Sustainability in the fashion industry is growing increasingly performative
By Zoë Waechter ‘21
With the fashion industry accounting for 10% of global carbon emissions and 20% of waste water, creating a sustainable and “green” image has become important for fashion companies. Brands like H&M and Zara (including its parent company Inditex) promote their dedication to combating the impact that their products have on climate change, but is any progress being made?
The problem of wastefulness is deeply rooted in today's fashion culture. Shannon Whitehead Lorh, Founder of Factory45, an online accelerator program for sustainable fashion companies, explained this phenomenon in the Huffington Post.
“Once upon a time, there were two fashion seasons: Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter. Fast forward to 2014 and the fashion industry is churning out 52 "micro-seasons" per year,” said Lorth.
To increase demand, brands create
short-lived trends within a brief amount of time, “With new trends coming out every week, the goal of fast fashion is for consumers to buy as many garments as possible, as quickly as possible” she said.
Liam Dwyer, a Catlin Gabel School (CGS) junior, points out how fast fashion has altered people’s expectations of how much clothing should cost.
“‘Greenwashing,’ or brands acting sustainable to be trendy, is really common, and many people have been conditioned by fast fashion and consumption culture to believe new clothes should cost $10-$20,” said Dwyer. “Those clothes are what are contributing to a majority of pollution as well underpaying their workers, packaging and shipping in non-eco-friendly ways, and producing clothes with materials that are often really poor quality.”
As Dwyer noted, “greenwashing” is when companies convey false information about how environmentally friendly their products are.
Heather Frazier, the owner of the small clothing business Frazier + Wing, also commented on sustainability in the industry, “There is a lot of ‘green washing’ and marketing BS in the fashion industry. Good intentions need to be backed up with a commitment to massive change,” said Frazier in an interview via email. “There is so much excess in the fashion and garment industry. It’s appalling,” she said.
Katie Wei, a CGS alum and former intern of Alexa Stark (a small-business fashion designer), commented on the industry.
“In terms of business, I feel like being sustainable is actually a good business strategy because a lot of us are hopping onto sustainable practices,” said Wei. “Consumers are becoming more and more aware of the fact that fast fashion business is not good.”
She also pointed out that although some businesses may have good intentions, the fashion industry in general is unsustainable, saying, “How can you truly call yourself a sustainable company when you’re still taking more resources from the Earth than you’re able to replenish?”
While consumers wait for companies and brands to create more sustainable systems, some people turn to other options.
Online consignment platforms have risen in popularity among younger people. Apps and websites like Depop, Poshmark, and thredUP provide a substitute for consuming fast fashion. However, prices have risen as these stores have become trendy. Some people have even built businesses from buying clothes from thrift stores and reselling them for inflated prices. Forgoing the curated clothing collections and buying straight from thrift stores is a cheaper alternative, but some argue that this could harm other people.
“I think that thrifting is a really good way to get lots of clothes for cheap, but nowadays it's really inaccessible to the people who actually need cheap clothing,” Dwyer pointed out.
But not everyone agrees with this. Halley Kate, a teenager who creates fashion content on her TikTok, argues on her platform that there is a surplus of clothing being fed into thrift stores.
“Thrift stores receive all their inventory for free, and because of fast fashion, they get so many new donations every day,” said Kate. “If prices are rising, it's due to inflation or CEOs being greedy.” She also called attention to what happens to the clothes that aren’t bought at places like Goodwill; they go to the Goodwill bins, are auctioned off, or are taken to the landfill.
“We need people to shop at thrift stores,” said Kate.
The rising consumer demand for more sustainable practices will hopefully encourage all businesses to become more aware of their impact on the Earth and create a new, more conscientious fashion culture.
If you don’t feel safe going to thrift stores at this time, and/or want to support more sustainably-minded brands, here is a resource list for you:
For Days: “For Days helps you keep clothing out of landfill and helps the world be more sustainable. Our soft organic basics are 100% recyclable and you save 700 gallons of water every time you up-cycle one. We invite you to really live in your clothes and when they stain, rip, or stretch, send them back for discounts on new clothes. We do the rest. Zero Waste. Zero Worry.”
