Sustainable fashion is a term that is hugely popular in the fashion industry and across every fashion business. With a drive for sustainability in every aspect of our lives, it’s no wonder that sustainable fashion is becoming a popular and vital part of reducing our consumption and making more eco-friendly decisions. However, it can be confusing to understand sustainable fashion, what it is, and how to make eco-friendly choices with our fashion.
This type of fashion is more complicated than fashion that is just marketed as sustainable due to the environmental destruction, human rights abuse, and greenwashing that occurs in the industry. Explore everything you need to know about eco-fashion in this guide to sustainable fashion.
What is sustainable fashion, and why is it important?
Sustainable fashion is an ethical approach to designing, sourcing, manufacturing, selling, and delivering clothing. It is achieved by minimizing the negative impact on those who make the clothing and the planet.
Fashion that is sustainable maintains a balance that allows us to make greener choices to protect the planet for future generations. It incorporates environmental, social, and economic aspects. A sustainable item of clothing shouldn’t just be eco-friendly and ethically produced; it needs to be durable and accessible to everyone.
Sustainable fashion is paramount because, on average, America produces about 82 pounds of clothing waste every year. Not only that, but we are consuming much more clothing due to fast fashion. We tend to buy more clothing than needed and barely wear the items. This overconsumption of fast fashion leads to textile waste, pollution, and a huge reduction of natural resources. The fast fashion industry has also raised issues of human rights with people, and even children, being abused just to quickly make these clothes. Sustainable fashion helps put a stop to all of this. It encourages more people to stop supporting the fast fashion industry and invest in durable and sustainable brands.
How to create a sustainable wardrobe
To make greener choices with your clothing and accessories, it’s important to understand how to create a sustainable wardrobe. There are many ways to do this, but below are some simple ways to start transforming your wardrobe into an eco-friendly haven that works for you and your style.
- Thrift: Instead of heading to a local fast fashion shop to purchase clothes because they’re cheap, why not go to a thrift store? If money is the main motivator to carry on consuming fast fashion, you can find lots of different styles and items at thrift stores. You can find some awesome hidden gems from reputable and popular brands that will cost you next to nothing. Doing this is a greener choice as everything is second-hand and is being reused/repurposed.
- Choose pieces you will love for years: If you can’t find what you are looking for at the thrift store or through a sustainable brand, it is okay to choose pieces from other places that may not be sustainable. However, you need to make sure they are pieces you will adore for years to come, preventing them from going into landfills and causing more pollution.
- Purchase from sustainable brands: Find sustainable brands to incorporate durable and lasting clothing into your wardrobe. These may initially cost more upfront, but they will last a lifetime and allow you to make greener choices with your fashion. Brands that are sustainable care for our planet and make the fashion industry fairer.
- Look through your closet: Have a thorough look through your closet and try things on in new ways, helping you to fall in love with pieces again. Before throwing them out, find ways to love them again or find a way to repurpose them so you’re not constantly throwing clothing away. You could do a clothes swap with friends or family too.
Ways to discover sustainable brands and materials
Due to massive and complex supply chains and the role of ethics in fashion, it can be hard to find truly sustainable brands and materials. For example, a synthetic fiber fill in a coat may be better from an animal ethics view, but animal filling, like wool, is compostable and better for our environment. To determine if a brand is sustainable, you need to look for various materials that are greener choices.
- Organic Cotton: Cotton clothing production produces a significant amount of pollution as chemicals are used to prevent pests. Organic cotton is essential to look for as it ensures no harmful chemicals are used to grow the cotton and farmers adhere to stricter rules. It gives a clean fabric and a good, honest process.
- Wool: For the winter months, wool is amazing at keeping you warm. It is also a sustainable material, as many ethical farmers produce it. Plus, wool is a fantastic way to regenerate the land during the process because farmers can nurture soil by using wool.
- Hemp: This material comes with so many distinct properties, and it doesn’t need pesticides to grow. It also requires less space, is durable, and the hemp plant absorbs more carbon than trees!
- Eco-friendly vegan leathers: Not every vegan leather is sustainable, as most of it is made with virgin plastics. But there are eco-friendly vegan leathers out there that are sustainable.
- Organic linen: This is a sustainable material that is incredibly easy to care for and is typically treated in strict and eco-friendly processes when being made and grown.
- Veggie-tanned leather: Ensure the leather you purchase is veggie-tanned rather than the traditional tanning methods. This is because the traditional ways use lots of chemicals when processing the leather, and these end up in waterways. Veggie-tanned doesn’t use harmful chemicals but still creates the look.
- Sustainable accessories: Accessories also need to be considered brands and materials. Look for eco materials for accessories and ensure they are cruelty-free. Find brands that use unique and sustainable methods, such as those using 3D printing companies to make custom eco-friendly accessories.
Use this guide to sustainable fashion to make greener choices with your clothing. You can help save the planet and make a significant contribution through what you wear and how you express yourself, ensuring a brighter and eco-friendly future.