When it comes to “sustainable fashion,” there are many definitions, each looking at the environmental impact of the fashion industry from a different perspective. The main goal of all these approaches and different ways to measure is to reduce the impact of apparel production and waste on the environment.
How can the fashion industry lessen that impact? Different materials, metrics and ways to address the apparel industry’s impact are part of the discussion.Organic clothes are produced from natural materials grown from non-GMO seeds without the use of pesticides or fertilizer. While cotton might be the most widely known and used material, bamboo, hemp, wool and linen are other fibers that can be grown organically.
Organic Content Standard, or OCS, looks at organic fibers in a textile throughout the entire supply chain, but has less focus on chemicals and working conditions.Beware greenwashing here where brands use the word “green” or even colored labels to imply that a garment is made of organic materials.While brands are installing “take-back” boxes in their stores to encourage recycling, the tech and facilities to recycle clothes are actually pretty limited.
There’s progress being made on recycled fabrics, but still a long way to go until they make up a large portion of fashion’s production.Next-gen leather alternatives are helping the fashion industry reduce the carbon emissions from the greenhouse gas and resource-intensive cattle industry. There are leathers made from grapes, cactus, mango or pineapple that can be made into garments or accessories.
Big brands are looking for new solutions, but most of the technology is still in the research and development stage, or early-stage growth with a few hero items under their belt. Many companies are scaling up with factories and bigger production facilities on the horizon.
Keeping things circular is an important key in the sustainable fashion debate. The ever-growing use of natural resources and extractive production, like using oil to make polyester or cutting down trees to make rayon/viscose, so keeping existing textiles in use as long as possible is more sustainable.Upcycling is another method of keeping something in circulation by repurposing the original garment.