[Article Round Up] A student’s guide to sustainable fashion #Sustainablefashion #Ethicalfashion #Fashion #Environment

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eco fashion, eco-friendly, Environment, environment-friendly, environmental challenges, environmental concerns, environmental impact, Environmental impacts, Environmental initiatives, Environmental Sustainability, environmentalism, environmentally-friendly, Ethical consumption, ethical fashion, Ethical Living, ethical shopping, fast fashion, Slow fashion, sustainability, sustainable, Sustainable consumption, sustainable fashion, sustainable lifestyle, sustainable living

How to make ethical and eco-friendly clothing choices

“In recent decades, the fashion sector has managed to become one of the most damaging industries in the world on both a social and environmental level. Clothing companies turn over stock at rapid speeds and low prices in what is known as ‘fast fashion’ in order to attract large volumes of business and make the high profits they desire. This tactic results in vast quantities of clothing ending up in landfills.

In order for companies to maintain the low prices that western consumers demand, they outsource manufacturing to the global south to employ workers who earn meager wages and work in dangerous conditions. While many are aware of these injustices, it often feels overwhelming for those of us embedded in fast fashion and consumer culture to address this issue.

Here is a compilation of tips to help you promote a more ethical and sustainable clothing industry through your daily habits, thereby making the process of instigating change a less daunting task.”

Full article here: https://thevarsity.ca/2017/09/18/a-students-guide-to-sustainable-fashion/

7 Eco-Friendly & Sustainable Ideas to Embrace Your Fashionable Side, Without a Big Budget #Ethicalfashion #Fashion #Sustainability #Environment #Eco

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#Fairtrade, changing fashion trends, eco fashion, eco-friendly, environment-friendly, Environmental awareness, environmental consciousness, environmental impact, Environmental initiatives, environmentalism, environmentally responsible, ethical consumerism, Ethical consumption, ethical fashion, Ethical lifestyle, Ethical Living, Fashion, fast fashion, recycle, reduce, reuse, sustainability, sustainable, Sustainable consumption, sustainable fashion, sustainable lifestyle, sustainable living

Written by Sohini Dey for http://www.thebetterindia.com/

In this blog, the author has written an excellent piece on steps that you and I can take to support a movement towards slow and sustainable fashion:

Full article from: http://www.thebetterindia.com/98881/slow-sustainable-fashion/

“Promoting fair wages and minimal waste, slow and sustainable fashion demands change in the way we perceive clothing”

A friend of this writer once said, “I will just have to reconcile with children in sweatshops making the clothes I wear; after all, who can argue with cheaper prices more affordable.” Needless to say, the listener was horrified. With increasing awareness, more people are now making an effort to live less wasteful lives—yet we sometimes fall woefully short when it comes to clothing choices.

This is the age of fast fashion—trends change every few weeks, or less, and brands keep up by churning out new designs at alarming speed.

Fashion has, over the years become associated with excess and frivolity but beneath the surface the simple fact is that clothing is essential to our lives. There is much to value about fashion (and that is a subject for an entirely different article) but some of its trends and practices can certainly be changed for the better.

Slow fashion is slowly (pun intended) taking over, and its principles are simple—fair wages, eco-friendly fabrics and practices, and minimal to zero waste. But it does demand change in the way we perceive clothing.

From keeping your shopping habits in control to knowing about the supply chain of your favoured brands, a conscious interest in your clothes—and their makers—not only has a positive impact on the environment but also the communities engaged in the production of clothing. Here is what you can do to be part of the slow and sustainable fashion movement.

1. Reduce your wardrobe to only what you need and love

To begin with, keep your shopping habits in check. Retail therapy may be happiness-inducing, but its long-term effect usually includes a pile of unused clothes in our wardrobes. Instead, shop with discretion and buy only what you need or like enough to wear often.
If an occasion demands an ensemble that you will never wear otherwise, consider borrowing or use clothing rentals, an emerging trend that some suggest will pose a grave threat to fast fashion brands in the future.

2. Your choice of materials makes a difference

Take cotton for instance, a crop that is both water- and chemical-intensive. In the ongoing drought across numerous states of India, cotton farmers are among the hardest-hit.

