Built to Last: Circular Workwear > Sustainable Workwear

Closeup of a woman’s hands cutting a NoSo X Dovetail patch before applying it to a pair of Britt Utility work pants

Everything we make has an impact—that’s the truth.

The apparel industry is one of the largest polluters on the planet, second only to oil. And when industrial clothing durability is low, the consequences are high. If you buy a cheap pair of pants, odds are they’re landfill-bound after a couple rounds of heavy-duty work.

That’s why Dovetail Workwear prioritizes the circular economy in workwear. We design durable eco-friendly workwear, then help you maintain it, so it lasts for many moons.

Biologist Annie Raymond, a woman with shoulder length brown hair, collects samples on a beach with a bucket while wearing the navy Carver patterned short sleeve button down shirt, black Provisions Cargo Shorts and a Green Bellows work tank

Let’s talk about the waste—and what we’re doing to slow it down.

Apparel Waste by the Numbers

  • The average American throws away 81 pounds of clothing and textiles every year, According to the EPA.
  • A single pair of jeans can use up to 2,000 gallons of water during production (source: NPR)
  • Most low-cost workwear—especially poly-heavy blends from big box brands—isn’t made to last or biodegrade.

It’s a cycle built for waste. We’re here to break it.

Dovetail’s Circular Apparel Industry Practices

Dovetail Workwear Co-Founder and VP of Product Development Sara DeLuca looks at samples of work pants and overalls for women in a room with windows behind her. She has her laptop out, with a cup of coffee next to it.

Fabrics that go the distance

We obsess over fabric. If we can’t find a textile that’s durable and sustainable, we work with our suppliers to develop one. Here are a few of the many ways we put that into practice.

CiCLO® Nylon Blend: A Game-Changing Sustainable Synthetic Fiber

Jessie Uyeda and Anne Of All Trades bending metal on an anvil in a blacksmith shop. Jessi has a messy bun and is wearing the Olive Green Shop Pant. Anne has a bandana around her head and is wearing some limited-edition Dovetail styles. They are both wearing safety glasses, and have tools in their pockets.

Used in the Olive Green Denim Shop Pant, this innovative material reduces microfiber pollution at the source—without sacrificing performance.

By adding a proprietary additive to traditional nylon, CiCLO® enables synthetic fibers to break down in the environment more like natural ones, especially in landfill, soil, or marine conditions. It's a step forward in industrial clothing circularity—providing the strength and stretch needed for hard work, while helping gear break down more responsibly at the end of its life.

Repreve® TruTemp365®: Recycled From Plastic Bottles

Closeup of a woman wearing Dovetail Workwear’s grey thermal denim Maven X Slim leg work pants. There is a phone in her phone pocket. The background is out of focus, but has snow and a rack of equipment.

DX Bootcut in Blue Sky Denim, Magnet Grey Denim Shop Pant, Christa DIY Jogger Workpant, and Thermal Denim collection keeps around 8 plastic bottles out of the landfill.

This performance fiber keeps you cool when it’s hot and warm when it’s cold. It also wicks sweat 3x faster than standard denim.

Ultralight Ripstop Pants For Women

Jenna and Chandra, two employees from Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe’s Natural Resources Department, pull apart crab traps. Jenna has her brown hair in a ponytail, and is wearing black cargo pants. Chandra has glasses and pigtails. She is wearing Dovetail’s Freshley Overalls for women in elderberry maroon ripstop, an orange tee shirt, and has a Dovetail Workwear bandana in her pocket.

Our Ultralight ripstop pants for women combine breathable comfort with next-level toughness. A special cotton grid weave prevents snags from turning into tears—ideal for long wear in tough conditions.

We finish these pants with a plant-based, PFAS-free water and stain repellent that resists spills while respecting your health and the planet.

PFAS-free clothing eliminates the use of harmful “forever chemicals” found in conventional stain-resistant finishes. These substances don’t degrade and can accumulate in the body and environment over time.

Two women face a puddle with their motorbikes and rolling hills in the background. They have their arms on each other’s shoulders. Their legs and backs are muddy. They are wearing Dovetail Workwear’s PFAS-free stain-resistant Britt X ultralight straight-leg work pants for women. The woman on the left has curly hair and is wearing lichen green ripstop pants. The woman on the right has her hair pulled into short pigtails and is wearing the flax tan ripstop Britt X pants.

