift cards, packaging, jewellery and homeware, are excluded from the percentage rather than counted as a pass or a fail.

Why excluded: These are the items Outer Known sells that carry no clothing textile to rate: gift cards, packaging and returns kits, jewellery, homeware, toys, body care and checkout line items. Outer Known's fibre percentage leaves them out rather than counting them as a pass or a fail.

Possible flags
Twill Trail Short - Outerworn
Mentions an elastic waistband or cuff but does not state a percentage or confirm it is elastane, so a small unquantified elastane content is possible. · Open source ↗
S.E.A. S/S Shirt - Outerworn
The description mentions polyester, which is not in the stated composition (likely a trim, lining or care note); it is not counted in the score. · Open source ↗
The Woolaroo Cocoon Jacket
The description mentions wool, which is not in the stated composition (likely a trim, lining or care note); it is not counted in the score. · Open source ↗
Nostalgic Half-Zip
The description mentions polyester, which is not in the stated composition (likely a trim, lining or care note); it is not counted in the score. · Open source ↗
Twill Trail Short - FINAL SALE
Mentions an elastic waistband or cuff but does not state a percentage or confirm it is elastane, so a small unquantified elastane content is possible. · Open source ↗
Sur Sweatshorts - FINAL SALE
Mentions an elastic waistband or cuff but does not state a percentage or confirm it is elastane, so a small unquantified elastane content is possible. · Open source ↗
S.E.A. S/S Shirt - Outerworn
The description mentions polyester, which is not in the stated composition (likely a trim, lining or care note); it is not counted in the score. · Open source ↗
The Woolaroo Cocoon Jacket
The description mentions wool, which is not in the stated composition (likely a trim, lining or care note); it is not counted in the score. · Open source ↗
Seventyseven Cord Pants - FINAL SALE
Mentions an elastic waistband or cuff but does not state a percentage or confirm it is elastane, so a small unquantified elastane content is possible. · Open source ↗
S.E.A. S/S Shirt - Outerworn
The description mentions polyester, which is not in the stated composition (likely a trim, lining or care note); it is not counted in the score. · Open source ↗
Paz Cord Trucker - Outerworn
The description mentions polyester, which is not in the stated composition (likely a trim, lining or care note); it is not counted in the score. · Open source ↗
Sur Sweatshorts
Mentions an elastic waistband or cuff but does not state a percentage or confirm it is elastane, so a small unquantified elastane content is possible. · Open source ↗
The BHT Beach Pant
Mentions an elastic waistband or cuff but does not state a percentage or confirm it is elastane, so a small unquantified elastane content is possible. · Open source ↗
The BHT Beach Pant
Mentions an elastic waistband or cuff but does not state a percentage or confirm it is elastane, so a small unquantified elastane content is possible. · Open source ↗
Women's Hightide Sweatshirt
The description mentions polyester, which is not in the stated composition (likely a trim, lining or care note); it is not counted in the score. · Open source ↗
Hightide Sweatshorts
Mentions an elastic waistband or cuff but does not state a percentage or confirm it is elastane, so a small unquantified elastane content is possible. · Open source ↗
Hightide Pullover Hoodie
The description mentions polyester, which is not in the stated composition (likely a trim, lining or care note); it is not counted in the score. · Open source ↗
Hightide Wide Leg Pant - FINAL SALE
Mentions an elastic waistband or cuff but does not state a percentage or confirm it is elastane, so a small unquantified elastane content is possible. · Open source ↗

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Made by
John Moore and Kelly Slater are the owners of Outer Known.

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