However, organic cotton is gaining ground—not only does it require less water but also substantially less chemicals. On the other hand, Ahimsa or vegan silks are becoming popular as conventional silks raise questions about boiling silkworms to produce the threads. Handspun khadi and traditional techniques are being revived and internationally, bamboo, recycled fabrics and hemp are becoming popular over synthetics.

3. Say no to sweatshops, breeding grounds of labour exploitation

Cheap clothing always a welcome addition to wardrobes, but it often comes at great human cost. In 2013, Rana Plaza in Bangladesh collapsed in a heap, killing 1,134 people all of whom were making clothes for international brands under strenuous conditions. And this is not a stray incident—news reports frequently bring the exploitative working conditions in sweatshops to light.

If a brand, no matter how aspirational or abounding in gorgeous clothes, is repeatedly in the news for malpractices, ditch them for fair-trade labels or factories that conform to regulations for workers safety and other standards.

If enough people refuse to invest in such brands, the industry will be compelled to regulate the measures for workers’ welfare.

4. Ask this: Who made my clothes?

The previous point naturally leads to this one. Remember that prices aren’t the overriding factor in determining whether your clothes are sustainable or not — a great deal of luxury products aren’t always ethical and many surprisingly cheap products often are. It is important to check the supply chain of the brand you purchase from and most importantly, pose the question, “Who made my clothes?”

5. Buy local, and support fair-trade and craft clusters that practice sustainable techniques

Buying local keeps your carbon footprint lower—after all, your clothes haven’t travelled the world to reach your wardrobe. Second, it is a means of sustenance for local weavers and artisans. India is home to countless handlooms and crafts and unfortunately, many of them are dwindling. These karigars need patronage and support for their craft traditions to continue. Many shoppers are ditching big brands for handlooms and old techniques are being revived by designers and organisations to be relevant in contemporary times.

6. How you use your clothes affects your carbon footprint

Washing and drying your clothes might keep them clean, but also increases your carbon footprint and reduces the lifespan of your clothes drastic. Now the solutions: use non-toxic detergent, hand wash as much as possible and remember that air drying is better than the spin tub.
Most of all, wear your clothes more than once before washing. In a tropical country, this can be challenging especially in the heat, but choosing airy fabrics and air drying them can solve the problem to some extent.

7. Finally: recycle, upcycle and donate

While many of us are increasingly conscious about the immortality of plastic, landfills are also choked by immense quantities of clothing.While organuc fabrics are bio-degradable, synthetics may not be so. There’s also the questions of plastic and other non bio-degradable items that make their way into clothing via buttons, zips and other fixtures.

Instead of tossing old clothes, considering repairing them or donating to someone in need. A number of NGOs and other organisations can make use of old clothes in crafting refurbished products as well.

Davos 2017: Sustainability on the Agenda #sustainability #Davos2017

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Blog, climate change, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Davos, Environment, ethical fashion, Ethical lifestyle, Fashion, fast fashion, Gifting, SDGs, Slow fashion, sustainability, sustainable fashion, United Nations, WEF, World Economic Forum

From January 20-23, global leaders, CEOS, governments and senior UN officials will gather in a small mountain town in Switzerland for the 2017 World Economic Forum (WEF). In Davos, these leaders will debate and address the questions and challenges our world faces.

One area where we are keen to see progress is the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are officially known as Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The SDGs are a set of 17 aspirational and global goals:

Source: World Economic Forum

Ahead of their meeting, the WEF released their global risks report, compiling the views of 750 experts,. Within this report, it is documented that climate change and the potential for extreme weather events are among some of the world’s biggest threats.

Unsurprisingly, there will be a session at Davos that will be focused on how public-private partnerships will be able to push the agenda around the SDGs forward. As global economic growth permanently slows down, the conversation around the global economy will also be a key factor in determining how we will be able to achieve the commitments made through the SDGs and the Paris Climate Agreement.

So while the obvious topics focused around Trump, Brexit and China will dominate the media headlines, we will be eagerly awaiting to hear more about what comes out from this topic at Davos.

