Sustainable fashion can be confusing. Is it vegan? Ethically produced? Environmentally friendly? Fair-trade? Is it a catch-all term for anything that relates to fashion that isn’t fast? The short answer is that it can be all those things. The long answer is that it’s much more complicated than that. Sustainable fashion pertains to the sourcing, production and distribution of the garment.
The lifespan of a piece of clothing must be looked at from start to finish. It means understanding that organic cotton is better than regular cotton, as it doesn’t use pesticides or harmful chemicals that are bad for the skin. Also, manmade fabrics (such as polyester) are damaging to the environment, as they’re often made from plastic and are nonbiodegradable. While leather can be eco-friendly, it can still impact the environment due to the chemicals used to finish it.
Then there’s the production: Are the clothes being made in an environment that’s safe for workers? For example, some synthetic dyes can be toxic to people using them during the manufacturing process and can cause health problems. Adding to this, another good question to ask is if the workers are paid fairly and correctly. Then, once made, how far is the garment travelling? What kind of carbon footprint in the brand creating?
