GREEN FASHION BLOG

We all know that a crucial and intimate part of a thriving industry is competition. Innovation is a race, engagement, a contest.

In the arena of sustainable fashion Europe as a region is ahead and thriving, other countries like Africa are following suit, and America is dead last.

Why is the state of the sustainable fashion industry in the United States this way? Is America interested in this race, and is there room for these changes in the American economy? In this article I'd like to pay attention to the details as to why Europe, Africa, and other countries are ready for these changes, and America isn't.

In theory, the three pinnacles of change in industry are mindset, or ethics. There is also legislation, or changes in the legal structure of an industry, and Economy, or monetary investments.

To see the changes in mindset of the participants of the fashion industry, let's look at the attitude of the region of Europe as a whole toward creating a cohesion between sustainability and fashion. With the endorsement of the European Union, an inter-industry alliance was formed by 180,000 companies who agreed to the commitment of the prevention of the releasing of microfibers, and microplastics into the aquatic environment. Microfibers are barely detectable strands of synthetic fibers from polyesters, nylons, and other plastic materials. These particles are so tiny, that they can travel through sewage systems into our oceans. Making it easy for shellfish and other small organisms to consume them. Unlike cotton, wool, or other natural fibers, they are harmful to the stability, and life of our aquatic life. This is a great show in effort exemplifying the mindset of the people of Europe and the countries of the European Union, as innovators and business owner who are doing their due diligence in changing perspective on fashion, and the responsibility the industry has in protecting the environment.

Looking at some legislative efforts we can recognize the United Kingdom as the first to ban fur farming in 2000, followed by Austria in 2004. The Netherlands banned Mink Farming in 2012, followed by Slovenia in 2013.  Most recently, the Czech Republic in 2017, and Germany implemented stricter regulations in 2017. Sweden phased out fox farming by entering stricter animal welfare requirements to allow them more rights and freedom while in captivity, making it economically unviable for business. Japan in 2016 closed its last fur farm, and India in 2017, adopted an import ban of mink, chinchilla, and fur skins. Yet, major economic countries like China and the United States are slow to act. In China there are no legal ramifications for abusing animals on farms and the United States has no Federal laws in place, only state laws, which regulate other aspects of human and animal interaction. Although China, has presented the notion of taking their role as a major textile waste producer on a global scale seriously, by implementing sustainable retroaction to their textile industry, in their 5-year plan toward social and economic development. 

Now to the business of things; economic investments, according to the Fashion Industry Index, 42 out of 100 fashion brands in 2017 began disclosing their supplier information in the United States. This act supports transparency and works toward fostering educating consumers. In the United Kingdom, an industry organization named, Sustainable Clothing Action Plan or SCAP, has over eighty organizational members, making a pledge to meet industry led targets through the commitment to improve sustainable clothing across its life cycle by working collaboratively with industry, government and the third sector (charities, and organizations) by reducing resource use of carbon, water, and waste. An Indian organization, named Restart Fashion is working to bring together designers who make clothing from post consumed products. In Africa Mozambican twins Nelly and Nelson, use recycled materials in their fashion line. Studio 189 is also an African organization created to promote and help curate African brands throughout the world, it is headquartered in Ghana.

As you can see the leaders in each pinnacle of change is in fact European countries, and Europe as a whole. Their concerted efforts as representatives of the European Union are great in effort and sizeable in effectiveness. They are making strides in changing the mindset of the consumer as well as the producer or manufacturer. They are doing great work in legalizing the banning and use of animal products, which frees up space and opportunity for innovation and creation to go into the burgeoning market of sustainable fashion. In the realm of economics, small business owners, as well as bug brands are taking the initiative to invest into the concept of clean, ethical fashion.

This race is not over, but so far Europe is surely leading the future of Sustainable Fashion, and we believe the future of Sustainable Fashion is bright!

Shakiea Eaddy

Environmentalist Advocate

Blogger

Grass n Greens  

Sources and Further Readings 

https://www.animallaw.info/intro/fur-production-and-fur-laws

http://www.restartfashion.com/

https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/intelligence/top-industry-trends-2018-8-sustainability-credibility

http://en.ndrc.gov.cn/newsrelease/201612/P020161207645765233498.pdf

https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/global-currents/chinas-sustainable-fashion-paradox

The discussion about ethical in a society with a large number of challenges has a relationship between different causes. However, sustainability could stand out for many reasons such as: social, environmental and economical. As long as we are responsible, we might ask the question. Who is responsible for what, how and where? We could be responsible for the future of many women that have lack of education, or they are facing sexual harassment, sexual discrimination and other discriminations. Empower women behind ethical. I love the idea and I always loved it. Therefore, combining ethical and empowering women; what an amazing opportunity to offer women the right of growth and independency.    

I started ‘’ Fleur Éthique ‘’ toward this mission to empower women and to express my ethical style, I simply felt that a voice inside of me should be heard, inspire and empower women. There are many ways that leads to the path:  

Ethical for me, is that beyond the materials and the fabrics there are conditions of employees which have to be paid and well treated. This could be a way to empower women who don’t have access to equal education. Most of women choose working in worst conditions, in a horrible environment just to gain their day. At the end of the story, they are not well paid. Instead of unhappiness and hunger at least, we could offer women good environment conditions, well paid, education. Also, it could be an opportunity to overcome poverty.

Behind our luxury clothes, nice looks and styles. Who knows that the woman who made your piece of clothing facing all kind of discrimination? Let’s not imagine the situation and be positive in order to make the change.

On the other hand, there is another way to express women empowerment is the vision of the brand. The brand could communicate women confidence, courage, achieving the same capabilities, and many more ideas. The only thing left is the initiative. There are many brands that are already on the right path such as:

NAJA, ELEGANTEES, FASHIONABLE, MY SISTER, RAVEN+LILY, A BEAUTIFUL REFUGE,  MALIA DESIGNS, OUR SACRED WOMEN, LIBERTI USA etc.     

Not only brands, but also bloggers, NGO’s, communities, movements etc but everyone could contribute in order to empower the woman, the one that made your clothes.

I was really impressed by the stories of these brands; I wish if all the brands will walk on the right path and aspire for humanity with style. It doesn’t matter if it costs money, what really matter that it does not cost a life.  

 ‘’ Beyond the style there is a human, a woman who made your clothes ‘’.

                  - Fleur Éthique -

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This is the first article in a bimonthly series where we will look at the most selling brands in the fashion industry in the year 2016-17. Interbrand, a global brand consultancy, reported Best Global Brands of 2017. Ten luxury and apparel companies made their mark in the top 100. Each blog post would probe into these companies for environmental and social performance by highlighting their progress. Stay tuned for this bimonthly series looking into their sustainability efforts.