 

2017: International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development #Sustainability #Tourism

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2017, Blog, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Environment, ethical fashion, Ethical lifestyle, Fashion, fast fashion, Gifting, New Year, Slow fashion, sustainability, sustainable fashion, Tourism, Travel, United Nations

“With more than one billion international tourists now traveling the world each year, tourism has become a powerful and transformative force that is making a genuine difference in the lives of millions of people. The potential of tourism for sustainable development is considerable.  As one of the world’s leading employment sectors, tourism provides important livelihood opportunities, helping to alleviate poverty and drive inclusive development.”
– United Nations Secretary-General, Banki-moon
  World Tourism Day Message, 2015

The United Nations has designated 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, with the aim of encouraging changes “in policies, business practices and consumer behavior towards a more sustainable tourism sector than can contribute to the SDGs”. This includes the following 5 areas:

(1)        Inclusive and sustainable economic growth

(2)        Social inclusiveness, employment and poverty reduction

(3)        Resource efficiency, environmental protection and climate change

(4)        Cultural values, diversity and heritage

(5)        Mutual understanding, peace and security.

This is an exciting step in the direction towards global sustainability, as tourism dollars account for so much of global spending. By supporting local artisans and considering the impact our consumer behaviours have on the areas we visit, we can have a dramatic impact on the world around us.

Do a quick google search on sustainable tourism and you will find tons of good material to help you plan your next trip. As you travel, be sure to take in the local artisanal work and appreciate all that the unique cultures around the world have to offer!

Cheers to 2017 and to the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development!

To learn more, go to: http://www2.unwto.org/tourism4development2017

 

How to Engage with Ethical Fashion | Clara Vuletich | #TEDxSydney #ethicalfashion #sustainable #fashion

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#buyethical, Change, consumerism, eco fashion, eco-friendly, ecological impact, Environment, environmentalism, environmentally-friendly, ethical consumerism, ethical fashion, ethically-made, fair trade, fair wages, fast fashion, Garment lifecycle, Recycled Fashion, social change, Social consumerism, social impact, socially-made, sustainability, sustainable, sustainable fashion, sustainable lifestyle, sustainably-made

What do you know about the clothes in your wardrobe? About the clothes that you’re wearing right now? Clara Vuletich works with some of the biggest brands in the world to help them ask the right questions about where the clothes that we wear come from.

[Article Round Up] Analysis: Fast fashion comes at a steep price for the environment #ethicalfashion #environment #fastfashion

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#buyethical, Change, climate change, eco-friendly, eco-friendly fashion, ecological impact, economic development, Environment, environmental consciousness, environmental impact, Environmental Sustainability, environmentalism, environmentally-friendly, ethical consumerism, ethical fashion, ethically-made, fair trade, fair wages, Fashion, Fashion Ecosystem, fast fashion, Planet-friendly, social change, social impact, socially-made, sustainability, sustainable, sustainable fashion, sustainably-made

Written by Michael Shank, adjunct assistant professor at New York University’s Center for Global Affairs, and Maxine Bédat, CEO and co-founder of Zady for MSNBC

“There are few industries fickler than fashion, changing annually and swapping seasonally. The good news is that fashion can, in theory, change more quickly than the energy or agricultural industries, for example. And when it comes to tackling climate change, agility and the ability to rapidly retool practices will be essential attributes of the most resilient and sustainable industries.

This is how Emma Watson’s recent take on waste — she appeared at a red carpet New York City gala wearing a dress made entirely of trash — could herald a new trend for fashion. Or at least, it should, because we’re rapidly approaching “peak stuff” with bursting consumer closets that are unsustainable by any measure.

Most clothes are worn, on average, only seven times before they’re discarded, forcing an astonishing150 billion new clothing items to be made annually. Thank “fast fashion,” a business model based on the fabrication of hyper trends and clothing that doesn’t last for consumers to accumulate. But given limited natural resources and the urgent need to protect what remains from further apparel-driven pollution, the cutting edge in fashion will soon need to trend and tack towards something more people- and planet-friendly.

Getting clothing cheap enough for the fashion industry’s disposable model has required massive amounts of cheap material and cheap labor — both of which came with devastatingly high and unaccounted-for costs.

