What is Sustainable Fashion?
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There’s been an increase in popularity for a fashion movement that’s all about maintaining quality and style without using unethical industry tactics. It’s called sustainable fashion and here’s all you need know about why you might want to take a minute to think before you buy.
What is Sustainable Fashion?
Green Strategy, a Swedish consultancy firm dedicated to influencing fashion and textile companies to use sustainable practices, defines sustainable fashion as being “partly about producing clothes, shoes and accessories in environmentally and socio-economically sustainable manners, but also about more sustainable patterns of consumption and use, which necessitate shifts in individual attitudes and behaviour.” The main objective of sustainable fashion is not only to produce clothing and accessories that are more environment-friendly, but also to persuade consumers to be conscious of their consumption habits and producers to practice safer ways of crafting their products.
According to Green Strategy, there are seven forms of sustainable fashion that can be beneficial from both a consumer and producer standpoint.
Firstly, the item must be made on demand or customized, to prevent mindless production of frivolous, unnecessary items. The item must also be made in an environment-friendly manner and produced with high quality and a design that is long lasting. The item's production should be fair and ethical, the ability to either recycle or upcycle the item ever after it's initial purpose has been fulfilled should be strong, and it should be able to be swapped, rented or sold second hand once the item is no longer needed.
The most ideal situation is that any new piece of clothing or accessory that a company produces should be able go through all seven of these forms throughout its life cycle. The fashion industry, of course, isn’t quite there yet, and not all consumers care for the same materials, but consumers have some options currently, such as thrifting.
Why Sustainable Fashion?
In addition to promoting the creation of eco-friendly products that will last, sustainable fashion is about having a positive effect on how these products are produced and consumed.
In May 2015, a documentary called “The True Cost” was released and revealed shocking information regarding the unethical and exploitative nature of fast fashion, the fashion industry’s biggest offender. Fast fashion is a subsection of the industry in which companies opt to quickly produce inexpensive low-quality clothing to stay on top of trends and to choose contract warehouses that allow their employees to work in poor conditions with little to no pay. In 2013, the Rana Plaza building, which housed a series of clothing factories in Bangladesh, collapsed, injuring about 2,500 people and killing over 1,100 others.
Case in point, the fashion industry has a lot of detrimental characteristics, and when you take into account our society’s incessant desire to purchase and purchase, things look pretty bad.
How Do I Get Involved with Sustainable Fashion?
Sustainable fashion certainly is ideal, but it is not an easy transition to make for everyone. Because the products are higher in quality and made ethically, you can count on the prices being a tad higher than those of most fast-fashion brands. Not everyone can afford to suddenly transition to sustainable fashion. But the switch is plausible for anyone to make with time. Consider some of these tips:
Consume less. Think quality over quantity. Only shop for clothing and other accessories when you truly need something new.
Consider thrifting. It’s a widely popular way to find articles of clothing that are unique, in good condition and that will last.
Repurpose old clothes. If you’ve noticed that one of your favorite shirts is getting a little worn down, see if you can spruce it up or reuse it before giving it away.
Steer away from fast-fashion brands such as Fashion Nova and Primark (The clothes may look cute, but you know you can do better) and instead, try out some sustainable brands. There’s Everlane, Alternative Apparel and Patagonia, just to name a few!