Ranking on Best Global Brands of 2017: LOUIS VUITTON is at 19 and DIOR is at 95 out of 100.

Fashion Transparency Index Final Score: 11-20% Brands scoring between 11-20% are likely to be publishing a majority of policies, some procedures and information about their supplier assessment and remediation processes. Total scores were out of 250 possible points, which we have converted into percentages. Fashion Revolution choses to publish percentages rather than each brands' individual scores because they felt it encourages readers to focus on emerging patterns rather than exact details.

Third party verification of report: Yes. ERNST & YOUNG et Associés.

Reporting Standard: The information set out in its document also reflects the guidelines in Version 4.0 of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).

LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, better known as LVMH, is a European multinational luxury goods conglomerate, native of France and headquartered in Paris.  LVMH was one of the first groups to set up its own Environment Department – in 1992, the year of the Earth Summit in Rio. In 2017, the Group’s Environment Department will celebrate its 25th anniversary. Louis Vuitton and Dior are a part of this same group.

Insights from the its sustainability report:

Training and Employee Engagement

●      LIFE 2020 (LIFE (LVMH Initiatives For the Environment)) launched in 2016.

●      It’s Environment Academy trains employees on eco-design.

●      It’s online materials library introduces designers and developers over 300 “ecofriendly” materials.

●      Introduction of LVMH Store Environment Awards event.

Environmental Expenditure

●      In 2016, the total amount of the Group’s purely environmental expenditure was €23.8 million, including: €13.5 million in operating expenses, and €10.3 million in investments. Louis Vuitton is set to increase its environmental budget by 50% between 2016 and 2017 compared with 2016, and has decided to make significant investments in eco-design, in the environmental responsibility of its procurement chain and in managing CO2 emissions relating to the transportation of its products.

Environmental performance measurement

●      LVMH launched the second version of Edibox in 2016. This is an Internet tool developed in-house that calculates the environmental performance index (EPI) of packaging, as well as the CO2 impact of packaging materials.

Biodiversity

●      Louis Vuitton has been involved in saving bees by supporting scientists and local voluntary organizations for several years.

Waste and resource conservation

●      New Krug box launched, a new packaging range for customers in Louis Vuitton stores, which is made out of FSC-certified paper that includes over 40% of recycled fibers.

●      To recover a portion of its waste, LVMH uses the CEDRE (Environmental Center for Environmentally-Friendly Packaging Elimination and Recycling) platform. CEDRE treated and recycled 2,023 metric tons of extremely diverse waste in 2016. Louis Vuitton, sent packaged items to the platform, including out-of-date alcohol based products, advertising materials and testers used in the stores, as well as empty packaging returned by customers, etc. Furthermore, Louis Vuitton used the platform to recycle textiles.

●      “Refills” are a way for LVMH to extend the lifespan of its products. For instance, Parfums Christian Dior has been developing this concept for many years. They began by applying it to its premium ranges. Nowadays, 80% of the serums and creams that it launches are refillable. This factor is reflected in the saving of 600,000 liters of water and about 11.6 metric tons of waste every year for the Capture Totale cream alone. Parfums Christian Dior pursued this initiative in 2016, when it marketed its new DreamSkin Perfect Skin Cushion cream in refillable packaging.

●      Louis Vuitton teams use digital models and 3-D printing, from the design stage to the industrial manufacture of the products. By offering the opportunity to view the many different possible arrays of colors and materials in a realistic manner, these tools fine-tune the preselection of the models to be prototyped and enable savings on materials.

Renewable Energy

●      Louis Vuitton uses geothermal power, for heating and cooling the staff’s common rooms and offices and intends to roll out an innovative heat recovery system at one of its sites. In Poland, Parfums Christian Dior chose LED lighting to light its new boutique that was opened in Warsaw in 2016.

Sustainable Procurement

●      Parfums Christian Dior’s formulae contain over 60% of plant-based ingredients. The Maison ensures that its procurement is sustainable in order to protect this essential asset.

Louis Vuitton and Dior in the news:

●      Luxury brands, like Louis Vuitton and Dior continue to produce fur clothing for wealthy women

●      Animal rights group Peta buys stake in Louis Vuitton owner to pressure firm to stop using crocodile skin

I create, you create and we create in a constant way seeking for a new fashion trend, a new fashion idea. For me creativity is a concept above creating; it is a whole idea of imagination.  You imagine, you create and you innovate. Sustainability stands out for many societal challenges. Also, it is a creative process in order to create the fashion trend or idea. We often follow the new fashion trend. However, how about when we question our creativity when we innovate?  

Taking into account that we live in a society concerned with social and environmental sustainability; it make sense to reproach the creativity in the slow fashion movement. Who said that sustainable is not creative?  

When it is about to alternate creativity and responsible innovation, therefore, reproaching the fashion industry as long as we know that in order to require success we need a high level of creativity. 

For instance, you would like to take an outfit for a creative Instagram feed. You take the first one, you might not like it. You take the second one, you might not like it. You take the third one you might not like it, three tentative in vain. It is not at the right level of your imagination. The better option would be to take too many then select the one that matches with your expectations. However, the tentative might fail.

In the context of innovation: let’s discuss the innovation of a product. It would be the first design, the second, the third at the end the last tentative that matches with your expectations, Also, the customers expectation. There are many steps in order to make that design: The material (which eco friendly material selected), the style, the creative touch. So it is a whole to think about in order to make the ONE.

As a designer having all the processes in hand, by this way satisfying the need of the eco customer is relevant.  Therefore, not only it exceeds the needs but also it makes the difference.

How you get there?

First: Knowing about the concept of responsible innovation and apply it in your creative context.

Second: Creativity, talent and passion have no limits. You stand out for the environment and you stand out for the difference. 

Finally: Alternate creativity in your innovation.

I try to simplify the concept of responsible innovation for you in order to achieve your higher potential in the slow fashion movement. It is obvious above your talent; you need to make it as a whole package of learning, knowledge in order to alternate your creativity with responsibility.     

