Sustainable Fashion

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.