No doubt you’re well aware of the dangers of the sun’s UV rays by now, so this summer, along with grabbing your sunscreen, be sure to grab a sustainable sun hat too! Not only does it offer increased sun protection, but a great sun hat can also keep you cooler in the heat.
Whether heading to the beach, hiking a trail, gardening, or going for a walk, there’s a wide range of eco-friendly sun hats to suit every occasion. You can add some flair to your wardrobe with a straw hat, find a travel-friendly packable hat to protect you on vacation, or look sporty in fair-trade baseball hats.
Read Also: Best Eco-Friendly Beach Umbrellas
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Best Sustainable Hats for Sun Protection
We’ve found the best eco-friendly hats to protect your face and scalp while looking stylish outdoors this summer.
Tentree Bucket Hat
You’ll feel on trend this summer with a 100% organic cotton bucket hat from Tentree. It’s gender-neutral, high quality, and ready for any adventure!
This washable sun hat is ethically made in Vietnam in regularly audited partner factories to ensure they meet international labor standards.
Tentree takes an Earth-First approach with its tree planting initiative, sustainable materials, and fair working conditions. They’re also a certified b-corporation.
So far, they have planted over 75 million trees and will continue planting ten for every item sold.
Janessa Leone Straw Hat
Janessa Leone provides the best straw hat for sun protection, that has a minimal environmental impact.
The timeless designs are available in a vast collection of styles and colors, including many wide-brimmed sun hats to combine a chic aesthetic with maximum protection from the sun’s rays.
This ethical brand focuses on high-quality and durable products that will last for many years.
They also support artisans and communities where well-being and quality of life are a priority, and environmental accountability is upheld.
Seek Dry Goods Trucker Hat
Sustainable trucker hats don’t get any more comfortable than the ones from Seek Dry Goods.
You can select from a collection of colors and logos on these snap-back, curved bill hats.
Each hat is made with responsibly sourced organic cotton and recycled polyester for a stylish, eco-friendly cap.
Seek Dry Goods believe in giving back to communities and the planet and support various charities, including 1% For the Planet Organization.
United By Blue Bucket Hat
Combine your love for the ocean and functional outdoor gear by supporting United by Blue’s mission.
They will remove one pound of ocean pollution for every product purchased.
In return, you can enjoy this practical, global organic textile standard (GOTS) certified organic cotton bucket hat.
This summer hat features two cargo pockets and carry loops for you to store your essential items and is perfect for sunny or rainy days outdoors.
Ceremonia Natural Hats
Find your perfect style, or choose a design to suit every outfit with Ceremonia’s range of ethically made sun hats.
Ceremonia’s sustainable fair trade hats collection includes visors, sombreros, bucket hats, and wide-brim styles. All are made with natural and locally-sourced materials such as palm leaves and hyacinth straw.
Each product is lovingly crafted with traditional hand techniques to create a one-of-a-kind piece of wearable artwork.
Cuyana Panama Hat
Cuyana is making a way to give respect and recognition for the Panama hat back to Ecuador and its local weavers.
This iconic hat design is full of history, from the Ecuadorian hand-weaving technique to the style and sustainable materials.
Cuyana commits to supporting the artisans through responsibly made goods, such as their sustainable straw hats, while sharing the origin and history of their products.
Kowtow Denim Hat
Take your style to the next level with Kowtow fair trade hats made from organic cotton denim.
This forest green wide-brim parasol style contains fair-trade certified cotton from accredited farmers and manufacturers.
It’s also the perfect accessory for summer outfits and packs nicely for travel.
Kowtow partner with SA8000-certified manufacturers meaning they apply socially and ethically acceptable workplace practices.
Caminito Sombra Sun Hat
Create shade and protect your face from the sun with the Sombra sun hat from Caminito.
The wide brim style offers a loose fit and a vegetable-tanned leather cord you can pull tight to secure the hat – ideal for windy days or playing sports.
The team at Caminito creates timeless hats that combine Californian style with the Mexican heritage of the company’s founders.
They also collaborate with trained weavers in Mexico and support fair wages and clean work environments.
Patagonia Trucker Hat
Patagonia prioritizes purpose over profit with every product it creates, including its trucker-style hat.
This cap offers a closer-fitting style and is made with recycled fishing nets and organic cotton.
You can readily adjust to your size with the snap-back closure, all while supporting Vietnamese artisans and fair trade working conditions.
Vuori Hats
Keep the sun out of your eyes as you jog on the pavement, walk the trails, or run errands with the Vuori activewear hats.
For a durable hat built for adventure, Vuori delivers.
Vuori partners with ethically run factories and manufacturers to create various style caps made from cotton, straw or recycled nylon.
One of our favorite sustainable brands, they also offset 100% of their carbon footprint.