- FLEUR ÉTHIQUE -

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With technology becoming easier to create, and cheaper to manufacture. With Baby boomers adept knowledge of industry, and Millennials entering into business, marketing, and industry with bourgeoning creativity, both aligned with a mindset to solve problems of mankind in this information age, the concept of clothing, and fashion are slowly but surely changing. Since the early 2000’s, fashion designers, had begun to integrate solar technology into clothing of utility like raincoats and work out gear, for the ability to stay warm in colder climates, and to be able to charging portable devices using the energy of the sun. The way that this technology is created is by weaving and integrating solar cells. Solar cells in it’s basic state collect the sun’s ray’s into energy, and are usually found in things like satellites, solar panels, and solar calculators. These cells are called photovoltaic cells, short for photo means light, and voltaic meaning electricity. I consider this integration of solar energy into clothing is extremely sustainable. It's conservative, forward thinking, and innovative.

Taking this technology and incredible innovations a few steps further is the conception created by Miguel A. Modestino,, Sophia Haussener, Daniela Blanco, Adlai Katzenberg and Saurab Tembhurne, winners of the H&M Winning Ideas of Global Change Award in 2016. This concept, takes the idea of solar harvesting of energy in fashion to a very practical, and technologically corrective, standard. This concept is centered around collecting the suns energy, but more importantly it also traps carbon and greenhouse gases that are emitted into our atmosphere. This technology will integrate fibers and nylons into clothing that are composed of water, plant waste, and solar energy, that will allow them to basically ingest our carbon emissions. Their idea won a 250,000 dollar grant to develop, alongside a year long accelerator program initiative.

In a NPR Science Friday interview with the director of the Nano Tech Institute in Dallas Texas, Dr. Ray Bauchman, details an approach to this concept. He explains, the process of webbing carbon nanotubes into material which are durable, but sensitively lightweight, so you would use powders that are contrived of a mixture of magnesium, and borax, which creates semiconductors and coat the carbon fibers, creating material that is essentially a battery operated mechanism. This concept could produce material for clothing, furniture, and even the automobile industry. 

Uses for Solar Fashion are multiline, such as allowing the solar technology to keep us warmer, and using less material in the actual coat. Crafting clothing that is self cleaning, or self drying, allowing us to use non renewable energy. Creating clothing that can regulate body temperature. Investing in clothing that actually reverses the process of climate change.

This introduction or application is a huge merge or collaborations of several industries. The fashion industry, the textile industry, the garment industry, the Science and physics community, the engineering community, and countless others. This sect of fashion will be a multifaceted effort to align the fashion industry with a moral obligation to actually use its influence in society to make it a better one, through solvable solutions. The fashion industry could reinvent it’s impact on our environment with the pursuance of concepts similar to these.

Shakiea Eaddy

Environmentalist Advocate

Blogger

Grass n Greens  

SOURCES

http://www.physics.org/article-questions.asp?id=51

http://www.pvilion.com/solar-clothing/

http://www.futuremorph.org/my-future-finder/fashion-textiles/solar-textiles/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1369702106715425

https://www.azocleantech.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=483

https://www.materialstoday.com/energy/articles/s1369702106715425/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4471890/

https://www.npr.org/2011/01/07/132740159/weaving-batteries-and-solar-cells-into-textiles

https://globalchangeaward.com/winners/solar-textiles/

I often follow my heart when about choosing items; I look most of the time for credibility of the brand, story, and ethical values. Also, I require knowledge to differentiate so I exactly followed my heart for this article.

When you are a conscious person, you need knowledge, learning new things make us take conscious choices and you need that knowledge in order to realize the negative circumstances of our consumerism. I believe that without this knowledge we wouldn’t measure the impacts.

We usually talk about sustainability; you know that responsible innovation shares the same concept of sustainability? In order to be sustainable, it requires inclusion of stakeholders who support your idea or your brand in order to face the societal challenges. In addition to understand sustainability, an understanding of innovation environment might be interesting.

Responsible innovation is a new concept that is developed by policy makers, and scientists. It is important to identify innovation practices and processes if you are an innovator as long as a   creator is an innovator. 

There are several reasons why to explore responsible innovation in the fashion industry? I found out that a designer, the creator and the innovator should know about this concept from concept to practice in order to stand out for responsiveness.   

First the pollution caused by the clothing materials, with responsible innovation we could limit the pollution impacts and achieve zero waste by the tool of anticipation by which one of the strategies is to predict and to measure the possible implications of the innovation that is to be developed called anticipation.

Second, global responsible actions where the entire value chain is taken into account, the consumption of energy resources such as water and electricity. 

I think the fashion industry create, innovate constantly. Thus, the inclusion of responsiveness and most importantly the consciousness and a better understanding of this concept might be vital in order to predict a better environmental future for the industry.

Though, it is a large concept and we could apply it in any context. Curiosity is one quality of an innovator make sure that you know about it. There are many books, scholars, articles related to the topic to explore it.  However, how would you know that you are a responsible innovator?

- A deep understanding of the concept and apply it to your business context ;

- An active engagement of stakeholders for the purpose which means engage with the stakeholders and the public and find out solutions for environmental challenges ;

- Discussion that lead to Decision-making. Alternate innovation possibilities with decision making strategy ;

- The most important one is responsiveness.

By this way, we could gather all the knowledge that we need to understand each concept then apply it according to its context. 

‘’ Implementing a responsible innovation strategy correctly opens up new opportunities, effectively becoming a catalyst for creativity and providing major leverage to achieve innovation and performance within a responsible framework ‘’

-       Xavier Pavie -Victor Scholten-Daphné Carthy

 "The more you know, the more you learn, the more you do better ‘’

 -  Fleur Éthique  -

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When most people think of fashion brands, they immediately think of what fashion stands for them as an individual or an organization. For a fashion designer, it may be making patterns, prototypes, and the works. For a fashion blogger, it may be minimalistic fashion. For a consumer, it may be fashion trends. The truth is, most people don’t care about ethics when it comes to fashion, and probably not even the environment. If only they knew who makes their clothes, how they make and ship it to them, perspectives would change.

 “The horrendously low prices that farmers get for their produce is a symptom of a society with warped priorities; we do not want to pay adequately to someone who keeps us alive, but we are willing to pay through our noses for branded shoes and gadgets. And in relation to the latter, we don’t even care what the actual factory worker gets.” – Scroll.in

Lack of information about these brands, how they produce and supply their products, how transparent they are about their operations keeps consumers in a state of ignorance. This is changing with the emergence of the slow fashion revolution. The Fashion Transparency Index ranks the levels of transparency of 100 of the biggest global fashion companies. It makes it easy for consumers and businesses to make informed decisions, it has saved lives and also protected our environment.