By choosing PFAS-free workwear, we’re protecting people and ecosystems—without compromising durability or performance. It's a smarter take on workwear sector sustainability.

Utility Shortalls in Ecru Denim

Closeup of the locker loop and tag on the back of Dovetail’s off-white shortalls.

This new no-dye denim skips the water-guzzling dye process, so fewer chemicals and fewer gallons go down the drain.

True Sustainable Workwear Gets Repaired, Not Replaced

The Day Construct vintage denim relaxed leg workpant, the elderberry canvas Anna Taskpant, and the grey canvas Britt Utility hung up by the belt loops with clamps in front of plywood in a work shop.

We believe the most sustainable thing you can wear is the thing you already own.

Our gear is built to outlast trends—and when it needs help, we help you fix it. No sewing machine required.

Dovetail x NOSO Patches

Rugged, easy, and better for the planet. These stick-on, heat-seal patches transform our excess fabric into work-inspired shapes and sizes for repairs or creative upgrades.

Dovetail Workwear Repair Kits

Lost a button? Busted an overalls clasp? Dovetail Workwear hardware kits let you fix your clothes on the fly—no needle or thread, no trash can.

Closeup of a woman’s hands using a stitch marking space on a remnant of Dovetail Workwear fabric atop of a cutting mat.

Stitches: Longtime Friends + Partners Who Extend The Sustainable Workwear Lifecycle

Stitches, a family-run factory in Gamliell, KY, has partnered with Dovetail Co-Founder Sara DeLuca for over 20 years. In 2024, Dovetail and Stitches launched a repair pilot program that’s now becoming a brand mainstay– and essential for how we approach sustainable workwear lifecycle design.

As a long-time workwear manufacturer, Stitches brings deep experience in both making and mending garments to extend their usable life. We’re proud to partner with them as part of our growing circular apparel industry practices, ensuring that durable eco-friendly workwear doesn’t just last—it gets repaired, reused, and kept in play.

Need help with a repair? Reach out to our customer service team.

Dovetail X NoSo Patches placed on top of pieces of the fabric that they repurposed. There are black denim pockets, navy and white wabash stripe saw blades, paprika orange ripstop doves, a NoSo X shaped patch with dovetail’s logo, dark denim pockets with a dovetail icon cut out of the corner, D shaped patches with a dove icon cut out of the corner, and light blue and white indigo stripe tool-shaped patches that resemble a paint brush, shovel or spackle knife.

Reuse, Repurpose, + Reinvigorate The Circular Economy In Workwear

We often end up with fabric remnants that would otherwise be wasted. Instead of sending it to the landfill, we repurpose deadstock fabric into one-of-a-kind products:

Miniature pants keychain crafted from indigo striped fabric scraps, clipped to a pant loop on the Maven Slim in black denim.

Tiny Pants Keychain

Made from Indigo Stripe fabric scraps.

Three women sitting on a dock by the ocean. The woman on the left wears a bandana as a headband and the wabash stripe short sleeve coveralls. The middle woman has braids and is wearing a baseball cap, sunbreaker lightweight hoodie and wabash work shorts. The woman on the right is wearing a denim jacket and Wabash stripe overalls

Hadley Short Sleeve Coveralls and the Wabash Work Short

Created with repurposed fabric from the Freshley Overalls

Coming Soon: Old School Wide Leg Work Pant

Triptych image of a woman with brown shoulder length hair, a black tee shirt, wide leg high rise jeans with whiskering on the top and a bit of a fade in the front. She also wears converse tennis shoes. The left and right photos are full body. The middle photo is a closeup from the waist down of the pants, with the right foot tucked behind the left leg.

Meet the love child of your hardest-working pants and your coolest jeans. When we phased out our Maven Slims, we knew this fabric—a favorite from our friends at Cone Mill Denim—deserved a second life, not a trip to the landfill.

Made from 12 oz. Power Stretch Denim with serious give and major presence, this new wide leg work pant is a nod to timeless design with durability built in. Want first dibs when it drops in June?

