Audrey Risberg
The fashion industry is often looked at as a whole as being wasteful and environmentally damaging. People take note of the high consumption and constant waste of materials due to designers viewing them as “out of style.” In their attempt to produce clothing that is cost efficient, companies end up filling landfills and harming the environment with the fabric fibers they use. But do all companies give little consideration to the environment? Does anybody make environmentally friendly manufacturing choices?
The eco-fashion industry is slowly getting recognition for environmentally conscious decisions. Designers from all over the world have started finding ways to reuse different materials. Adidas has created shoes entirely made from reclaimed and recycled yarns and filaments, from ocean waste, and from deep-sea gillnets. Other companies, like Patagonia, H&M, and Rothy’s, are creating clothes with cork, recycled polyester, organic cotton, natural fibers, and many other resources.
Adidas Shoes Made From Recovered Ocean Plastic
Ananas Anam, a Philippines designer, has even discovered how to turn pineapple leaf fiber into an environmentally friendly leather called Piñatex. The material has been used for clothes, bags, shoes, and even seat covers.
Piñatex Leather Jacket
Other companies have found ways to give back to the environment. For example, Amour Vert and Tentree, clothing companies, plants ten trees for each item purchased. Every customer also receives a code that they can use to track the growth of their trees. Pact, Reformation, and H&M are a few companies that also make an effort to reuse old clothing and encourage customers to return old clothing they don’t want for future discounts instead of disposing of it.
In 2010, a green carpet challenge began among many high class designers and has continued through 2020. The challenge was to create a design entirely eco-friendly to help make a statement about sustainable environment. Through the various celebrity platforms, they are able to promote sustainable fashion and encourage a need for a different approach in designing clothing.
The Green Carpet Challenge
Many designers around the world, whether well known or not, are making great strides in raising global awareness. Through new collections and fashion shows, companies are able to encourage fashion that is mindful of the environment and take grand steps to decrease their ecological footprint. Below are a few companies and designers that have devoted their attention to create clothing that benefits the environment and shares the concern for a sustainable industry.
The fashion industry is huge. Many people around the world are tangled within the fast moving, reckless, consumption rate of clothes. But, companies and designers everywhere are standing up for what they believe in. The need for change. The need to take care of our environment.
What other consumer industry do you feel needs to become more eco-friendly? How can people be aware of the eco-fashion industry? What other materials could designers use that wouldn’t harm the environment?
H&M
- Released a new collection made of materials like organic cotton and recycled polyester
- Hopes to reduce its environmental footprint by using eco-friendly fabrics and more sustainable production methods
- Customers can recycle unwanted garments back to H&M and receive a discount for future purchases
- Has a goal to use only sustainably sourced materials by 2030
Levi’s
- Denim usually requires a huge amount of water to create one pair of jeans, but recently, they released a collection that uses up to 96% less water
- Working towards 100% sustainable sourced cotton as well as recycling old jeans into home insulation
Rothy’s
- Created shoes made from 100% recycled plastic water bottles and post-consumer recycled materials (which are products that have reached the end of its use for a consumer)
Tentree
- For each item purchased, 10 trees are planted
- Each customer receives a code so they can track the growth of their tree
- Plan to plant one billion trees by 2030
- Clothing is made from ethically sourced and sustainable materials including cork, coconut and recycled polyester
Everlane
- Recently released a line of clothing from recycled plastic bottles and other reused materials
- All profits from their collection, 100% human, are going to Feeding America’s COVID-19 Response Fund
Patagonia
- Uses sustainable materials
- Helps customers repair their clothing instead of buying new ones
- Has a goal to find solutions to environmental issues without causing unnecessary harm to the world
Amour Vert
- Creates sustainably sourced garments in smaller batches to avoid the waste of unsold items
- Uses non-toxic dyes and the most sustainable fabrics
- Plants a tree for every item purchased
- Follows a zero-waste policy and recycles and reuses items
People Tree
- One of the first sustainable fashion brands
- Uses sustainable materials like organic cotton, natural fibers, and chemical free dyes
Great Beyond
- Australian company that uses fast growing bamboo to create soft, durable basics
- Clothing made from 100% organic woven bamboo
Reformation
- Each item comes with a description and score of its environmental footprint to help customers understand the impact of clothing