Fast fashion brands are adapting to the transparency and business risks by being more resourceful, ethical, and technologically advanced. But, what exactly are they doing? To answer that, we are bringing you a series of blog posts. We will look at the most selling brands in the fashion industry in the year 2016-17. Interbrand, a global brand consultancy, reported Best Global Brands of 2017. Ten luxury and apparel companies made their mark in the top 100. Each blog post would probe into these companies for environmental and social  performance by highlighting their progress. Stay tuned for a bimonthly series looking into their sustainability efforts.

Stay tuned!

Sometimes an intuition can lead to a great project. Innovation, sustainability and quality to make the world a better place: these are the ingredients of the idea of two young Italian women, Adriana and Enrica. Their dream comes true by pioneering an innovative process to extract cellulose from citrus juice by-product, transforming it into a refined, high-quality fabric. Their project brings together two pillars from the Italian heritage, textiles and food, and responds to the need of innovation and sustainability in the fashion industry.

The idea

In 2014 Adriana Santanocito was a student of Fashion Design at AFOL Moda – Milano, specializing in textiles, materials and new fashion technology. She knew about the huge amount of citrus juice byproduct, the so-called “pastazzo,” thrown away everyday in her Sicily and proposed a sustainable fabric from citrus byproducts for her thesis. She shared her idea with her Sicilian roommate, Enrica Arena, so they started Orange Fiber, with the collaboration of Politecnico di Milano.

Orange Fiber is now a reality: it's the world’s first and only brand to produce a new and sustainable product from citrus juice byproducts, transforming them into beautiful materials reducing waste as well as pollution. It's surely one of the most  interesting approach to sustainable fashion in the world, an example of creativity for the safeguard of the planet to be proud of.

The fabric features

When used in its purest form, the resulting 100% citrus textile features a silk-like cellulose yarn  hand-feel, lightweight.

It can be opaque or shiny according to production needs. It can be blend with other materials, like cotton and silk, and colored and printed as traditional fabrics (inkjet printing and natural colors included).

The Capsule Collection Ferragamo

The very first fashion collection made with the exclusive, high quality Orange Fiber fabric has been launched during the Earth Day 2017 on April 22nd by Salvatore Ferragamo. The Florentine Maison has been the first luxury fashion label to trust in this project, sharing the ethical values underneath it and seeing in it both a challenge and an opportunity.

From this collaboration originates a Capsule Collection for the SS/2017 made up of shirts, dresses, pants and foulards in a silk- like twill, characterized by essential lines and cut, granting naturalness and comfort.

The project is catching more and more the interest and the appreciation of Fashion System, as shown by the current negotiation with FTL Venture Inc, the global venture capital fund founded by Miroslava Duma.

The company has also recently been awarded 150.000 € as the winner of Global Change Award – H&M Foundation: Orange Fiber project has been selected as one of the five winners by the expert jury on over 2,700 projects coming from 112 different countries.

Among the other awards we can remember the "Technology & Innovation Award at Green Carpet Fashion Awards, Italia 2017".

Stroll into your average high street store during the winter season and you are likely to meet a number of controversial types of clothing materials. Materials such as wool, leather, fur and suede are incredibly popular and widely available during the winter months. A simple winter hat with a fluffy pom-pom may contain traces of real animal fur. If you want to avoid innocently buying into unethical fashion, consequently supporting cruelty then you need to pay attention to what you are buying and how to identify the differences between animal skins and their ethical alternatives.

Identifying the Difference between Real Fur and Faux Fur

Worryingly, avoiding real fur with the intention of buying a faux alternative is not as simple as looking out for a big label stating ‘faux fur’. Unfortunately, some items made from imitation fur can contain traces of real animal fur, which is unfair on the side of the manufacturer if the consumer is making a conscious effort to avoid real fur! Not many years ago, faux fur was easily identified simply by giving the garment a quick look over and feeling the quality of the material. Just as little as 5 years ago, vegan fur was coarse, dry and by no means as soft as real fur. Nowadays, vegan fur is often softer and fluffier than real fur, which has helped to inspire many keen fur-wearers to switch to wearing faux fur. Real fur is possibly one of the most barbarically obtained animal skins, due to the fact that the animals are often skinned alive and left to die afterwards. So with that said, you will probably want to avoid buying real fur at all costs, so here are some ways in which you can determine whether you’re looking at real animal fur or a vegan/cruelty-free version:

·       As mentioned above, real fur is no longer noticeably softer than faux fur alternatives. These days it is often vegan fur that is softer than real animal fur so don’t let this confuse you.

·       Similarly, don’t let the colour of the fur fool you. Faux fur can easily be dyed and comes in a range of colours and shades. So don’t judge purely on its colour.

·       Look at the ends of the fur. Usually real fur tapers to a fine point at the ends, whereas faux fur is choppier and the ends are not so neatly defined.

·       If possible (very carefully) burn a few small strands of the fur. Faux fur will have a chemical smell, but if it smells like burning human hair then it is real animal fur.

·       Look carefully at the label on the garment. Sometimes hidden in the small print on a label, you will see that the item is made from e.g. 75% polyester and 25% mink (or another animal) fur.

Vegan Alternatives to Animal Leather

At this time of year, items such as leather riding boots and leather jackets are highly popular choices to add to our winter outfits. Unfortunately real leather is not an ethically sourced material, but don’t panic – there are a number of fantastic ethical and sustainable alternatives to leather, such as:

·       Leatherette

·       Cork

·       Mushroom Skin

·       Pineapple Skin Leather

Popular Materials and Fibres that are NOT Cruelty-Free

·       Bunting

·       Cashmere

·       Cerecloth

·       Doeskin

·       Duffle

·       Felt

·       Fleece

·       Horsehair

·       Leather

·       Mohair

·       Silk

·       Suede Leather

·       Tweed

·       Wool

Popular Materials and Fibres that are Cruelty-Free and Ethical

·       Acrylic

·       Canvas

·       Chino

·       Cork

·       Cotton

·       Denim

·       Elastane

·       Flannelette

·       Leatherette

·       Linen

·       Lint

·       Microfiber

·       Moleskin

·       Nylon

·       Polyester

·       Towelling

·       Velcro

·       Velour

·       Viscose

After a mid-week visit to the Museum of Modern Art, and witnessing the "Is Fashion Modern" exhibit by Paola Antonelli and Michelle Millar Fisher, I came across an extensive wall display of a thorough look at the relationship between fashion, industry, labor, economics, and its impact on our world.

 This display stems from an incentive of the United Nations campaign, "17 Ways to Transform Our World".

Starting with No Poverty, Zero Hunger, Good Health, Quality Education, Gender Equality, Clean Water and Sanitation, Affordable and Clean Energy, Sustainable Cities and Communities, Responsible consumption and production, Climate Action, Life Below Water, Life on Land, Peace Justice and Strong Institutions, and Partnership for the completion of these goals.