Sign up for our newsletter to shop it before anyone else.

Our Philosophy: Don’t Greenwash. Do Durable Eco-Friendly Workwear Better.

We don’t claim perfection. We don’t slap a green leaf on something and call it a day.

Far away photo of two women walking on a beach as the tide comes in, carrying buckets and a clamming rake.

Circular apparel industry practices are embedded in every step of our process:

  • Skipping water-heavy dyes and washes when we can
  • Choosing natural, recycled, or biodegradable fibers if they’re available
  • Designing hardware to be repairable, not disposable
  • Making timeless silhouettes that last beyond seasonal trend
  • Shipping in plastic-free, compostable packaging

We’re not here to win awards. We’re here to build a business that works—

  • For workers.
  • For wearers.
  • For the world.
A dark indigo thermal trucker jacket, DIY shirt jac, and vintage denim relaxed fit pants hang beside remnants of Dovetail fabric on a clothesline in front of the snowy Teton mountains.

A sustainable workwear lifecycle is about movement.

Keeping gear in rotation, not in landfills.

Whether you're patching old pants, wearing them into the ground, or simply choosing better fabric from the start—thank you for being part of the cycle.

SEE ALL STYLES CHECK OUT REPAIR KITS + PATCHES

FAQs: The Real Talk Behind Workwear Sector Sustainability

How long should sustainable workwear last?

It depends on durability, weight, and usage. If you wear workwear for a full-time physical job, our garments last 3-4x longer than traditional brands.

Many customers say their Dovetail holds up for a full year of M–F wear. Some women have worn theirs since we launched—over six years ago. If you're wearing Dovetail for hobbies or daily life? Expect it to last through many trends, projects, and adventures.

photo submitted for a review of two pairs of Britt. The older one is very worn and lays on top of the newer pair. The background is half hardwood floor and half carpet.
“My body has changed throughout my last 4 years in construction, and these pants continued to be my go-to. The fit was great, the pockets were just right. I hope this new pair lasts just as long.” –Amber on Britt Utility Straight Leg Work Pants for Women in Grey Canvas.

Those in need of tough-as-nails apparel should shop our midweight and heavyweight women's work pants and overalls.

Note: Our lighter-weight fabrics wear more easily. That’s by design—they use fewer fibers and rely on cotton blends, and our Ripstop canvas uses plant-based protectants, instead of harsh chemicals.

3 pairs of Provisions Cargo Pant (Black, green and sandstone tan) hang on a clothesline in the forest between two trees.

What’s different about Dovetail's approach to workwear sector sustainability?

Our background in denim, outdoor apparel, and conscious manufacturing helped us embed sustainability from day one. Circular apparel industry practices aren’t tacked on—they’re built in.

From the beginning of product design to when you get your clothes, we…

  • Source recycled or eco-synthetic fibers
  • Choose darker washes to reduce water use
  • Ship in biodegradable packaging
  • Choose partners who follow guidelines from the UN Global Compact’s sustainable development goals
Colorful grid of 17 Sustainable Development Goals from the UN Global Compact; Dovetail’s alignment with global standards.

How can I extend my sustainable workwear’s lifecycle?

To properly care for your Dovetail Workwear

  1. Wash in cold water
  2. Hang to dry (or tumble on low if needed)
  3. Avoid prolonged sun exposure, which fades colors (we skip harsh chemical color treatments)

What happens at the end of a commercial garment lifecycle?

Most workwear is made from denim or canvas, which are majority cotton—natural and earth-friendly.

Woman with long ponytail working in the garden while wearing Dovetail’s navy drop seat overalls and a white and green ringer tee.

But most low-cost options from other brands use polyester and synthetics that don’t break down.

We do things differently:

  • We use natural or recycled synthetic fibers
  • When synthetics are used, we opt for ones that are engineered to decompose like natural fibers

Dovetail is here to help stop the disposable fashion crisis

Our sustainable workwear is built to work harder, lasts longer, and stays out of the landfill. Thanks for joining us on the path toward smarter, more circular apparel industry practices— one pant, one patch, one project at a time.

Explore our styles Repair what you’ve got