First, the push for low prices led to cheap material. Polyester is the worst: It’s a plastic made from fossil fuels and found in 50 percent of all clothing. It’s enormously energy intensive and doesn’t bio-degrade, making for a catastrophic carbon and environmental footprint. In outsourcing production, a process greased by decades of trade deals, we simultaneously outsourced pollution to countries with even dirtier power grids. Now, 10 percent of the world’s total carbon footprint comes from the apparel industry, and apparel is the second largest polluter of fresh water globally. These are devastating stats, and we’re wearing them on our sleeves.

Second, the push for low prices also led to cheap labor. The apparel industry’s race for the cheapest inputs relied on laborers at the very lowest end of the wage spectrum in countries with few protections for workers. While the industry has created jobs and lifted some people out of poverty, the hard truth remains that low wages, forced labor, unhealthy and dangerous working conditions, and child labor are now rampant throughout apparel supply chains. Children are working in appalling conditions that amount to modern day slavery.

The good news is that consumers are reaching their limit with all of this. And there’s a realization in the post-Paris climate world and in the U.N.’s recent adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals that we must put an end to polluting factors and worker abuse. Even the Vatican is connecting the dots between the apparel industry’s modern day slavery and climate change. To ignore any of this is to remain regressively retro.

While we still have a broken apparel industry, we do have a consumer base that is hungry for change, which is why Emma Watson’s trash stunt got so much traction on social and traditional media. People want something better, they want something different and they want it to be sustainable. They don’t want what they wear to worsen the planet or people’s lives. This means that all of us have an opportunity — an opportunity to create a different future.

All across the fashion ecosystem, we’ll need progressive leadership and a willingness by multilateral institutions, from the United Nations to the World Bank, to make the connection between apparel and the environment and economic development. The connections are obvious. Thus, we can no longer ignore the final (fashion) frontier in our efforts to clean up the planet and our dirty practices. The U.N.’s newly adopted Sustainable Development Goals, for example, are all about social inclusion, economic prosperity and environmental sustainability — three pillars that aren’t, at present, at the epicenter of the apparel industry.

That must change. And it’ll require some new patterns by non-apparel types. Journalists exposing the adverse social-environmental impacts of apparel production, guiding readers towards possible solutions and avoiding “greenwashing.” Brands adopting sustainable practices, from design through production, within their own businesses. Influencers, some of today’s best storytellers, showcasing the beauty and benefits of living simply. Educational institutions teaching the next generation the skills needed to identify industry-specific problems in fashion and improve its sustainability.

We can do this. It does mean that we’ll need more Watson-type moments when people break the red carpet mold to speak out for the planet and for people’s livelihood. But Watson is not alone. Nor are we. It’s time to start wearing a different world.”

One Woman’s Pleasure is Another’s Pain #ethicalfashion #fashion #fastfashion #sustainablefashion

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#buyethical, #whomademyclothes, Change, eco fashion, eco-friendly, environmentalism, ethical consumerism, ethical fashion, ethically-made, fair trade, fast fashion, Social consumerism, social impact, socially-made, sustainable, sustainable fashion, sustainably-made

We’re featuring a guest blog from a blogger, Dr. Surbhi Shrivastava, in New Delhi who provides a glimpse of fast fashion in India! Dr. Surbhi Shrivastava is a dentist-activist currently working  with an NGO based in Delhi, India on Public Health Rights and Accountability. A lover of street shopping, she attempts to bring social justice to the world of fashion and help its people live with dignity.

 

This is a shout-out to the likes of girls like me.

We love clothes, and unabashedly so. We feel a rush when we don a new outfit and make it our own. But what’s even better is that while your clothes are turning heads, what’s running through yours is that “I can’t believe I got this for Rs.150 ($2.30)! That costs lesser than my lunch.”

In Delhi, when Rs.150 and clothes feature in the same sentence, that sentence usually ends in Sarojini Nagar. If you’re a street-stuff buff, then you could probably make that happen even in GK or Khan Market. And they never disappoint. But are cheap, pretty things found exclusively on the streets? Or do retail stores now offer both, pocket-friendly clothes and the brand name? The policy at work here is that of fast fashion.

Fast fashion is a breakthrough that rapidly puts designer pieces from the runway at the feet of the middle-class aficionados. One would then wonder how something as coveted as catwalk items became common items. Is it a step towards an egalitarian world or is it just not the big picture?