The display at the Musuem of Modern Fashion recognizes that the Fashion Industry is one of the most wasteful industries in the developed world, and prioritizes the necessity in spreading the message that consumers as well as companies, and manufacture's must have accountableness when interacting in this industry.

MOMA examines each iconic fashionable item that made a impact on the trends throughout the decades while analyzing the overall outcome of the items negative sustainable impact on production practices, and ultimately the Earth. The display also showed the progress and retroactive steps taken by the fashion industry to reduce that items negative impact on the environment, making small steps toward achieving a sustainable fashion market in and out.

This display impressed me, not to mention gave me hope in knowing that these goals are achievable, and a fully sustainable fashion industry can become a reality, with organized initiative. 

 This, I thought, is the type of evaluative work that we as a community of designers, consumers, activist, and journalist need to start doing to begin shaping the fashion market, so that sustainable fashion, does not become segregated from the fashion industry as a whole.

With this said, let's began with a code of Ethics for the sustainable fashion industry.

The pillars of The Sustainable Clothing Industry should revolve around these five principles.

 Ethics

Designers, producers, and manufactures must sustain commitment to the protection of natural resources. They should have conscious awareness of the environment and appreciate its place in the function of the health of the planet.  Conserving energy and natural resources must be an integral practice.

Materials

This includes the use of materials that doesn't exploit or inflict senseless murder of living beings.

Some of those eco-friendly materials include.

Fabrics - Hemp, Bamboo, Soy Cashmere, Soy Fabric, Raffia, Cellulose Fibers, Lyocell, Acetate, Organic Cotton, Modal, Cypro, Tencel, Acrylic, Nylon, Polyester, Jute, Bysuss, Coir (Coconut Fiber), Corn Fiber, Kapok (Seapods of Kapok tree), Kenaf, Lotus Flower Fabric, Nettle Fabric, Pineapple Fibers, Abaca (Banana Fibers), Sisal (Agave Plant).

Safe and sustainable animal materials to use would be Wool, Alpaca, Mohair (Hair from the Angora Goat), Fish Skin Leather, Chitin Fibers (Substances found in shells and crustaceans), Camel Wool, Peacock Feather Fabrics.

Recycling is a direct way to make a positive impact on the fashion industry. Producers of fashion must make it a regular practice to use recycled material or clothing from older seasons to create new items. Investments must be made to upgrade the technology used to recycle material and fabric, to lower the cost. We see now that many materials can be recycled and made into new material such as recycled polyester from plastic bottles known as rPet, which is post-consumer recycled plastic soda and water bottles, food containers, unusable second quality polyester fabrics and worn out polyester garments. Thrift shops must be destigmatized, and consumers must recognize the need to be conservative when it comes to shopping.

Production

The way in which these items are manufactured must give license to artisans who handcraft, repurpose or upcycle items. This will reinvigorate the respect of artisanship, and denounce poorly made clothing, that is often pushed onto consumers by the fast fashion industry.

Producers must avoid using harmful pollutants or chemicals in their manufacturing practices, and monitor their waste removal procedures.  As it harms the environment when it interacts with our drinking water, soil, and air quality, natural environments, and animal's habitats. 

Labor

Producers and manufactures’ must be making concerting efforts to countering global slavery, poor child labor standards and regulations. They should also be committed to Fair Trade, and expanding the practice thereof with other brands and creating a harmonious ethical trade industry. The upliftment and boosting of the economies of third world countries should be essential, as well as the dedication to the cause to allowing women to prosper and be entrepreneurial globally.

Charity + Philanthropic

The Fashion industry must demonstrate it's ability to go make more change in the global world. Cyclical consumerism must not be projected on the worlds' population, instead the industry must exercise the practice of charitable incentive. Giving back to organizations, and combining the mission of the company with charitable efforts. They can incorporate charity into their business models.

With these principles, we can begin to transform the fashion industry starting inside and out.

Shakiea Eaddy

Environmentalist Advocate

Blogger

Grass n Greens  

SOURCES:

https://www.greenchoices.org/green-living/clothes/more-sustainable-fabrics

http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/

https://www.1millionwomen.com.au/blog/a-z-glossary-of-sustainable-fibres/

https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/08/16/fashion-industry-environmental-pollution.aspx 

Outfits, looks and styles; we love that. Who behind these designs? Who are the workers behind this brand that we love? Who are the creators who designed this item that we expose to the world? It is an item that makes us warm, expressing ourselves, being confident, going for a date, or attending an event etc in order to feel good. It is simply a feeling that we tend to satisfy. Though, are the workers satisfied? Is our planet satisfied?   

A bunch of questions, interactions which sustainability covers ; before all these outfits, looks, and styles there is a strategy, a business idea, a passion, a talent. However, if we combine talent, passion and responsibility we would think about a sustainable strategy before the creation of outfits, looks and styles.  

What is a sustainable strategy? It is simply to express your passion responsibly. You would think about all along the process from the conception to the creation. It is a responsible road which leads to a responsible strategy.  

For designers who are adopting these methods they think about all along the process. It starts from conception to market launch. The concept is simple; it is often mentioned on websites that a business has values which its commits to in the execution plan if they are sustainably committed.  

For instance, let’s say a luxury fashion brand would commit to social corporate responsibility as a value will help them to put actions according to that. Fair trade which fair prices are paid to the producers; workers have great conditions at work place. Empowering women, women develop skills in suing if they have lack of education, charity and so on. 

First of all, building strong values could help the right path to sustainability. The success of a sustainable strategy may therefore be measured in terms of its degree of its responsibility. It is all about responsibility. 

These are the following values examples that could be adopted in order to measure the degree of responsibility: 

• Corporate social responsibility ;

• Responsible innovation (is a large concept, but it could be a value. It is defined by the European Commission as a transparent and interactive process by means of which social actors and innovators must interact and work together in line with given opportunities, to ensure that societal ethical stakes are preserved ) ;

• Commitment ; 

• Ethical ; 

• Eco-Friendly ;

• Transparence;

Etc.

Moreover, an adequate understanding of these values is building in general a sustainable strategy. Thus, a deep understanding of which value corresponding for a specific fashion brand might be interesting. 

There are too many that the brand could commit too. However, these examples depend on the condition of the brand to choose the right values corresponding with its responsibility in general.  

The goal of these values is to improve sustainability, the environment and social being. Thus the value added is commitment to the path. All the actions, outfits, looks and styles will follow in the creation process.  

