This guide covers everything you need to know about sustainable fashion, including eco-friendly fabrics, ethical production practices, and tips for making more sustainable fashion choices. By making conscious fashion choices, you can help reduce the negative impact of the fashion industry on the planet.
Loving fashion is not for the faint of heart. While this beautiful industry creates space for creativity, self-exploration & transformation, it also has a severe impact on our planet.
The fashion industry accounts for 10% of humanity’s carbon emissions, contaminates and exhausts water sources, and is riddled with exploitation and inhuman labour conditions.
While so much damage is being done just to make our garments, 85% of all textiles end up in landfills every year anyway. And, despite increasing awareness of fashion’s effect on climate change, these numbers keep growing.
The time is now for us to make changes to our consumption habits. To adopt a higher sense of responsibility and awareness of how the products we purchase are made, and what we do with them.
Slow fashion is an aspect of sustainable fashion- essentially the opposite to fast fashion. It prioritizes mindful consumption of clothing that does not cause harm to people, the planet or animals.
Eco fashion refers to clothing and other goods produced by methods that are not harmful to the environment.
Ethical fashion is garment design, production, and distribution that focuses on reducing harm to people and the planet, benefiting those working along the supply chain and creating a better future for everyone.
Circular fashion refers to a system where clothing is produced through a model which considers the end of life equally important as the production.
Zero waste is a set of principles focused on waste prevention that encourages redesigning resource life cycles so that all products are repurposed and/or reused.
Greenwashing is a form of advertising or marketing which green PR and green marketing are deceptively used to persuade the public that an organization’s products, aims and policies are environmentally friendly.
The impact of fast fashion on the environment is staggering. The fashion industry is responsible for 10% of global carbon emissions and is the second-largest consumer of water worldwide. Production of synthetic fabrics, such as polyester, also contributes to the problem of microplastic pollution in our oceans (Read more about microplastics here). In addition, the fast fashion model encourages a culture of overconsumption and disposability, which is not sustainable in the long term. As consumers, we can make a difference by choosing to support sustainable fashion brands and by reducing our own consumption of cheap, discard-able clothing.
100 MILLION TONS OF TEXTILES ARE PRODUCED ACROSS THE GLOBE EACH YEAR. THE CURRENT GLOBAL CONSUMPTION RATE OF CLOTHES IS MORE THAN 30 POUNDS PER PERSON ANNUALLY. IN THE US, IT IS MORE THAN 100 POUNDS.
92 MILLION TONS OF CLOTHES-RELATED WASTE IS DISCARDED EVERY YEAR. $500 BILLION WORTH OF CLOTHING IS SENT TO LANDFILL LONG BEFORE ITS LIFE CYCLE IS OVER.
AT LEAST 50% OF GARMENTS OWNED ARE NOT WORN. IN THE US, THIS NUMBER IS A WHOPPING 82%. IT’S ESTIMATED THAT 65% OF CONSUMERS HAVE GARMENTS THAT STILL HAVE TAGS ON IN THEIR CLOSETS.
THE QUESTION IS WHY.
WHY CONSUME SO MUCH CLOTHING WE DON’T USE?
Sustainable fashion is all about using materials and fabrics that have a lower impact on the environment. Finding a truly sustainable textile is daunting. And the misinformation is plenty.
Natural fibers are ultimately always going to be the most sustainable. If it comes from nature, it goes back into nature. These include wool, cotton, linen, silk, leather, fur. However, many natural fibers are criticized for sustainable procurement. Animal based textiles can be sourced in cruel ways, also the obvious that furs and leather require the animal to lose its life. Earth grown fibers also require excessive amounts of water and resources for their crops, which can also be considered unsustainable.
Fabric treatments can also make fabrics dangerous. Dying practices of natural fabrics can pollute water sources. Moisture, flame, etc resistant coatings can can make fabrics toxic to the human who wear them, and pollute water sources while making the fabrics impossible to be degraded by nature.
Man-made fabrics are ultimately created from petroleum- aka plastic. Petroleum based fabrics have a closed loop cycle as they can not be broken down and returned to nature. Many cheap clothes are made from polyester as it is least expensive fabric to be made. 100 million tons of textiles are produced across the globe and 62.7% of those are polyester fibers.
When looking at sustainable fabrics from a circular aspect, natural fibers are ultimately more sustainable because they are biodegradable. Humans have been wearing natural fibers since the beginning of time. Fashion’s carbon footprint mainly comes from the over consumption of cheap, non-disposable, petroleum based fabrics.
Humans have been wearing natural fibers since the beginning of time. The problem with fashion's carbon footprint is the over consumption of cheap, non-disposable, petroleum based fabrics.
Many initiatives are made to produce “recycled” fabrics. However, most of these fabrics can be classified as green washing.
Recycled polyester is a major culprit of sustainable fabric greenwashing. The issue is that it is made from recycled PET bottles (plastic bottles). This is problematic because PET bottle recycling is a closed-loop which means that the bottles can continue to be recycled again, and again, and again into new bottles without the need to ever create a new plastic bottle. When PET bottles are turned into polyester, they can no longer be recycled or re-transformed into something else. This means that you’ve taken away from the closed loop system of plastic bottles, and created something new that can no longer be broken down and recycled again. In other words, once you are tired with your recycled polyester garment- it goes to a landfill where it will physically never disappear or be made into something new.
Many new natural materials are being proposed as leather alternatives such as banana leather, mushroom leather, among others. These types of fabrics seem promising and new fabrics are being developed and researched all the time. Purchasing a 100% natural fiber wardrobe is not going to be possible, but it’s best to lower your consumption of petroleum based fibers as much as possible.
It’s also important to remember to care for these items properly, for example washing any man-made fibers in a special washing-bag to minimize microplastic releasing into our water systems via fiber shedding. For example, the Guppyfriend Laundry Bag reduces up to 90% of microplastics in the wash. You can buy at H&M.
In addition to using eco-friendly materials, sustainable fashion also focuses on ethical production practices. This means ensuring that workers involved in the production process are treated fairly and paid a living wage. Many sustainable fashion brands also prioritize transparency in their supply chain, allowing consumers to trace the journey of their clothing from raw materials to finished product. Finding companies that are fully transparent about their supply chain is key. No supply chain will be truly sustainable, however, finding companies that will admit their faults and promise to better themselves, you can be confident you are supporting a companies that prioritizes ethical standards.
One way to ensure ethical production practices is to look for certifications such as Fair Trade or Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS). These certifications guarantee that workers are paid fairly and work in safe conditions. Additionally, some sustainable fashion brands have their own codes of conduct that outline their commitment to fair labor practices. It’s important to do your research and support brands that prioritize the well-being of their workers.
For your next outing while shopping, I’ve put together six questions for you to really think about before you tap your card or hit the check out button.
The truth is simple: we are overwhelmed by fashion. Overbuying and underusing low-quality garments will be the death of our society. As we become more aware of the environmental impact of fast fashion, sustainable fashion is a must for everyone. By making conscious fashion choices, you can help reduce the negative impact of the fashion industry on the planet. Building a sustainable wardrobe is a step towards building a sustainable future.
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