The word “sustainable” seems like a buzz word these days. But what does it mean, and how can you apply it to your wardrobe?
Think about everything that could possibly go into a garment. There is the actual fabric itself, thread, and the shipping of the garment.
All of these things create waste: fabric scraps, excess threads cut, shipments overseas, delivery, and returns. What about the clothing that doesn’t sell or is no longer functional?
After learning about what it means for clothing to considered sustainable fashion, you will be empowered to know what to look for!
This post is all about sustainable fashion design and how to build an ethical wardrobe.
1. What is Sustainable Fashion Design?
Sustainable fashion design refers to the practice of manufacturing and distributing clothing in a way that puts the earth first, as well as the workers who make them.
Items that come from renewable resources, whether it be plant or animal, as well as recycled materials are the number one way in which companies label their practices as sustainable.
All clothes are handmade. Ensuring the manufacturing workers have good working conditions (limited hours, adequate breaks, fair wages) is hard to verify as a consumer. In this matter, I try to have a level of trust with the claims the company I am purchasing my items from.
Fast fashion?
A definition that is also helpful to understand is fast fashion. This term refers to the mass production of cheap garments due to the textile and labor choices. These fashion choices typically follow short trend cycles, which encourages consumers to continue to purchase and discard last season’s clothes.
2. Environmental and Social Impact of Fashion Design
Textile waste is a huge issue. The EPA estimates that since 1960, production of textiles has increased by 15,270 thousand tons.
Also, dying fabrics and certain fabric finishes are responsible for 20% of global water pollution. The water pollution continues at home. The washing of synthetic fibers, such as polyester, releases hundreds of thousands of microplastic particles into the water each time you run a cycle.
The people who sew the clothes you purchase from (SHEIN, Zara, etc.) are often located in countries with lax labor laws that allow for long hours, minimal pay, minimal to no breaks, and even child labor. The tax cuts and cheap labor at these manufacturing sites are the main draw for fast fashion companies.
3. Sustainable Design Materials and Practices
Materials that support sustainable fashion design are those made out of fibers that are sourced in nature. Try the following: wool, cotton, hemp, linen, and Tencel/lyocell (a semi-synthetic made from tree pulp).
Natural fibers are going to remove the plastic variable from the equation. No more petroleum-based clothes on your body all day and no more microplastics shedding in the wash!
Fashion brands that support ethical labor practices are often loud about it. I think Everlane is a great example of a transparent fashion brand that details where each item is manufactured.
I’ve also recently purchased some items from Indigo Luna (LOVE the Agni Wrap Top) and have been impressed with the quality and their transparency!
4. Challenges Implementing Sustainable Fashion
As a consumer, how do you know if a brand is utilizing sustainable fashion design?
It’s not as easy as reading the tag indicating the item is “green”.
There are many famous fashion brands that have parts of their collections dedicated as sustainably made. However, there are challenges to understanding whether those claims are true or not.
Supply Chain
The fashion supply chain (really any supply chain for that matter) can be crazy. My 9-5 is in manufacturing operations, so I can confirm, the path of an item is tough to follow. The average consumer just simply wouldn’t know how much work it took to get the item from supply, manufacturing, and logistics.
The fabric, notions, thread, and labor may all originate from separate countries for just one garment. However your clothes tag may only reflect where the labor was performed. What about the labor, raw materials, and logistics to get the items and to PUT everything together?
Just through the supply chain alone, you can see how difficult sustainable fashion design practices can be.
Regulation and Policies
There are plenty of progressive states in the US and countries passing legislation as to what “counts” as sustainable fashion design practice. However, they don’t all align. In fact, there is no universally accepted standard for all-around sustainable fashion design.
This makes it difficult in that one region may consider something a sustainable manufacturing process, but another region may have more stringent requirements.
Due to the sprawling fashion supply chain, it is difficult for fashion brands to maintain any type of standard.
Greenwashing
If a fashion brand can gloss over the above challenges, perhaps using one or two sustainable practices, they are likely to label a garment as sustainably made or made with ethical labor. This is known as “greenwashing”.
Which, in my opinion, if you don’t have the entire truth, it’s a lie.
5. How Can YOU Support Sustainable Fashion Design
I’ve laid out a lot of reasons why it’s challenging for the average consumer to know if a garment they are purchasing, falls in line with sustainable values. However, there is one thing we can do, and that is to try our best.
You shouldn’t have to research the entire supply chain and labor polices every time you need a new item. However, here are some easy things you can do.
Wear and Take Care
Wearing clothing you already own is the best thing you can do to support sustainability in fashion. Natural fiber or not, you have it in your closet, so wear it!
Often, the reason we want something is because it’s trendy or we have been influenced by others. I’m all for trends and keeping a fresh wardrobe, but you have to apply some critical thinking.
