Over the past few years, the fashion industry has attracted a great deal of criticism over unethical business practices that exploit both human labor and natural resources putting the integrity of unprivileged communities and the well-being of our planet at stake. However, as authorities and organizations have started to step in, the determination to end unsustainable fashion practices has reached an all-time high.
Consequently, many sustainable fashion brands have emerged in the market globally, and previously well-established brands are also now restructuring their businesses to allow for a more sustainable fashion industry and might we even say, ''greenwashing''.
But what exactly is sustainable fashion? What are some practices that make sustainable fashion sustainable? Well, keep reading to find out!
Here are the top 10 practices that make sustainable fashion ‘sustainable’:
1) Making durable products Emphasizing on producing durable products is a major sustainable practice that is not talked about too often. This practice is important because along with ensuring that customers get a fair exchange for the money they invest, all resources and raw materials are put to use efficiently.
2) Producing less Because of the insane demand for fashion products, many top producers focus on producing goods in even more insane amounts to cut down production costs. This may help them save some money but in the long run, it ends up creating a lot of wastage when items no longer remain in demand with vanishing trends. With sustainable fashion, however, the practice is that goods are only produced as per careful estimates based on consumer buying patterns. This ensures that precious resources are not wasted.
3) Recycling and Reusing leftovers This is yet another important sustainable practice, as part of which businesses involved make use of fabric leftovers and cutouts instead of just conveniently disposing them off with no accountability.
4) Fair wages Fair pay is another important sustainable fashion practice that can not go ignored. While compromised labor wages practically act as the engine of capitalism and keep conventional fashion brands in good shape, this is shunned by sustainable fashion brands.
5) Healthy working conditions Safe and healthy working conditions and working hours for staff is another important sustainable fashion practice that protects the rights of stakeholders and makes sustainable fashion more sustainable.
6) Equality and fair recruitment Unfortunately even in the modernized societies today, the corporate world is not free from the shackles of bias and prejudice and problems such as the gender pay gap still put women at an unfair disadvantage. However, with sustainable fashion brands, this practice is not acceptable and the recruitment process is merit-based.
7) No plastic packaging Sustainable fashion is heavily inclined towards all practices that can limit plastic consumption. Therefore, many sustainable fashion brands endorse plastic-free packaging for all products and minimize plastic usage in product making as much as possible. This is integral because we all know the fate of plastic, from the hands of consumers to landfills and oceans, a journey that causes nothing but environmental havoc from start to end!
8) No toxic dyes Toxic dyes that are used in abundance by the fashion industry drain off in rivers and oceans and disrupt marine life and food chains. Therefore, sustainable fashion follows the practice of using plant based and relatively less dangerous dyes .
9) Careful usage of natural resources This one is a no-brainer but still, an integral sustainable practice that contributes to the sustainability aspect of sustainable fashion!
10) Encouraging sustainable behavior An important practice followed by many sustainable fashion brands is that of encouraging consumers to become more sustainable as well. This could be through educating social media posts, incentivizing support for a green project for example through discounts on clothing for supporting plantation drives, educational blogs and word of mouth.
https://www.nua.ac.uk/about-nua/blog/5-ways-the-fashion-industry-can-be-more-sustainable/