The banal truth is that the developing world is home to all the manufacturing units of the retailers and employs almost 2.8 million women. This wouldn’t be of concern if it meant employment and a good wage for them. Except that, it is far from it. These women are overworked, ill-treated, insufficiently paid and even abused because there is a mass-production deadline to be met before the next trend makes its appearance. So while we no longer have to pay an arm and a leg to look fashionable, these women still do, and quite literally. We become partners in crime, unaware the entire time.

One must then think that when the clothes are being sold at low prices, the companies must be cruising towards a loss. But the truth is the exact opposite where the owners of these brands are ‘among the top 10 richest people in the world’ and earn in figures that are alien to the common man. It’s a classic case of bourgeois vs. proletarian.

Another feather in the cap of fast fashion is that the rate at which new items are produced is in line with the rate at which consumers discard the old ones. Since there is a new collection before you could blink, a lot of these clothes are worn a bare minimum number of times before they head for the landfills. That’s an ecological concern that gets overlooked because fashion is believed to be trivial and frivolous when the industry is actually the second largest polluter, after oil.

With this bitter truth becoming more blatant, people are taking notice. Activist Livia Firth has been pushing the envelope by devising green outfits and spearheading the #30wears campaign, to endorse responsible fashion. It is important to realise that fashion fuelled by another person’s blood and sweat is no fun at all. This does not translate into boycotting these stores because let’s face it, the reason they sell so many is that we throw away those many and the cycle continues. For the sake of our planet and its people, there needs to be more commitment to the closet.

So then what’s the ask?
The ask is that we enjoy clothes. We make a million memories in them. We fight with our siblings for stealing them. We pass them on to little cousins. We make lehengas out of saris. We marvel at the capris we fit in from eight years ago (only a blessed few). When we have had our fill, we give them to someone less fortunate, only to make new memories in. But we don’t throw them away. Because let’s not forget, we love clothes.

Costume Jewellery – How to protect your favorite Metal Jewellery! #ethicalfashion #fashion #jewellerycare #costumejewellery #metaljewellery #fashionjewellery

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#buyethical, Accessory care, Brass jewellery care, Copper jewellery care, Costume jewellery, eco-friendly, ethical consumerism, ethical fashion, ethically-made, fast fashion, Jewellery Care, Jewellery protection, Metal jewellery care, Silver jewellery care, socially-made, sustainable, sustainable fashion, sustainably-made

Jewellery is an accessory that can transform a boring outfit in to a stylish look and a casual outfit in to a formal look. Costume jewellery is a wonderful choice because of its affordability and availability in a versatile styles.

The most important rule to protect your costume jewellery is to avoid contact with water, moisturizer, hairspray, perfume, makeup or any other harsh chemicals. Jewellery should be always be the last on & first off. Our skin can also transfer moisture, oil or acid on to the jewellery, so it’s always a good habit to wipe jewellery with a dry and soft cloth after every use. Time to time you’ll also need to do a more thorough cleaning of your jewellery pieces.

Even with regular care, metal jewellery can tarnish due to the oxidation or due to the exposure to moisture and oils from your skin. You can buff off minor tarnish to bring back the shine but buffing heavy tarnish may actually damage the plating on your piece. It is important to use the right techniques and cleaning solutions. There are several homemade and environmentally-friendly techniques available to clean various type of jewellery. Here are some of our favorites:

How to clean Brass Jewellery

To clean brass jewellery, dip a soft cloth into a little lemon juice and rub onto the piece in a gentle circular motion. The acidic solution will remove dirt and tarnish, and add some shine to your brass jewellery pieces. Be sure to remove the lemon juice with a damp cloth since allowing the juice to sit on brass too long can actually damage it. Then dry with a soft cloth!

How to clean Copper Jewellery

Lemon juice is a great solution to clean copper jewellery. Take enough lemon juice to cover the surface of your piece and mix with a tablespoon of salt. Soak the piece for 30 to 60 seconds, depending on the amount of tarnish on the piece. The solution will remove dirt and tarnish, and your copper jewellery will look shiny again. Make sure to remove all the acidic lemon juice from the jewellery to protect it from damaging, by rinsing and dry with a soft cloth.