Let’s empower ethical and commit. 

- FLEUR ÉTHIQUE -

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Used fashion items go by several names - pre-owned, like-new, worn, secondhand, thrifted, resale, used vintage or antique. However, one word that says that they are more than just use items is love. Preloved items tell us a story and all the memories its owner created along with it. However, not all can let go of these memories so easily. Many of us still keep our wedding dress, for instance. Some of us even buy souvenir items to create memories.

In the midst of this emotional existence, some of us decide to either sell or donate. We do this either with the intention to help someone, earn some money in return, be frugal, or to be a part of the conscious consumerism movement. This resolution has given birth to a new era in markets like thrift stores, augmented marketplaces, off-price retailers, and rental/peer-to-peer marketplaces. These markets allow the fashion industry to be a part of a circular economy or a sharing economy. Such a type of economy helps protect our environment by conserving and reusing resources, keeping these resources out of landfills and preventing waste.

Augmented marketplaces are the new thing. Companies in this market have raised hundreds of millions of dollars in venture capital in recent years. The secondhand market has seen some volatility with some going defunct soon after securing millions of dollars. The other mentioned markets are seeing old but new players trying to catch up with the growth of the resale industry, especially new companies in the P2P markets who also have managed to raise a lot of cash.

ThredUP, world’s largest online marketplace to buy and sell women’s and kids’ secondhand clothes, has stayed ahead of the competition probably owing to its business model that involves a sliding scale - for example if your goods sell for $15 or less you get 10% of the sale price but 80% if your goods sell for more than $300. It also published mind blowing statistics on the secondhand clothing industry, in its 2017 Annual Resale Report.  Here are few of the many stats that they’ve researched and published:

1. The resale industry is a whooping $18 billion industry, online and offline.
2. The resale industry is expected to grow to $33 billion in 2021.
3. Millenials are 2.4 times likely to be motivated by eco-conscious factors when shopping secondhand. Millenials are 75% likely to be motivated by the environment. 84% prefer socially conscious brands that align with their values.
4. Average American throws away 70 lbs of clothing every year. If all that clothing were recycled or reused, it would save 6 million items from ending up in landfill per year. ThredUP alone has upcycled 14 million items.
5. ThredUP has saved 128 million lbs of CO2, equivalent to powering 8111 households for an entire year.
6. ThredUP has saved 10 billion gallons of water, equivalents to 15,784 olympic sized swimming pools.

Statistics show that there is now a high sense of awareness within consumers of the consequences of buying more and more fashion items. Consumers now want to buy products that are produced with the environment, people, resources, health, and biodiversity in mind. But, does it really make a difference? What’s truly going to make a difference is when we challenge the entire fashion industry and our governments to address the root cause of these consequences, and encourage sustainable production and not just sustainable consumption.

Would you rather recycle or reuse a fashion item that has been produced sustainably or one that isn’t?

References that have not been linked inline:

1. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/fashion/style/best-fashion-resale-sites/
2. https://www.buzzfeed.com/treyegreen/used-clothing-online-places-to-buy?utm_term=.qfJzRM00o#.obe5e9llL

Anuja Sawant

Environment & Sustainability, EPt

https://anujasawant.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anujasaw/

Twitter: @anujasaw

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The reason why a fast food chain restaurant can offer a 1 euro burger wherever you may be but getting clean, potable water to places that may need it seems sometimes impossible is the same reason why China had an incredible fast paced industrialization and growth after Apple decided to build the iPhone there; chains of production and transportation. I am not going into detail about the economics or the pros and cons of such large scale cogs that make the world market turn round, instead I will over-generalize certain points I think are the main focus when talking about sustainability, and specifically in the fashion industry.

Industry brings money and places are often charmed by the influx of low-skilled production jobs, which on their own are charmed by the cheap labour. The problem comes in when there is no care for the community or the place. The short term benefits of urbanization and wealth have proven to be quickly outweighed by pollution, extremely poor safety regulations, an emphasis on speed and quantity and not a long term commitment; and just like land that gets overworked at some point it dries and the fertility seems to be gone. Workers demand more in terms of income, benefits, laws and regulations get stricter and the industry that so suddenly came in moves on to find another place to colonize as it may seem. We have seen this time and time again. Yet it is hard to place the blame on one thing alone.

The speed at which the industry must move derives by the speed us as consumers demand product. Fast fashion being a frontrunner in this with stores that switch around a lot of their inventory every two weeks. We want the next trendy item and we want it to be affordable, we want that cheeseburger and it better be a euro.

From consumers to providers there lies an incredibly long amount of intermediaries ranging from transport companies with tankers, port employees, retail workers, factory workers, communities that get built around these industrial towns, farmers and land owners, countries and taxation, bankers and lawyers who struggle to make sense of everything so that you can get that white tee for 5 bucks no questions asked; so much depends on it sometimes it seems like the cliche’d phrase of “it might just be too big to fail” seems to apply.

I would like to point out an important part of the chain that sometimes gets relegated to a different sector, which people might consider to be somewhat separate, and that would be designers. Technology and fashion have always been connected; the use of denim for work attire, or the use of materials to make clothes waterproof may be a good example. Before plastics we’re a thing we would cover leather with beeswax for example, but how affordable is that for today’s market? We can also leap to today and see what sports brands are doing with sneakers and their incredible push towards materials engineering; a quest for comfort and durability at a point where it can be mass produced at a price point where people find it worth their money.

Luxury will always be there, so a good pair of leather shoes built by human hands will have an artisanal value, but I would argue that the care put into quality means something that will stand use and wear, not a cheap leather item that is in itself nothing but designed to be replaced after a season. So leaving that alone for now, let’s talk a bit about technology.

Does technology need to be priced as much as luxury is? Do a fabric that can offer durability, comfort, or even thermal properties need to be more expensive than something that came from half way around the world in a container? Unfortunately mostly yes. For the industry to cannibalize itself there will always be a reason to keep the machine working. Or will the bubble ever burst as perhaps the housing industry did? Unlikely.

I am not trying to say that we as consumer have the power to influence a sudden change. We can compare it to the zero kilometer movement in the food industry, but even then people will pay a markup for locally grown, locally sourced vegetables and fruits. Neither I am saying the economical system needs to be reworked for anything to change, every system has and will always have its flaws.

So what exactly am I trying to say with this seemingly pointless rant you might be asking yourself right about now, and that’s a fair point, because I do not have all the answers and I believe no one does. I do have some suggestions and do feel free to disagree with me, but as long as I made you think of your own then I believe this has been worth every keystroke.

