It’s estimated that 100 billion articles of clothing are produced every year, and every year, 92 million tonnes of clothes across the world wind up in landfill. A third of all new clothes are thought to wind up in landfills after only a single year of wear. Most modern textiles are made from synthetic fabrics like polyester, which can take up to 200 years to decompose, meaning waste is literally piling up.
That’s not sustainable.
It’s also important to think about the resources used in making a garment. Polyester is a plastic, specifically a petroleum-based plastic. It requires oil drilling. More than that. A single cotton shirt might have three thousand litres of water used in its production – not to mention the harmful dyes that are often used, which account for 20% of all industrial water pollution.
That’s not sustainable.
Modern fashion is not sustainable. Modern technology and trade methods have altered the way textile manufacturers can operate. They produce massive amounts of clothing at scale to distribute across the planet.
Companies and fashion brands constantly sell new clothing to you, trying to get you to pickup new outfits every year or every season, to keep up with changing trends.
That’s not sustainable.
We believe clothing can be sustainable, and here’s how to do it.
What is sustainable clothing and sustainable fashion?
Sustainable clothing is where garments are made in ways that reduces their impact to the environment. It’s about reducing fashion’s impact to the planet and making more concious decisions when looking for something new to add to our warderoble.
The term ‘fast fashion’ has been coined to describe the modern fashion industry and its need to mass produce clothing for the market. In contrast, ‘slow fashion’ is the opposite – the deliberate choice to make sustainable clothes that don’t harm the planet.
You can make sustainable clothing by using natural fibres and other textiles like tencel (which is made from recycled wood pulp) that are much less harmful to the planet. We use natural fibres that are Oeko Tex 100 certified, which means no harmful chemicals have been used.
Another way to make clothing sustainable is to maintain it and wear it for longer to maximise its usage. Instead of throwing it away, your garment could be saved with some mending and repairs, prolonging its life and keeping it out of landfill.
There are a few things you can do to help make your wardrobe full of more sustainable clothing:
- Looking for garments made of specific natural fibres like linen, organic cotton (I’ll be writing up a guide on some of the best eco-friendly fabrics soon)
- Keep your clothes for longer, repairing and mending them when need be
- If you do need new clothes, consider shopping at an op shop or thrift store and buy second-hand instead, which helps prolong the life cycle of these garments (and possibly saves you money too)
- Consider doing a clothes swap with your friends or donating old clothes that don’t fit or suit you anymore
- Research clothing brands you want to buy from to learn about their methods and see if they’re really sustainable – a lot of companies might present themselves as eco-friendly and sustainable, but it’s crucial to fact-check their claims
The human impact of fashion
I’d be remiss to talk about sustainable clothing and not mention the human cost of mass market or ‘fast fashion’ garments. Many manufacturers exploit workers across the world, paying them next to nothing for their work and time so that they can have a higher profit margin.
Oh and those nasty chemical dyes companies use that wind up in the water? Yeah those are poisoning local communities downstream.
We’ve got to ask ourselves, is it right that you can buy a shirt for $5 or $10? How much did the worker who made it get paid? Is that fair?
Sustainable clothing is going to cost more, because the materials are more expensive, it takes more time to produce materials and garments, but also workers need to be fairly compensated for their work. It’s crucial that sustainable clothing includes a fair wage for the people making the clothes and an end to awful, unsafe sweatshops that exploit people’s labour.
Not everything ‘natural’ is actually natural
Lastly, it’s worth noting that given how the issue of sustainable fashion and clothing has become more prominent, more and more companies are taking steps to become more ethical and sustainable – but some are just using buzzwords and loopholes to sound like they are, when they’re not any better for the environment.
For example, bamboo fabric may be marketed as eco-friendly, but it uses a large amount of water and harmful chemicals as well. Also, satin fabric may be marketed as a natural fibre, but technically the word ‘satin’ refers to how the fabric is weaved together, not what it’s made of.
That means satin fabric could be silk, or polyester, or nylon, or something else altogether.
Likewise, laws around the world will differ on what brands can say about a product. Terms like ‘organic’, ‘natural’ and ‘sustainable’ might not have any true legal definition in some regions, leading to cases where customers think they’re getting more sustainable clothes, but in actuality it’s little better than any other ‘fast fashion’ garment.
This might make you feel like there’s little point in really trying, with hidden pitfalls preventing you from making more ethical and sustainable clothing choices. But every little step we take helps.
The more we learn about our clothes and what goes into them, the better equipped we’ll be to go out there and help do something truly meaningful for the world, one outfit at a time.