WHAT DOES SUSTAINABLE FASHION REALLY MEAN?
Hi guys! Sorry for not being able to post last week--I had family in town and am finally catching up. I hope you had a good holiday weekend!
In the meantime I have been thinking a lot about the terms I throw around on this blog--the terms everyone throws around--and I thought it might be high time to clarify some of the words I use.
I think the term I use the most is “sustainable fashion” because I see it as kind of a catch-all term for fashion that is both ethically and environmentally-conscious. At least I mean it that way. While “vegan fashion” focuses on animal-free fashion, and “ethical fashion” pertains mainly to the people along the line of production being paid a living wage, “sustainable fashion” isn’t a regulated term and doesn’t really mean any one specific thing. So what issues are we talking about when we talk about sustainable fashion?
Wikipedia defines it as such: “ Sustainable fashion, also called eco fashion, is a part of the growing design philosophy and trend of sustainability, the goal of which is to create a system which can be supported indefinitely in terms of human impact on the environment and social responsibility. It can be seen as an alternative trend against fast fashion. Sustainable fashion is part of the larger trend of sustainable design where a product is created and produced with consideration to the environmental and social impact it may have throughout its total life span, including its ‘carbon footprint’.”
So according to this definition, sustainable fashion is fashion that is 1. considerate of the environmental and social impact of the product and 2. can be supported indefinitely in terms of human impact on the environment and other people.
Some thoughts about those things: First of all, who is to say what “considerate” fashion is? For example, tons of brands who think of themselves as sustainable/eco/green/considerate sell leather goods which originate from brutally mistreated animals and incredibly toxic tanneries (read my summaries of leather issues here and here). In my opinion, nothing made of leather can be considered sustainable for the planet, as the entire factory farming and meat and leather processing industries are a huge unsustainable burden on the planet.
And secondly, a fashion brand, no matter how incredibly conscious and careful and sensitive they are, ultimately leaves some kind of a carbon footprint. Between the fabric production and dyeing, printing of patterns, cutting and sewing, and packaging and shipping, resources are inevitably used and often wasted along the way. So maybe sustainable fashion is a bit of an oxymoron after all.
BUT the truth is, we desperately need an antidote to the fast fashion mess we’re in, however short it may actually fall from true sustainability. We need to try. We all buy stuff, so we need to lift up the brands that are trying to do better whether they are actually cradle to cradle certified, or just striving little by little to get there. We need to give a shit, and we need to support businesses who give a shit. We need to do our research, so we know who actually gives a shit versus just giving lip service to environmental issues, like H&M and Topshop who have “sustainable” lines yet still promote over-consumption and throwaway fashion made in sweatshops (I guess the fact that they’re sort of trying is a good sign though).
A still from The True Cost found here. Watch the movie on Netflix or on their site!
Okay, rant over! Below are more terms you might come across:
Ethical Fashion // “Ethical Fashion is an umbrella term to describe ethical fashion design, production, retail, and purchasing. It covers a range of issues such as working conditions, exploitation, fair trade, sustainable production, the environment, and animal welfare.” In my experience people don’t usually include animals when referring to ethical fashion, but they should.
Vegan Fashion // “Vegan fashion is clothing and accessories made from cruelty-free sources, i.e. no animal products were used in making the garments and gear, and no animal was harmed.” Generally vegan fashion includes animal-free alternatives to leather, wool, down, silk, fur, cashmere, angora, shearling, and other products made from an animal. The idea is that animals should not be hurt, killed, or exploited for the sake of fashion, when ethical alternatives exist.
Organic Clothing // Organic in the fashion industry usually refers to the fabric or textile and how it was grown and produced. Cotton and other plant materials, for example, may be grown with or without the use of pesticides, herbicides, and other chemicals. “Organic clothing is clothing made from materials raised or grown in compliance with organic agricultural standards. Organic clothing may be composed of cotton, jute, silk, ramie, or wool. Retailers charge more for organic clothing because the source of the clothing's fiber are free from herbicides, pesticides, or genetically modified seeds. Textiles do not need to be 100% organic to use the organic label.”
Fast Fashion // “Fast fashion is a contemporary term used by fashion retailers to express that designs move from catwalk quickly in order to capture current fashion trends. Emphasis is on optimizing certain aspects of the supply chain in order for these trends to be designed and manufactured quickly and inexpensively to allow the mainstream consumer to buy current clothing styles at a lower price.” Instead of the traditional Spring and Fall collections of days past, fast fashion now pushes 52 (or more) “micro-seasons” a year, creating a never-ending stream of products. Recently, countless articles, books, and documentaries like The True Cost have exposed fast fashion for the harmful and wasteful industry it is.
Slow Fashion // An antidote for fast fashion, “slow fashion is the movement of designing, creating, and buying garments for quality and longevity. Slow fashion encourages slower production schedules, fair wages, lower carbon footprints, and (ideally) zero waste.”
Zero Waste Fashion // “ Zero-waste fashion refers to items of clothing that generate little or no textile waste in their production...It can be divided into two general approaches. Pre-consumer zero-waste fashion eliminates waste during manufacture. Post-consumer zero-waste fashion generates clothing from post-consumer garments such as second-hand clothing, eliminating waste at what would normally be the end of the product use life of a garment. Zero-waste fashion is not a new concept--early examples of zero-waste or near zero-waste garments include [the] Kimono, Sari, Chiton and many other traditional folk costumes.”
Fair Trade // In the fashion and textiles industry, “fair trade is about better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability, and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world. Fair trade addresses the injustices of conventional trade, which traditionally discriminates against the poorest, weakest producers. It enables them to improve their lot and have more control over their lives... The existing associations or federations for fair trade include WFTO (The World Fair Trade Organization), EFTA (European Fair Trade Association), and BAFTS (British Association for Fair Trade Shops).”
Thanks for reading! What do you think about “sustainable fashion”? What is your preferred term you use when referring to this type of “conscious” fashion?