How to clean Silver Jewellery

The purity of the metal, determines how quickly it will tarnish, which is why .925 sterling silver jewellery needs some extra care. Polishing your silver works well when there is minor tarnish or to clean oxidized silver. Always use a microfiber, lint-free flannel, or other soft nonabrasive cloth to polish your pieces as silver can scratch easily. When polishing, use long back-and-forth motions that mirror the grain of the silver. Avoid rubbing in circles, as this will magnify any tiny scratches. Also, change to a different section of your cloth frequently to avoid placing tarnish back on the silver.

For heavier tarnish, try warm water and a mild, ammonia- and phosphate-free dishwashing soap. If that doesn’t do it, make a paste of baking soda and water and use a clean soft cloth to apply a pea-sized amount to the silver and polish, then wash under running warm water, and dry with a clean cloth. For even more intense cleaning, try using baking soda, salt, aluminum foil, and boiling water. Line a roasting pan with aluminum foil, dull side facing down and place the silver pieces on it. Pour boiling water over the pieces until they are fully covered and then add 2 tbsp. each of baking soda and salt and stir the solution to allow the baking soda to dissolve completely. The chemical reaction of this combination will transfer the tarnish to the foil, and in 5 to 10 minutes the tarnish should disappear.

Interestingly, the best way to prevent tarnish on silver jewellery is to wear your jewellery often. The oils in your skin will actually help “clean” the silver and keep it looking shiny!

Don’t coat your Jewellery

Avoid coating jewellery in any kind of protectant or finish as it can end up damaging the original finish. Some cheaper quality jewellery can turn your skin green; this is a chemical reaction due to a combination of the metal and the acids in your skin. Some people use clear nail polish on the back of such Jewellery to prevent this. However, to avoid this, the best option is to buy fewer but good quality metal jewellery pieces.

Whatever method you choose to use for your jewellery cleaning, first try it in a small area to make sure it is suitable for your jewellery piece.

Always Bag it up

To prevent your jewellery from tangling and getting tarnished or damaged from the elements, store in boxes, wrap in anti-tarnish paper and keep in soft jewellery pouches or use Ziplock bags to reduce exposure to air, that causes oxidation.

And finally, consider buying ethically-made costume jewellery

There are a growing number of ethical fashion designers who are creating jewellery in an ethical manner and/or using eco-friendly and recycled materials. Though these pieces are not as low cost as what is found in fast fashion retailers, if you care for your pieces in the appropriate way, your ethically-made jewellery will last you for years to come.

 

[Article Round Up] Ethical Shoppers Seen as Boring and Unfashionable #ethicalfashion #fashion #sustainable

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#buyethical, Change, eco fashion, eco-friendly, Environment, environmentalism, ethical consumerism, ethical fashion, Ethical Shoppers, ethically-made, fair trade, fast fashion, Social consumerism, social impact, socially-made, sustainable, sustainable fashion, sustainably-made

Source: http://www.details.com/story/ethical-shoppers-seen-as-less-fashionable-and-more-boring

“Do you actively avoid purchasing fast fashion made by tiny children in a dangerous, environment-polluting factory? Why, good on you, kind sir. But maybe don’t broadcast that fact to the nearest guy in Nikes.

According to a new study from Ohio State University, everyone is the worst and this is why we can’t have morally uncorrupt things. The study suggests that, while no one is seeking outclothing made in appalling conditions, those who don’t attempt to shop ethically often ridicule those who do make the effort, perceiving them as boring and fashion-challenged. This only serves to make willfully ignorant consumers even more nonchalant about ethical shopping in the future.

“It is this vicious cycle,” said Rebecca Walker Reczek, co-author of the study and associate professor of marketing at The Ohio State University’s Fisher College of Business. “You choose not to find out if a product is made ethically. Then you harshly judge people who do consider ethical values when buying products. Then that makes you less ethical in the future.”

For this study, Reczek and her coworker Daniel Zane, a graduate student at Ohio State’s Fisher College, had 147 undergraduates evaluate four pairs of blue jeans with four differing attributes: style, wash, price, and an ethical issue. As expected, most of the students were only worried about style, wash, and price. But when asked to provide opinions on different types of consumers, those who were blasé about child labor or environmental concerns were also more likely to classify their conscious peers as “odd, boring, and less fashionable.”

