We all shop and do so without considering where all this clothes come from and what goes into making it. One of the main problems with conventional clothing production is that it relies on fast fashion, which is a business model that prioritizes speed and low cost over quality and ethics. Fast fashion produces large amounts of cheap clothes that are often discarded after a few wears, contributing to issues like pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and even human rights violation in its production.
Sustainable clothing aims to counteract these issues by using natural, organic, or recycled materials that are biodegradable or reusable. For example, some sustainable fabrics include cotton, hemp, linen, bamboo, wool, silk etc. These materials require less water and chemicals when compared to synthetic fabrics like polyester or nylon. Sustainable clothing also involves ethical practices such as fair trade, fair wages, and safe working conditions.
When cloths are cheap and not long lasting, this pushes the consumer to shop more frequently and contribute greater to waste. Sustainable clothing can benefit both consumers and the planet by offering better quality products that last longer. By choosing sustainable clothing brands you can help reduce your environmental footprint and put your consumer vote towards ethical fashion. Considering sustainable clothing, shoes, hats or bags help shape the fashion industry to be more mindful.
It’s worth noting that a high price tag does not equate to higher ethical and sustainability standards. Luxury brands are notorious for their lack of transparency in their manufacturing and supply chain which is often linked to slave-labor and animal cruelty. The good news is that often when these brands are exposed, consumers demanded these high-profiting companies do better, resulting in greater pressure to invest in more ethical production and materials in all their product lines.
We all need clothing that's for sure, but shopping for clothes doesn’t have to contribute to some of societies biggest problems with over-production, waste, or harm. There are now more than ever plenty of options to decrease your carbon footprint, not harm animals, consume less, and still look great doing so.
For more information about clothing brands the site GoodOnYou provides a search option so you can find your favorite brands and see how they are rated in terms of people, planet and animals, while SustainableChic provides a long list of sustainable fashion brands.