What is Sustainable Fashion?
Before we dig into the topic, I will give you a short story about how the jeans were made.
We all love jeans. We loved them so much that in 2014 we bought 1.2 billion pairs of jeans worldwide.
What did it take to make each of these 1.2 billion jeans? First, there's cotton.
What does it take to grow cotton? As a US cotton farmer, they would use 40% of our budget on fuel and machinery. This is the first carbon footprint of our jeans, emitting CO2 and other greenhouse gases. Cotton is considered to be the world's dirtiest craft. It consumes 16% of the world's pesticides.
After the cotton is harvested, the crop is cleaned and sent to China where most of the world's jeans are made. The cotton transformed into yarn. Yarn is then dyed with petroleum-based indigo and other substances, and the dying process needs tons of water. And it ends up in nearby rivers affecting food farming, plantations, and the water supply of cities.
Then the fiber is woven into fabric and sent to factories where it gets cut and sewed. Sadly, workers in garment factories are still among the lowest-paid labor forces in the world.
After that jeans undergo the process of sandblasting, bleaching, acid, and coding to give a finishing look. And it needs 5.000 liters of water. Once done, the jeans travel to the distribution center by boat and track. Probably to your local store and you buy it for $45 for a pair of jeans.
From the story above, we can see why fashion can be an extremely profitable industry and also one of the most polluting industries in the world. We are very much involved in bad consumption behavior. The enjoyment of buying something new, again and again. But it has implications. Because the textile Industry can create a lot of waste and a heavy toll on the environment.
However, nowadays more and more brands and designers are concerned about how to achieve eco-conscious and utilize sustainable fabrics in their clothing.
How to start the sustainable journey as a consumer
We must have awareness as a consumer, and we need to change our consumptive behavior. Buy less or recycle our old clothes. Support brands who start concerned about sustainability in their fashion.
Which brands have committed to achieving sustainability in their fashion :
Here are some designers and brands that I've found from any sources that claimed to have awareness of sustainability:
- Many top Haute Couture designers like Vivienne Westwood, Prada, Katie Jones, and Auria. They have pledged to eliminate their carbon footprint.
- And for the Mass Market brands there are :
1. UNIQLO
Uniqlo uses better-quality materials and this brand also partnered with the Better Cotton Initiative to show its dedication to sustainability to reduce the climate impact of cotton farming. Uniqlo is also famous for promoting the well-being of its factory worker.
2. MANGO
Mango has concerned about the quality of its clothing. The company claims that its materials are 44% sustainable. But they don't disclose their suppliers or wage rate.
3. PUMA
Puma claims that its company has sustainability efforts and they have some thoughts on communicating sustainability to consumers. And the brands make sure that the products are manufactured in factories where human rights and labor rights are observed and respected.
If you have information about other brands that have committed to sustainability, please share them with us in the comments below ;)
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