Sustainable fashion. Is it possible? Is it a gimmick or are any of these brands the real deal? What does it even mean? We're here to help.
So here it is - the dictionary definition of sustainability:
Google is at our fingertips with all of the information to answer our curiosities, but with so much noise about sustainability at the moment, there's a lot to sift through and it's hard to know what's what.
The Envorinmental Price of Fast Fashion was published in 2020 for those of you who want a more thorough understanding of the garment lifecycle and industry impact.
As a summary of all of the information out there, these are the key takeaways:
1) Fashion is the second most environmentally destructive industry after oil.
Responsible for 10% of annual carbon emissions each year and almost 20% of wastewater through garment production and imports; it's hard to ignore.
2) Fast-fashion is killing the planet at superspeed.
Fast-fashion companies in particular require tonnes of chemicals, energy and synthetic fabrics to mass produce clothing; not to mention the ethical issues surrounding sweatshops and labour abuse to produce throwaway clothing so cheaply.
Knowing that it is impossible to indulge in fashion without creating an impact on the environment, what do we do?
A governing body need to:
1) Build a standard that companies must meet in order to market themselves as sustainable brands
Brands need to:
1) Create less waste
2) Use processes that involve recycling
3) Consider biodegradable or less impactful alternatives
4) Source more materials locally
5) Be held accountable for proving their sustainability efforts
Consumers need to:
1) Rethink buying habits
Simply put, brands need to use better practices and be more transparent and consumers need to be more conscious and intentional in the way they buy and discard of items.
This year we created a page that outlined our position on this battle between the love of fashion and the destruction of the world we're living in. Our ethos is this:
'if we make quality items and you take care of them; wash, wear and repeat until they reach the end of their days; together we will reduce waste.'
You can read our sustainability statement here.