What is sustainable fashion?
Sustainable fashion operates on the triple
bottom line in which profits, social impact, and environmental impact are given
equal consideration.
I’m coming across many people who are wanting to
minimise the footprint of their wardrobe and the great majority of them are Gen
Y.
With a commitment that extends beyond fabric selection
alone, Sustainable Fashion provides the ultimate in desirable garments, all
while minimising the footprint of your wardrobe. It’s about smart modern design that
considers the full lifecycle of a product commencing at design and continuing
right through to shipping and wear.
So, here’s my take on what it all means to the
consumer.
Design – Clever design is crucial to
enable a garment to navigate its way through to many occasions in your life and
look different with accessorising and how the garment is styled. My research shows that we will pay more for
this garment. Fewer, clever garments are
what I call ‘success’. This also ensures
it does not end up in land fill where all the cheap garments go when they die,
soon after they were purchased …… A sustainable designer is one who is aware of
environmental challenges to enable them to design ‘smarter’ and impact in a
positive way rather than the negative alternative.
Fabric – Pre laundering the fabric before
cutting and making is key. It reduces
shrinkage and removes excess dye from the garment. Smart designers work with fabrics that will
suit your lifestyle. They consider the
cost per wear and the fact that this may well be your ‘go to’ piece. This means it needs to be tough. The fabric will also need to feel good on the
body and work effortlessly for you.
Good design takes all this into account.
Taking it to another level with fabric is insisting on
natural fibres such as organic cotton, sustainable bamboo and ethical merino
wool.
Laundering – the largest environmental impact
is potentially in the care of the garment.
Dry cleaning is not environmentally friendly so our best option is a
garment that can be washed in cold water with an eco-friendly detergent. Fabrics that don’t need ironing get an
additional tick.
Made in ? – Where your garment is designed
and made is important. Garments made in
Australia are produced ethically and workers are protected under Fair Work
laws. Nike ‘supports’ women, but not its
workers in China. After record growth in
1997, their sales took a massive hit in 1998 due to poor treatment of 400,000
Asian workers in sweatshops. This forced
them to spend 2 billion on marketing to rebuild their reputation. A decade later and they had cleaned up their
act. They were not the only ones to be
caught in this situation. Once consumers
know what’s going on, they vote with their wallets.
Due to the demand for ‘fast fashion’ some design
houses are still using cheap production and labour. I believe if consumers understood, they could
be persuaded to shop smarter. Zara, Top
Shop, Supre, Millers, Kmart, Target & Big W are fast fashion retailers. Most of them will fall apart after a few
wears. You really do get what you pay
for. Purchase quality and you will be in
front of your friend who has to repurchase fast fashion many times over.
Packaging – Plastic packaging is never a
winner for sustainability. When you next
go shopping, consider if you really need that plastic bag for the tiny item you
are about to purchase. Seriously, think
about that one.
Social Impact – Is the clothing label aligned
with a charity partner? Some designers
sell a tote bag for $3 which goes straight to a charity. Others pass on 5% of each sale. At Image Quest, all raffle proceeds in our
Conscious Styling Seminars goes straight to the nominated charity of choice. Consumers are interested in this level of
social impact. Fashion houses don’t want
to be left behind. Australian corporates
are streets ahead in this field.
Therefore, while some companies seem to be taking a step in the right direction, the fashion industry still has a long road to travel before reaching sustainability, but we have to start somewhere eh?
Keen to hear your thoughts on how you shop.
