Amour Vert review: We tried its effortlessly cool, sustainable clothing

As a product reviewer, I’ve become hyper-aware of my own consumption. Constantly testing new products, covering launches, and researching brands surely makes you a more conscious consumer; gone are the days of credit card swiping with abandon.

In helping Business Insider readers discover the best products and brands out there, I’ve learned about which brands I think are worth spending my own money on, too. Amour Vert is one of those brands that I’m happy to have discovered, and equally happy to support.

Amour Vert translates to “Green Love” in French, a name that fits perfectly when you consider everything the brand stands for. While a fashion brand, Amour Vert is committed to making clothing that is thoughtful, versatile, and sustainable. They’re accomplishing this with unique product methods, environmental initiatives, and timeless pieces that you’ll want to keep in your closet forever.

How Amour Vert prioritizes sustainability

From the way they make their clothing, to the brands they choose to feature on site, to the environmental organizations they’ve partnered with, it’s clear that sustainability really is the backbone of Amour Vert’s brand. Here’s a little overview of all of the unique things Amour Vert is doing to make sustainability a priority:

Production

Mass production can make clothing cheaper for consumers, but it doesn’t do much good for the environment as it typically leads to massive amounts of waste. In an effort to eliminate excess waste, Amour Vert pieces are made in limited quantities. This also means that each piece is made with more care. And, limited quantity means the selection is always changing, so there’s always something new to find on the site.

Signature fabrics

Amour Vert works directly with mills to develop signature fabrics that not only feel great but are better for the environment, too. The signature modal is made from sustainably harvested beechwood fibers. The Mulberry silk and organic cotton are both free of pesticides, herbicides, and other harmful toxins. Merino wool is made at a sustainable-power plant, from ethically treated animals. The Tencel comes from sustainably farmed eucalyptus trees and the Cupro used is made from cotton linter that would otherwise just be thrown into a landfill as waste. The thought that goes into making these innovative blends translates directly into the superior quality you’ll experience with its clothing.

Tree planting

For every Amour Vert T-shirt that is purchased, the brand plants a tree in North America through American Forests, an organization working to reforest the region. So far, the brand has planted over 220,000 trees. Even if you’re not buying a tee, you can add a tree to your cart for just one dollar — you can even plant one in a loved one’s honor, making it a sweet gift for any of your environmentally-savvy friends and family.

Other brands

Amour Vert doesn’t make their own accessories and shoes, but rather stocks those pieces from other sustainable brands. This is a great way to introduce yourself to more eco-conscious brands both big and small, like trendy footwear brand Veja and earth-inspired jewelry brand Leslie Francesca.

What kind of clothing you can expect from the brand

Amour Vert has a great, and constantly changing, selection of stylish basics and occasion pieces, like dresses and coats for women as well as a range of essentials for men and kids. You’ll find lots of unique clothing items in fun patterns and colors, as well as classic neutrals.

From my observation, Amour Vert takes attention to detail seriously. You’ll find basic blouses spiced up with puffed sleeves and long skirts wrapped in unusual ways. These unique styles definitely make me more likely to continue shopping here.

My colleague and I got each got to try a dress from the brand. You can keep reading to see which dresses we tried and how we felt about them, but if you just want the spoiler: we really loved them both. From the brand’s mission to the comfort and style of their pieces, Amour Vert is definitely a winner. You can find our in-depth thoughts about the dresses we tried, below.

Our review of Amour Vert’s dresses

Hadden Bold Stripe Dress, $118, in Ivory/Navy Stripe

Remi Rosmarin, Insider Picks reporter:

Everyone could use a breezy, light T-shirt dress to get through the heat of summer. I love bold stripes, so I was drawn to this piece immediately. The fabric (a cotton, modal, and Spandex blend) is super soft and stretchy, making it an easy piece to throw on on those lazy days when getting dressed feels like such a chore. The dress is pretty flowy, with a loose fit throughout. I got a medium and found it to fit pretty well, though the sleeves and chest were a little tight in my opinion. They were not uncomfortably tight, but I think aesthetically I would have liked the way the dress looked a little more had those parts been a little looser. Bottom line, though, I wore this a bunch this summer and probably will a bunch next summer too — it’s such a great go-to.

Olive Maxi Dress, $178, in Waves

Sally Kaplan, Insider Picks editor:

This dress comes in a cute geometric pattern called Waves and a simple navy color. Sadly, both of them seem to be low in stock now, but if your size is left, I think you’ll find it to be a perfect transitional piece as we creep closer towards fall. I’ve worn it with a jean jacket, leather jacket, and no jacket at all, and I get compliments every time.

The Tencel fabric it’s made of uses eucalyptus fibers, but you wouldn’t be able to tell from looking at or feeling it. I will say that after a long day that involved a ton of walking, sitting, standing, subway riding, and ultimately washing the dress, I noticed that there was some material at the bottom of the dress that looked like it had pulled. It wasn’t that the threads pulled and bunched or gathered the dress, it was just that there some lighter cross-hatched threads that were visible with a close look, almost as if a couple of black threads had fallen out and showed the white ones underneath. It’s hard to describe, but it didn’t happen anywhere other than the bottom of the back of the dress, so my guess is I must have stepped on it or pulled it when sitting down at some point. Amour Vert notes that this material is very delicate, so perhaps I just wasn’t careful enough with it. Overall, though, I loved (and still love) everything about this dress.

The bottom line

If you’re looking for great basics, Amour Vert is an excellent place to shop. If you’re looking for an eco-friendly clothing brand, Amour Vert is … still an excellent place to shop.

My favorite thing about this brand is that it’s both stylish and sustainable, without sacrificing on either fronts. Amour Vert is proving you can be a conscious consumer, and a chic one, too. What’s not to love?

Shop sustainable fashion at Amour Vert