“Willfully ignorant consumers put ethical shoppers down because of the threat they feel for not having done the right thing themselves,” Reczek said. “They feel bad and striking back at the ethical consumers makes themselves feel better.””

[Article Round Up] How Do You Define Sustainable Fashion? #ethicalfashion #fashion #sustainablefashion

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#buyethical, Change, eco fashion, eco-friendly, Environment, environmentalism, environmentally-friendly, ethical consumerism, ethical fashion, ethically-made, Fashion, fast fashion, social change, Social consumerism, social impact, socially-made, sustainability, sustainable, sustainable fashion, sustainably-made

From The Blog (Huffington Post), by Livia Firth, Creative Director Eco-Age and Founder of The Green Carpet Challenge:

“How do you define sustainable fashion? The truth is, you can’t. Or at least not in a few sentences. Words such as ethical, sustainable or ecological fashion have been so over used that they create more confusion than certainties.

The truth is we are in a situation today perfectly described by Carlo Petrini, founder of the Slow Food Movement when he asked a very simple question: “How did we end up in an era when we have to define and certify things that should be normal?”

To unpick that, we need to define unsustainable (and fast) fashion.

Fast fashion is a relatively new phenomenon. One that’s caught us all, as consumers, in an absurd circle of micro trends. Think about it. Around two mini seasons a week in store. Disposable clothes that stay in a woman’s closet for an average of just five weeks, before being thrown out – all in the name of the democratization of fashion.

In reality, this is exploiting not just us, the “consumers”, but also the planet’s resources and the people who produce them. The collapse of the Rana Plaza factory in Bangladesh in April 2013 showed the world the true human cost of production at these volumes and prices. And don’t even mention the environmental impact. It’s enough to say that between 11,000 and 20,000 litres of water are needed to produce just ONE pair of jeans.

Each year across the world, 1.5billion garments are sewn by an estimated 40million people, working in 250,000 factories. These are predominantly made in countries described by the UN as the world’s least developed. All in all, the garment and textile industry is estimated to be worth some $3trillion. And the bulk of that goes into the pockets of the owners of those fast fashion brands. Two of them are at the top of Forbes rich list.

Fast fashion corporations have outsourced production to poor countries. In the process, they enslave them by addicting them to the idea of enrichment and start driving production costs down with volumes.

Like any good pusher, they offer their potential clients a great deal, only to get them addicted. Once they’ve succeeded, they’re in the driving seat. In the case of poor economies, they addict them to the idea of lifting their people out of poverty. In fact, they’re like the big bad wolf, lying in wait for the dependency to start.

At the same time, they operate as distributors and addict us, “consumers”, to the idea of always faster, ever cheaper fashion, despite the human and environmental cost. It’s the old problem. Out of sight, out of mind. It happens far away and so we don’t see it. I think the whole system has been beautifully described by Andrew Morgan in his stunning documentary The True Cost, which I urge everyone to watch if they haven’t already.

Benjamin Harrison, 23rd President of the US (1889-1893) once beautifully said “I pity the man who wants a coat so cheap that the man or woman producing it starves in the process”. More than a century later, this happens to a scale which is completely out of proportion.

So the problem is much more complicated than simply finding a definition for sustainable fashion. Once you understand the mess we’re in, the solution is very simple. Buy less and get more ‘fashion mileage’ out of each piece. Buy heritage pieces that will last. Become an active citizen through your wardrobe.

This is why I love fashion. It truly empowers you. But only when it allows you to carry beautiful stories woven into stunning clothes.

There is no legal or agreed definition of sustainable style or ethical fashion and there needn’t be. Instead we need to buy pieces that are made with design ingenuity and innovation that prioritize social and environmental justice, along with the aesthetic – all three on an equal footing.

There are plenty of fashion brands today which are doing this and addressing complicated issues in their supply chain – but fast fashion will never be able to truly solve anything until it accepts to change its core business model – eg until it decides to produce less. We have a huge power as consumers – not only as we vote every time we buy something – but also because the change can and must start from us – from starting to buy clothes that we love.

Clothes that will sustain our wardrobe for years to come.”