3 Important Things to Note About Sustainable Fashion.

“Ethical and sustainable fashion is not a product.” It’s a practice. Everyone is invited to participate. There’s no obligation to buy. You can get started right now. Today.” Elizabeth L. Cline is a journalist and author of Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion. Have you thought about what happens to the excellent fabrics you use as a fashion designer? Are you aware of every activity involved in the production process? Sustainable fashion is a practice everyone in the fashion value chain should carry out, not just those who choose good clothes or designs.

Take a glass of juice as I take you through sustainable fashion and why you need to embrace it.

What is sustainable fashion?

Before we dive deeper into the subject and everything around it, let’s establish what it means to be sustainable as a fashion brand. According to Wikipedia, “sustainable fashion” (also known as “eco-fashion”) is a term describing products, processes, activities, and actors (policymakers, brands, and consumers) aiming to achieve a carbon-neutral fashion industry built on equality, social justice, animal welfare, and ecological integrity. Sustainable fashion is about more than just fashion textiles or products. It means sustainable fashion involves every actor in the process.

Here are reasons why embracing sustainable fashion is essential

It reduces the number of waste

Do you know that on average, the fashion industry is responsible for 20% of global wastewater? Every year, the average shopper purchases 68 garments. A typical garment is worn only seven times. When people are finished with them, all of those clothes have to go somewhere.

Each year, Americans send over 11 million tons of textile waste to landfills. 85% of all clothing is either landfilled or burned up. Often, the clothing is shipped to countries in the Global South, burdening their economies and the environment even though it was not their waste in the first place.

Sustainable fashion is synonymous with slow fashion. Slow fashion entails purposefully limiting one’s shopping. In practice, slow fashion means only adding pieces you truly love, wearing them more often, and loving and caring for them for years to come. This will reduce the amount of clothing we buy and then discard. Slow fashion reduces our waste while also reducing consumer demand for new production, which can reduce overall fashion waste.

Sustainable fashion conserves natural resources.

Have you thought of how much water is used for a pair of jeans? According to statistics, a pair of jeans requires over 1000 gallons of water to manufacture. Think about how many pairs of jeans everyone in the world has and how much water is required to produce them. Water is used in more stages of the fashion industry than any other resource, including cotton cultivation, fabric preparation, processing, dyeing, and final product production.

Cotton production uses approximately 2700 liters of water for the production of one t-shirt. Organic cotton requires less water than conventional cotton. Unfortunately, only 1% of the cotton in the world is produced using organic methods. Other environmentally friendly fabrics, such as linen, recycled cotton, and hemp, use little water during production.

By wearing clothes made of organic cotton or using sustainable manufacturing methods, you not only reduce your water and carbon footprints, but you also help to leave a livable planet for future generations.

Saves humans and animals

Harsh chemicals used in manufacturing cause illnesses in workers and, in some cases, birth defects in children who worked on the farm as children. Fast fashion has kept prices low at the expense of low wages and poor working conditions in developing countries. These companies do not provide a safe working environment for their employees in factories. By switching to ethical clothing, you can be certain that the money you spend will not be wasted. So, when you’re out shopping, choose sustainable and ethical clothing brands that respect their employees and provide them with the necessary support.

In addition, it is a common misconception that the leather industry only uses meat byproducts. Every year, 1.4 billion animals, including cows, water buffalo, sheep, goats, kangaroos, and pigs, are killed for their leather. Sustainable clothing brands prioritize animal welfare and ensure that animal cruelty is not involved in any of their processes. Sustainable fashion brands have created alternatives such as fabric made from pineapple leaves, bags made from recycled seat belts, and plant-based compostable sneakers.

In conclusion, sustainable fashion advocates for a better future and an environmentally friendly environment. Taking into account the lives of all involved in the production process as well as end users.At 360 Creative Hub, we advocate for a sustainable environment and living by ensuring that designers at our hub adhere to every policy that enhances sustainable living. Also, we ensure that we provide professional advice on ethical fashion.