Village Thrive Sun Hat
Village Thrive creates the best sun hats for making a splash with its range of crownless hats, wide-brim styles, and visors.
With effortless style and elegant flair, these sustainable hats look stylish on summer days at home, in the garden, and traveling the world.
Balinese artisans create these summer essential hats using traditional techniques and sustainable materials, including palm leaves.
Village Thrive ensures ethical work practices throughout its entire supply and production chain. What’s more – your hat will arrive in eco-friendly packaging.
Girlfriend Collective Bucket Hat
The 50/50 bucket hat from Girlfriend Collective combines recycled material and organic cotton for an effortless style you can wear anywhere.
Head to the beach, out with your girlfriends, or relax by the pool and protect your face and neck with this soft, breathable cotton canvas design.
The Girlfriend Collective (which also makes some of our favorite swimwear) partners with artisans and manufacturers who share their values for ethical processes and sustainability.
Prana Seaspray Sun Hat
The Seaspray hat is a stylish oversized design combining style, sustainability, and ethical manufacturing practices.
It’s entirely made with responsibly sourced paper and features a hemp and recycled polyester inner band and faux leather cord.
If you want a chic hat that looks good and makes you feel even better – block the sun (it’s an impressive UPF 50+) with this floppy wide-brim style.
Tilley Sun Hats
You can enjoy the outdoors without battling the sun, while wearing this UPF 50+ hat from Tilley.
They have a wide range of styles that feature stain-resistant, cool, lightweight fabric, so you can choose a hat that suits your lifestyle – it’s also ideal for athletic use.
If you want a hat for life, select a Guaranteed for Life Tilley hat that protects your hat against rips, tears, or faulty material.
Accompany Made in the Shade Hat
Working to improve the lives of communities worldwide, Accompany provides ethically-made straw hats, created by Ecuadorian artisans.
With this wide-brimmed hat containing biodegradable straw, cotton, and ribbon, you can keep the sun off your face and look just as stylish relaxing by the pool at home, as exploring the streets of the Cinque Terre!
BrunnaCo Hats
Step out in style and confidence with a comfortable and sustainable hat from BrunnaCo.
They provide a wide range of nature-inspired straw hats with various styles and colors so you can match your sun protection to your outfit.
BrunnaCo partner with Indonesian artisans and provide environmentally and socially sustainable fashion (check out their sustainable beach bags here too).
CHOI Organic Handmade Hat
Give your child the ultimate sun protection with a soft and breathable cotton beach hat from Choi Organic Handmade.
This cute and practical wide-brim hat features a chin tie to keep it secure on your little one’s head, and you’ll love the reversible design to give you more style options.
Choi Organic Handmade ethically creates its reversible hat designs in Vietnam.
The Artisan & Company Natural Hats
You’ll love these natural, timeless, and sustainable hats you can treasure for years.
As the name suggests, this lifestyle brand connects artisans and you, with sustainable and hand-crafted hats made with love.
These beautiful hats are made from locally-sourced natural materials, such as regenerative palm leaf, in Indonesia.
Noma Baby Hats
You can make wearing sustainable hats a family affair with Noma children’s sun hats.
Noma creates gender-neutral sun protection from recycled plastics and cotton.
Made out of swimwear fabric, your little ones can even wear these hats IN the water – making them ideal for beach days.
They value supply chains and processes that do minimal harm to the environment.
G&L Positive Goods Sun Hats
You can readily choose a natural-looking straw sun hat or one with patterns and detailing when you shop G&L Positive Goods sun hats and fedoras.
These eco-friendly hats give ample sun protection while adding style and class to any outfit.
G&L Positive Goods donate to various social and environmental initiatives with every purchase and partner with family-owned sewing shops and artisan businesses to reimagine the fashion industry.
What to Look for in an Eco-friendly Sun Hat
There are a few key features that you should look for in an eco-friendly hat, including researching a company’s ethical practices, to ensure you buy from a brand that pays fair wages and is upfront about its supply chain and production process.
You also want to select a brand that uses eco-friendly materials, such as organic cotton, for summer hats. Bamboo, hemp, linen, and sustainably grown straw and palm leaves are also eco-friendly materials that make fantastic hats!
If there are synthetic components, ensure the hats are made from recycled materials. This reduces pollution and takes less energy to create than virgin plastic.
Handmade items also require less energy to produce. For example, wooden looms are an eco-friendlier method compared to mass-produced hats made on an industrial machine.
You can trust brands that have third-party certifications, such as Certified B Corp, Fair Trade / Fair Labor Association / Fair Wear Foundation, or SAI.
Everything from fair trade baseball caps to sustainable wide-brim hats can give you the sun protection and style you want without harming the environment this summer. Why not shun fast fashion when choosing your next sun hat and choose one of these beautiful creations made from natural fibers instead?