Your Role in Sustainable Fashion: Wear Clothing that Defines You
Consumers play a pivotal role in influencing fashion trends. More than just influencing the style of shoe or top popular in a given season, consumer choices can drive significant changes in industry practices. Brands crave loyal customers, and if more consumers take actionable steps toward embracing sustainable fashion, the fast fashion sector will lose its market share, thus breaking a harmful cycle.
Break Up with Fast Fashion
The most impactful action consumers can take to promote sustainable fashion is to break up with fast fashion. While buying clothes from chain stores or online fast fashion retailers might be convenient and cheaper, the hidden costs are enormous. These include hazardous chemicals, exponential waste, and greenhouse gas emissions. By rejecting fast fashion, consumers can decrease demand, making these harmful operations unsustainable. Counting the true cost of fast fashion is a powerful step towards supporting sustainable and ethical fashion.
Transition to a Sustainable Wardrobe
Transitioning to a sustainable wardrobe involves embracing sustainable and ethical fashion brands and redefining your wardrobe concept. The average Australian buys 56 items of clothing annually, mostly made from non-sustainable and non-durable materials, making Australia the second-highest consumer of textiles per person after the United States. With 23 kilograms of clothing sent to Australian landfills each year, it’s crucial to shift ideas around wardrobes.
A capsule wardrobe is an excellent approach. Rather than buying numerous items, a capsule wardrobe focuses on being a minimalist consumer. This doesn’t mean having fewer garments for different occasions or being seen as an outfit repeater. Instead, capsule wardrobes promote buying versatile clothing that can be mixed and matched to create both casual and formal pieces. This approach emphasises quality over quantity, ensuring each piece is durable and timeless.
Know the Common Certifications that Identify an Ethical Brand
When purchasing sustainable and ethical fashion items, it’s essential to recognise certifications that denote environmentally and socially friendly garments and brands.
- Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS): Indicates the use of organic fibres and textiles.
- Certified B Corporation: Highlights a business that practices environmental and social justice.
- Leaping Bunny: Signifies adherence to cruelty-free standards concerning animals.
- Rainforest Alliance Certification: Denotes fair pay, good working conditions for farmers, and adherence to environmental management procedures.
Be Part of the Community
Understanding the true impact of the fashion industry on the environment and society often surprises everyday consumers. Being informed enables better, environmentally conscious decisions. To gain this knowledge, it’s crucial to be part of the community. By reading articles, researching brands, and signing up for newsletters, you gain firsthand access to insights and actionable steps toward change.
Engaging with ethical and sustainable brands is vital for environmental friendliness, social cohesion, and has a tangible human impact. Consumers worldwide can make a significant difference by supporting these brands.
FAQs
Is ethical clothing expensive?
Compared to fast fashion, sustainable and ethical clothing is more expensive due to efforts to reduce waste and chemical usage, leading to the use of premium materials and smaller stock levels, but also the payment of living wages and smaller production runs. However, ethical clothing offers a great cost-per-wear ratio. Its durability ensures multiple wears compared to fast fashion items that deteriorate quickly.
How to identify ethical clothing?
Look for GOTS, Certified B Corporation, Leaping Bunny, and Rainforest Alliance Certification certifications. Researching a brand’s website for environmental impact statements also helps identify ethical clothing brands. Good On You also has a solid brand guide lending itself to a more credible consumer experience.
How can I verify the sustainability claims of a fashion brand?
Check the materials used in production. The presence of recycled cotton and hemp indicates responsible fabric choices. Additionally, a brand’s transparency in its supply chain is crucial. Transparency shows that a brand has nothing to hide about its sourcing and production processes.
Why is it important for consumers to support sustainable and ethical fashion?
Supporting sustainable and ethical fashion breaks the cycle that unsustainable fashion brands thrive on. Choosing sustainable clothing signals to the industry that environmental concerns outweigh price points and brand allure.
What changes can consumers expect if they switch to ethical and sustainable clothing?
The most noticeable differences are quality and durability. Ethical and sustainable clothing uses better quality materials free from hazardous toxins, and its durability ensures a longer lifespan for each item, whether it's jeans, a t-shirt, or shoes. Plus, you will enjoy your clothing more knowing that you, the people who made and the planet benefited in the process.