- Uses upcycled and sustainable materials
- Has been carbon neutral since 2015
- Helps protect deforested areas to offset its manufacturing
- Customers can sell their old clothing back to earn credit for new pieces
Ananas Anam
- Philippians designer who is turning pineapple leaf fiber into an environmentally friendly leather called Piñatex
- The process does not require additional land, water, pesticides, or fertilizer beyond what's already being used to grow the pineapple
Rosalie McMillian
- UK designer that creates high-end jewelry from derived coffee grounds
- Uses sustainable, non-toxic or recycled materials and practices
https://www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article/6888/is-the-global-fashion-industry-going-green
https://www.groundworkpresents.com/cleaning-fashion-industry/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/solitairetownsend/2018/11/21/consumers-want-you-to-help-them
sustainability/#4492127b6dba
8 comments:
Fashion is something I enjoy. I believe it is a way to stand out, add style, and feel good. From the perspective of someone that shops from stores that probably aren’t environmentally conscious, I think that this is a great initiative and I may actually start shopping from the stores that are sustainable now. I checked out H&M’s website for the first time and they even have a section dedicated to sustainability and how they make sure their clothing is not as detrimental to the environment. This may make me want to change the stores I usually go to, even if the price is a bit more expensive.
I don't know a lot about fashion, but I do enjoy seeing what companies are environmentally conscious and which ones are not. Especially Tentree, they plant 10 trees for every item purchased there and you can track the growth of your tree. I think people can become more aware by putting up ads and websites that contributes and informs about the eco-fashion industry.
I enjoyed this look at the side of fashion that IS trying to make a difference to save the environment. I think the electronics industry has a long way to go to become more eco-friendly. For example, Apple is not the best at recycling old phones; in fact, their profit-oriented innovation makes phones obsolete absurdly quick. This gouging encourages overconsumption that does not benefit the environment in the long run. Though I am guilty of buying into Apple, I wish that shareholders with influence would talk to them about futureproofing technologies rather than making heavy software and slowing down old phones.
I have never been a fashion enthusiast myself, however, the article does give me some hope for the future of fashion. For starters, I’ve known that in our landfills, we tend to dump a lot of clothes there because we just end up not using them for the most part, which creates a massive problem towards the ecosystem. Thankfully, thanks to this article, I now know how many brands are trying to make their designs from the waste that we leave. Companies like H&M are making efforts to reuse old clothing in their new designs and Ananas Anam have found ways to use plants in the production of clothes. Overall, I’ve gained a new perspective of the fashion scene and their part in helping to make what we use more eco-friendly.
The fashion industry is frequently stereotyped as a callous industry that is useless. The constantly shifting trends are shamed for their wastefulness, so it’s amazing the industry is finding ways to repurpose and help reduce their impact. Using materials such as coffee grounds in clothing sounds much more sustainable for the planet, and I applaud fashion for taking those steps. Consumers can help support the eco-fashion industry by buying from sustainable brands. Individual purchases can add up and make a momentous difference if everyone makes their decisions carefully.
When people go shopping, they tend to care about the price tag more than if the product itself is environmentally damaging. Especially looking at the current state of the Earth, I think it's very important to promote environmental sustainability in fashion. However, I don't think society holding companies responsible is that effective of a method. I believe the government should have to step in since a lot of companies care more about the revenue than the environment. They can do this by providing economic benefits for companies that are eco-friendly.
I think it’s important for consumers to pay more attention to the impact that their shopping can have on the earth. It’s better to buy a relatively expensive product that will last a long time than to constantly have to keep buying replacements that will negatively impact the earth. Now that many companies have stepped up to take the initiative in making clothing from recycled materials it will be easier for the public to make environmentally-conscious choices.
I think being able to correctly recycle our clothes is a major issue that we face today. Furthermore, I think it's more of an issue with our culture. Spending too much on clothes and other materialistic things in my opinion is bad. We should value things that are more intrinsic.
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