Sustainable plus size activewear

The pickings are slim if you are not!

Women's bodies over a size 16 move - they run, they dance, they bend - and while theses fantastic bodies are doing all that, they're usually covered by clothes. Finding great plus size activewear is hard enough, finding sustainable and ethical plus size activewear is even harder!

I get brands have to start somewhere with sizing, test the market and then expand, so I want to celebrate those brands which are making the effort now with sustainability and size inclusivity, rather than bashing those who seemingly aren't, though there are some mentions at the end of brands that I hope will start to do better.

What I want:

• Leggings and tops in sustainable fabrics that cope well with movement,

• that are responsibly made by people on fair wages,

• preferably sold by a UK based business,

• that have a zip pocket for my house key and phone,

• and that make me want to put them on because they look great.

And vitally, I've got to be able to fit in them. At round about the UK average size of a 16/18 I'm generally at the top end of most ranges, anyone over a 16/18 is really pushed for choice. Plus size fashion is a fast growing market, there's money to be made here, so I hope changes are coming soon.

Finding something that ticks all the boxes right now seems impossible, but there are a few options that at least put ticks in some boxes.

What's available over size 18

Jazzy legging favourite Lucy Locket Loves recently launched a recycled range. I have a couple of 'not recycled' pairs and to be honest I beat myself up buying them, but they're so jolly and Lockdown 1.0 was soooo depressing, that I caved – it's not like they're single use, I've literally LIVED in them! Anyway, the recycled range is “made from a different blend than our signature leggings and are 75% Recycled Polyester and 25% Spandex with a precision double-stitched seam.” 75% recycled is better than 100% not, so I'm applauding this. Available up to a UK size 26.

Wolf & Whistle 'recycled bottle' activewear is kind of hidden among the lacy undergarments, on the Playful Promises website, but I first noticed it on Simply Be. The curve edit runs up to a UK size 26 and there's a good range of styles in the range, though it doesn't seem to be updated much, and I've seen the same designs for well over a year now and none of them are quite 'me' so I haven't bought.

You can certainly work out in Lucy & Yak leggings, and I do, but the lack of a pocket restricts them to indoor workouts for me. The Tencel material is super stretchy and soft and the sizing is generous, I found. My pair did go instantly bobbly at the crotch though, but they haven’t got any worse over time. The colour and pattern range seem depleted from what it was when I bought last year, but they do go up to about a size 24.

What's available up to size 18

I applaud Tala for the inclusion of a model in an XL on the website homepage, but an XL is only a UK 16-18.

Asquith London came to my attention while searching for sustainable joggers, mostly because even though I wasn't specifically searching for plus-sized, the model in the picture on a third party site was, and looked lovely in these very luxurious looking yoga staples. I recently purchased (in the sale) their Dreamer Pants specifically for post swimming dressing and the Balance Bra top, which works well in the gym, but doesn't give me enough support for a class. The fabric is beautifully soft and I'm sure I'll splash out on matching leggings one day. The largest size is an 18/XXL.

Bamboo Clothing has a great range of leggings in both plain colours and lovely jazzy patterns. Largest size is a UK 18.

GNGR Bees - Nice designs, top end prices, but stops at an XL /16-18.

And who could do better with more inclusive sizing:

• Carrot, Banana, Peach – Largest size is an XL/ UK 16.

• Silou – Luxury, but only up to a UK 12-14.

• Contur – UK made from ECONYL® –which 'is made by recovering and repurposing old fishing nets and ocean plastics into a 100% recycled yarn' which sounds great, but the largest size is a XL/UK 14-16.