The west going in crisis where over-qualified people can’t find a job is a place that needs to get some investment on. Not for production perhaps but for development. Whereas in other industrial revolutions so much effort was put into the development of technology it has now been focused entirely on phones that we throw out every couple of years and the likes. We can see how this can work with companies like Tesla and finding solutions for energy sources, or how a private company tries to make affordable space exploration when the dream seem to have been lost in past generations. We are easily distracted and information comes so often and so quickly that our perception has been shifted into small pockets of issues we as a whole pay attention to and then move on. Impossible with funding from Google and Bill Gates has developed a burger paddy that imitates meat as much as they could with plants, not for vegetarians, but to proof meat eaters that there can be another way, All of this thanks to designers and engineers and people with white coats; people that sometimes don’t get the pay they should get in a world where ideas are privatized and owned by employers.

Some may say open-sourcing certain things might make the market adjust itself. If a new textile can be developed by students in MIT and companies could use their chain of production to create and sell something more environmentally and socially friendly that would benefit us all.

What I am trying to come down to is that ultimately all it takes it for someone to care and to make someone else care, not with frustration and the hashtag of the week, but with empathy. For consumers to buy smart, spend what you can but spend on something that is worth it and be an informed consumer. For designers to be interested in talking to engineers and for decision makers to convince the backers that sometimes, if they actually care we as consumers will too. Let’s make technology in fashion not such a luxury anymore. 

Roberto Campos

@stylecomptoir

 http://Roberto-Campos.com/

For many of us, we hear the term ‘sustainable fashion’, we learn a little about what it entails and we are eager to start being better and being more sustainable. The only issue is - how and where do you start? 

Search the internet on how to start supporting ethical fashion and in typical internet style (excuse the pun) you’ll find the usual combination of: highly valuable information, a mixture of controversial opinions, followed by a few misleading facts and some completely worthless reading! The most common debate is the “do you start again, throw out what you have and buy all new, sustainable fashion items? Or do you act sustainably and use what you have until the time comes when you will subsequently replace it with sustainable alternatives? The choice depends on you, but the most rational option would be the latter.

The art of supporting sustainable fashion involves supporting ethical brands, buying items of clothing made using eco-friendly fabrics and manufacturing processes, as well as preventing textile waste! We can all start being more sustainable today without rushing out to buy from ethical, eco-friendly brands! Here’s how to be more sustainable in 5 easy steps!

1. Learn what colours suit you so that you don’t buy the wrong colour that you’ll hate forever and never wear.

2. Learn what styles and textures suit your natural body shape and silhouette. Dress for the body shape and physical features you have rather than what you want, and you’ll always dress well!

3. Consider what you really need from your wardrobe: a small but tailored capsule collection of items that suit you perfectly and can be effortlessly mixed and matched without any thought? Or a more complex wardrobe of vintage garments, on-trend pieces, a huge range of accessories, as well as essential classic pieces? Unless require a wealthy collection for work purposes, I’m sure that most of you would feel better having a neat and stylish wardrobe full of quality items that never fail to flatter your shape and skin colouring. In this case it would be better for you to create a capsule wardrobe of items that you can effortlessly throw together to achieve a stylish outfit! This doesn’t have to mean you have a limited choice or always have to look the same. Take a look here at my 29 items to a perfectly stylish wardrobe checklist here – all of these items can be mixed and matched with little effort but guarantee you look fabulous all the same!

4. Don’t rule out using thrift stores! Here’s why… Second hand shops, charity shops, vintage boutiques, thrift stores. There are so many ways in which to refer to clothing outlets selling pre-owned items. What’s most important is what they represent – reusing clothing thereby preventing textile waste! Not everybody is keen on the idea of wearing items of clothing that once belonged to somebody else, so here’s a little food for thought. In some cases the items you pick up in thrift stores have actually been worn far less than brand new items you purchase from high street stores. In many cases, second hand clothing stores are full of items that were mistake purchases and have only been worn a couple of times or never at all! On the other hand, high street stores receive huge volumes of daily shopper traffic ranging from ‘the teen that just wants to try on items after school’ to ‘the keen shopper that’s going to try, buy, and possibly return everything’. My point is that more times than not, the items you buy on the high street have been worn/tried on more times by lots more people than something you might find in a second hand shop. Additionally, there are some quality items on offer in thrift stores, available at a fraction of their normal retail price. 

Don’t forget that when conducting a thorough ‘wardrobe weeding’ session, offloading your unwanted fashion items to a charity shop/pre-owned fashion store is also a good idea. It eliminates waste and puts your old goods to better use!

5. DIY. Upcycle. Revamp what you already have!

You’d be surprised at just how many more years you could get out of an old shirt with a button missing (Fix: sew on a new one), or a plain t-shirt that bores you (Fix: sew on sequins, fancy buttons, add a brooch). There are lots of easy DIY fashion tutorials on Pinterest, Youtube, as well as on my own site. You’d be amazed at how quick and easy it is to completely transform your old clothing in the matter of minutes! 

Finally, if you’re missing shopping and are in need of a little inspiration on how to revamp clothing you already own, take a trip to the mall for ‘research’ purposes only! Enjoy browsing round the carefully curated collections on display, but instead of taking an armful of hangers over to the counter, take out your camera phone and take pictures of garment details, styles and fits that appeal to you. Quite often, the items you see on shop displays are very easy and affordable to replicate at home. Take for example, a t-shirt with button details along the shoulder line. The extra detail makes the garment look expensive but sewing a couple of buttons onto a t-shirt couldn’t be simpler and is something anybody could do at home! 

Supporting sustainable fashion and being more sustainable is highly creative and incredibly rewarding. Once you start implementing these 5 easy steps, you’d be amazed at how enjoyable your journey becomes!

Luisa Kearney

Online Personal Stylist

www.onlinepersonalstylist.com

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Are you a lover of elegance? We all choose outfits to look the way we would like to express ourselves. Besides the beauty we look for elegance that’s why we often invest a lot to be elegant. What if I tell you that ethical is elegant. Speaking about elegance the first question that comes to my mind are luxury fashion brands sustainable? You might probably tell me, well, it costs because of the quality of the materials and that’s why they are luxurious or because of the uniqueness of the design. 