Threads 4 Thought: “Our clothing is made from regenerated beech trees, organic cotton, recycled plastic bottles and fishing nets. This means only the best, for you and our planet.”
Cider: “Fashion should delight the planet, not pollute it. At Cider, we’re making smart production choices. Powered by Al forecasting that helps us predict how many garments to produce– we’re able to cut down at least two-thirds of waste caused by unsold inventory.”
Boody: “Boody thoughtfully fits your everyday life with the softest, most comfortable clothing essentials. We do this using naturally grown, organic bamboo. From the fabrics we use, to how we design, craft and deliver our products; we work to deliver easy-to-wear pieces you can feel good about.”
Girlfriend: “Did you know almost all synthetic activewear is made from plastic? We just make ours with materials that would otherwise clog landfills and pollute the earth. It all starts with 100% post-consumer water bottles that have their labels removed, are crushed into billions of miniscule chips, and then washed until they’re sparkling clean.”
Groceries Apparel: The ingredients that they use are organic cotton, eucalyptus, recycled plastic, hemp, recycled cotton and vegetable dye.
Tala: “Slow fashion. Sustainable style.”
Knickey: “We believe standards are made to be raised. So we skipped the pesticides and petroleum-based fabrics that make up most women’s underwear drawers and went with a natural-born winner. Our undies are made from clean, cool, certified organic cotton—so you and your lady parts can breathe easy.”
Plant Faced Clothing: “We are streetwear minus the sweatshop. We make wearable threads that don’t hurt the earth. We aren’t tree huggers, but we plant them with your purchases. We are ethical, cruelty-free clothing. We aim to spread messages and start conversations. We aim to be more than a brand - we are the Plant Movement.”
Kotn: “Our mission is to set the standard for conscious creation and consumption. Developing products around the principles of considered design, relentless quality, honest value, and positive impact.”
Siizu: “Our philosophy is simple. To design and deliver beautiful, high-quality apparel made with sustainable manufacturing practices directly to you at an affordable price point.”
EcoVibe Style: “We take time and care to consider where and how things are made, who makes them and what they are made out of. We support local designers, women, minority and family owned businesses and small makers and manufacturers. We are a community-focused business that gives back to local environmental organizations through community-based events, classes and workshops. We donate 1% of all of our online sales to local non-profit 1% For The Planet members, in order to ensure that we are always giving back to environmental causes. We believe living a sustainable lifestyle shouldn't be a privilege. It should be accessible to all.”
Tentree: “We believe that big change starts small. Whether you’re bringing eco-bags to the grocery store (when you remember), or have a fancy reusable water bottle, we are here to celebrate the small wins. At tentree, we empower everyone to plant trees with their purchases, while offering sustainably made products for everyone to enjoy.”
Conscious Step: “Conscious step is committed to lasting social and environmental change. Every step we take in our production process supports farms and factories with fair wages, safe facilities, and sustainable materials.”
Free Label: “Free Label was founded in 2015 by Jess Sternberg in an effort to create beautiful, comfortable and sustainably focused clothing in a system where everyone gets paid fairly. We manufacture sizes XS-4X all in small batches.”
Hara the Label: “Our mission as a label is to bring change and awareness to the human and environmental issues within the fashion industry while creating sustainable soft dreamy bamboo underwear that’s both rejuvenating and empowering.”
Proclaim: “Proclaim is an inclusive nude lingerie line made in Los Angeles from Earth-conscious fabrics. We are founded on the principles that fashion should represent all women and can be made in a way that does good for people and the planet. Proclaim is expanding the definition of nude, one ethically made bra at a time.”
Alternatives to local thrift shops:
Thredup: ThreadUp is one of the world’s largest online consignment stores.
Etsy: And of course Etsy is a perfect substitute for Amazon
Poshmark: Online consignment store
Depop: Another online consignment store, similar to Poshmark