Is the trendy piece something that will align with the rest of your wardrobe? Will the item physically last and not fall apart? If you waited a month to purchase this item, would you still want it? Lastly, DO YOU LIKE IT? Seriously, I don’t think people can distinguish between liking an item and just following a trend.
The other component of this is simply taking care of your wardrobe. Follow the instructions on the tag and look up videos on how to take care of specific garments. Sometimes things don’t last simply because they went through the dryer.
Fabric Composition
There are many wonderful sustainable fashion brands out there, however the price can be a deterrent for the average consumer. Sometimes you need a new white T-shirt to get by until you inevitably stain it, so places like H&M are your best bet.
You can still do something to follow the principles of sustainable fashion design! Check the tags and see if the garment is composed of natural fibers such as cotton, linen, or wool. Avoid the item if it is primarily composed of polyester or nylon.
Use your best judgment. Sometimes synthetic fibers are required for the piece to maintain integrity, but you would be surprised at how many fully natural fiber garments are out there!
Buying Second-hand
Thrifting is all the rage these days, but it actually isn’t my go-to. It can be great and you can find some GEMS for sure!
However, for a lot of people, there may not be a local thrift or vintage store at all. The local store you may have, could also be filled with pieces that aren’t in great shape. If you’re trying to build a wardrobe primarily consisting of natural fibers, a SHEIN packed thrift store may not always be the move.
That being said, I’ve gotten some wonderful pieces from thrift and vintage stores. Sometimes, there may be a small defect, but my sewing skills have not failed yet! You can also take a garment you love to your local tailor or dry cleaner. Dry cleaning businesses often have a service for small repairs.
Famous Sustainable Fashion Brands
The top sustainable brands not only hit the sustainability mark, but also should be widely available and fashionable.
Although the first image in your head when you think about sustainable fashion is a white tee, blue jeans and different shades of beige, it doesn’t have to be that way! Luckily, a lot of trendy brands are now accessible.
There are certainly pieces that aren’t cheap from the fashion brands below, but these are the most affordable, ethical clothing brands that offer style.
1. Everlane – Everlane is best known for its wardrobe basics and transparent materials, pricing, and labor practices. These are one of the few sustainable brands that run sales regularly!
2. Reformation – My favorite store to dress shop! They seriously have some dresses for all occasions. Reformation also carries a good supply of basics. Currently, their website is mapping our their sustainability commitment out to 2030.
3. Sézane – A French fashion brand know for it’s solid staples. Reviews are currently mixed as this brand has great reputation, but others claim quality has slowly gone down in recent years. Regardless, they’re still one of the most widely known sustainable brands, I’ll let you be the judge.
4. Whimsy and Row – This California based fashion brand sources their clothes locally around LA in small batches, as to avoid production waste. Not only do I love the clothes they curate, but they also have a GREAT breakdown of all the fabrics they use and why!
5. Damson Madder – Love, love, love this fashion designer! DM does a great job of taking basics and adding a twist. I personally own a denim vest of theirs (styled below) and love how unique it is compared to other denim vests out there! Their focus is on making garments to fit and flatter, rather than catering to every fashion trend that sticks around for 2 weeks. the plunge!
6. Lisa Says Gah – This online boutique has some funky designs! Lisa Says Gah relies on deadstock fabric and natural fibers for their designs. They have really cute collections!! They also feature other brands, such as Damson Madder.
7. Lucy & Yak – If you’re looking for funky styles and a pair of dungarees, Lucy & Yak is the shop for you! They’re dedicated to using natural and deadstock fabrics for their small batch production.
8. Patagonia – Patagonia is an outdoors company that takes accountability for what goes into production of their outdoor gear. They hold huge sustainability campaigns and have always been dedicated to preserving what they’re built for: the great outdoors. Their pieces are built to last and the cool patterns and colors they design are pretty sweet too!
9. Cotopaxi – Another great outdoors fashion brand dedicated to giving back and taking accountability! Cotopaxi is well known for their color block designs which I think looks amazing when styled. Everything they make has just that extra fashionable edge!
10. Cuyana – Cuyana is a fashion and leather goods brand with sustainable fashion design in mind. Their 100% leather handbags and totes are sourced from sustainable materials and made from small suppliers and craftspeople. I’ve been eyeing one of their totes for 5 years, I think maybe I just need to take the plunge!
This post was all about sustainable fashion design.
Sustainable fashion design can be confusing. It feels nearly impossible to know if something was ethically and sustainably made. But don’t beat yourself up. By simply pausing and taking a look at the fabric tag of a item of clothing you wish to purchase, and checking if its composition of natural fibers and evaluating if you will enjoy and take care of the item in the long term, you are bettering the planet.