The fact that the uniqueness of the design and the approach used by these fashion brands such as: Gucci, Hermès, Prada, Chanel, Versace and many more applying one of the aspects of sustainability which is quality material and it lasts rather than no quality. Quality over quantity; what about Corporate Social Responsibility? Even some fashion brands like Hermès they hire a designer for each product.  Sustainable fashion might be the future for luxury brands and even sustainability is at the heart of their business model like for Marks & Spencer.  For instance, Stella MCCARTNEY is the world’s first and only vegetarian luxury brand. They do not think that any animal should give their life for the sake of fashion. Also, they commit to sustainability in their business as described in their official website. 

Indeed, I love the fact when it is clearly communicated on the official website of the brand. For some fashion luxurious brands, it is so hard to see clearly responsible communication. That’s the first step a luxurious brand should think about. If there is no information meaning either they have their own niche of consumers or they do not prioritize communicating sustainability or either they prioritize the uniqueness of the design and the collection. I think the best option would be to ask them, send emails if they do really care before buying if it is unclear.  

Obviously sustainability covers many points that a luxurious fashion brand should communicate. Besides the luxury and the quality they should emphasize ethical trade, responsible business model, future sustainable plans, corporate social responsibility all these aspects matters in order to build a trust with the eco-friendly consumer. 

The answer to this question is mixed either there is a clear communication about sustainability like for these Brands: Stella MCCARTNEY, EDUNE, Tome, Eileen Fisher, G-STAR Raw. Also, it depends on how the strategy of the Brand is described including the mission, the vision and the values. 

For most of known luxurious brands, they highlight la ‘’ Haute couture ‘’ rather than ‘’ sustainability’’. Also, you might find ‘’corporate responsibility ‘’ in the menu. I guess it is not enough. 

Nowadays, things are changing hoping that the luxurious fashion brands would highlight ‘’sustainability ‘’ rather than ‘’ Haute couture”.  

‘’ There is no beauty in the finest cloth if it makes hunger & unhappiness ‘’ -Gandhi- 

Written by Mona, Fleur Ethique : my mission is to inspire ethical and to empower women through the eyes of my style. Ethical is elegant. 

Mona

Fleur Éthique

Blog : www.fleurethique.com

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We often hear about sustainable fashion and we’re told that it’s the future of fashion but what exactly does it mean? There are so many terms to describe ethical and eco-friendly fashion but they don’t all share the same meaning or mode of production. So let’s take a look at what it means to live and dress sustainably.

Sustainable fashion is a term used to describe fashion items and their raw materials that have been grown, sought and produced in an environmentally-friendly way. Producing any kind of clothing takes its toll on the earth’s resources, but the sustainable fashion industry tries to find other eco-friendly alternatives where possible.  

All of us have to wear clothes. Many of us enjoy the process of shopping, styling and wearing clothes. None of us want their fashion habits to have a negative impact on our planet! 

Before we go any further, it is wise to familiarise yourself with the below listed terms, describing different aspects of ethical fashion. 

Popular Terms Used to Describe “Friendly-Fashion”

• Slow Fashion 

You’ve heard the term “fast fashion”: fast-moving clothing retailers that produce fashion items in the masses, which are often manufactured under poor working conditions in other countries. Slow fashion promotes the belief of “buying less but buying better”. Buy garments that you’re going to wear. Invest in items you love. Wear the items you buy. Don’t waste your money on clothing that may fall apart after a couple of wears. 

• Ethical Fashion 

Ethical fashion signifies ethical manufacturing, textile sourcing and working conditions. This means that no living beings (human or animal) were harmed or mistreated while obtaining the materials, during production or at any other stage. 

• Vegan Fashion

Fashion items made from materials that are not obtained from animals, i.e. no fur, leather, wool, silk, suede, etc. Vegan fashion guarantees that no animals were harmed or killed for the sake of manufacturing fashion products. 

• Cruelty-free Fashion

Cruelty-free fashion usually refers to products which do not involve testing products on animals or unethically obtaining skins and other materials from animals. In the world of cosmetics however, cruelty-free can mean that the product and its ingredients haven’t been tested on animals, but it may not necessarily be suitable for vegans – take cruelty-free honey lip balm for example. 

• Sustainable Fashion 

Sustainable fashion involves using recycled materials or producing new fashion items using dyes and manufacturing processes that cause as little harm as possible to the environment. Other types of sustainable fashion involve swapping clothing, buying pre-owned items, upcycling what you already own, or buying less and wearing it more. 

• Eco-friendly Fashion 

Fashion products that are manufactured in a way that is most economical for the earth’s resources and the environment. Eco-fashion manufacturing uses special dyes and fabric fibres sourced from natural, recyclable materials.

Would you run your kitchen tap and allow 7000 litres of water to just pour down the drain? It sounds like a huge waste doesn’t it?! It takes 7000 litres of water to make a single pair of jeans. Every time you discard of an unwanted fashion item that you’ve purchased on a whim, you are essentially throwing away thousands of litres of water! This is one of the many reasons why supporting sustainable fashion brands and being more sustainable in your daily life has such a major, positive impact on the planet. Typical clothing production using non-sustainable materials and processes is harmful to the environment for a number of reasons. The heavy use of bleach and harmful dyes (especially when dealing with animal skins) is not only damaging and potentially toxic, but also requires thousands of litres of water in order to carry out the dying stage. With such a huge choice of high quality natural fabrics and vegan leather available on the market, it is easier than ever to dress stylishly and ethically! 

Easy Ways to Start Living More Sustainably Today

• Be conscious of what you buy. Buy items that you love, that suit you perfectly, and that you know you will wear over and over. 

• The “30 Wears” question: last year I participated in a campaign called “30 Wears” – a challenge that encouraged people to wear each fashion garment that they buy at least 30 times before disposing of it. So, next time you shop ask yourself whether you could imagine yourself wearing the item you’ve just picked up at least 30 times.

• Take a good look at items in your wardrobe and see how you can upcycle them to make them more wearable. Sewing on a couple of sequins or accessorising in another way can instantly transform the overall look of a garment.

• Aim to buy from ethical and sustainable fashion brands. Every item of clothing has a story, so why not make sure its story is a positive and environmentally-friendly journey.

• Set aside 30 minutes per week to plan out your outfits that you plan to wear that week. Not only will this save you heaps of time and stress each morning, it will also allow you to see what exactly you have lying in your wardrobe which will help you to make good use of it by planning a way in which you can wear it. 

• Learn what kind of styles, colours and fits suit your personal physical characteristics, enabling you to make more informed decisions when shopping for clothes because you won’t waste time or money on items that you know will not suit you. 

• Wear what you buy! Textile waste is a huge issue across the world, so the insignificant act of making good use of the clothing you own and preventing textile waste can improve this problem in an enormous way!

Luisa Kearney

Online Personal Stylist

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