ECO- FRIENDLY
Stop the Sustainability?
BY ABIGAIL FOWLER
30 NOVEMBER 2024
A mentor of Abigail's who studied sustainable fashion for over a decade has come to the conclusion: it's all a wash. Dive into the ins and outs of whether eco- friendly is possible in todays fast-fashion society.
Photo: Wix | Sustainability in fashion.
Very few times in my thirties has a social media post from a friend sent me into an early 00’s teen rom-com level jaw drop (my head is picturing Lindsay Lohan’s Get a Clue).
“She’s actually given up,” was the only thought to cross my mind as my former mentor posted that, after 9 years, she was shutting down her sustainability consulting company. A few weeks earlier at the start of 2024, a jaded carousel post on her Instagram with a caption about throwing in the towel raised eyebrows to say the least:
“Sustainable fashion today means everything and nothing and I’m over trying to figure it out,”
The two purposes of the firm were to find clothing factories that met ethical and sustainable guidelines and connect them to fashion start-ups. Her company fulfilled this mission with services such as courses for businesses to learn ethical sourcing, to partnering with eco-quality checkers and human trafficking organizations: performing surprise inspections and ensure things are always up to code. I followed her 6-week course to the letter, learning how many hoops there are to jump through to become truly ethical and sustainable as a company in today’s world of fast-paced consumer sales and gimmics.
The concern that seemed to be pushing her out, sustainability is too much of a buzz word to be fully possible in the fashion industry.
I hate to go against my mentor’s teachings, but I think sustainability is still alive and kicking; but not in the way the fashion industry would hope as it doesn’t turn a profit as well as fast fashion.
Sustainability in fashion is when a garment/accessory is produced, distributed, and worn in a way that is both eco-friendly and socially responsible. Its arch enemy, fast-fashion, is clothing made rapidly (read without a ton of thought) and mass distributed to match the trends of the day. Sustainable fashion, from a consumer view, is the sweater your mom had in the 1970’s that you stole from her closet 2 years ago and haven’t returned. Fast-fashion is the item bought from Forever 21 that starts to need mending or has holes showing up in the fabric 3 years in.
Sustainable fashion from a manufacturer’s point of view is noting that one pair of jeans “takes away 10 years’ worth of drinking water for 7 people,” according to Eco Canada. While the cotton for the jeans is grown for production, a sustainable manufacturer needs to strategize how to help the residents in those cotton farming communities have enough access to clean drinking water since they’re taking a large portion of drinking water away from them.
For the distributor, it’s reading The Guardian’s article about how, in one year’s time, “emissions of GHGs from the fashion industry totaled 1.2 billion tons of CO2 equivalent.” That’s more emissions than all flights and maritime operations for that same year worldwide. While they’re planning, a sustainable distributor needs to take into account that the fashion industry is also contributing to the flight and maritime operations emissions while shipping to stores.
It’s all very overwhelming when you think about it. The argument against sustainability being a possibility is that fashion industries will never slow down. With the world as over-populated as it is I can see their point: people need jobs, creatives need to create. The fashion industry solves both of those problems. The point of view the ones who have given up make is that fashion will never slow down- a fundamental change would have to happen and the industry is outright reluctant to make the change.
Hoops to Jump Through
Videos like this referencing further research in blogs (that are no longer visible) flood the archived social pages of Thr3efold, Jessica Kelly's eco-friendly initiative. Filled with informative pieces on certifications, the distribution process, sourcing, and more; it's apparent she's done more than her fair share of research.
My friend is one of those who has turned her back on trying to source only factories who are meeting all of her high sustainability standards. The manufacturers that try to turn out sustainable items in unique ways (think: cactus leather) have such a high price point for their artisanal work that they shut out the average joe from wanting to purchase. If sustainability is to be successful, there needs to a disruption in the market by those average joes. They will need to stop buying “fast fashion” for 5-10 years and only buy high-quality, pricier items or recycled clothing in thrift stores as a majority of sales to show the fashion industry there are no longer gains to be made in unsustainable fashion. In a world’s population comprised mostly of average joes, nothing will change if they don’t start the revolution first.
If you Google “how to be sustainable," you’ll see all blogs from fashion elites to homemakers discussing mending your clothes, buying second hand, and how to make a swap shop with your friends. None of those statements include buying new. We can be sustainable. It is a huge possibility. We simply need to turn the industry into a place where the average joe feels they can get an antique Levi’s denim jacket with as much ease as they can get a corset top from Shein. As shocked and scandalized as I am to see my friend, who has collaborated with the Council of Fashion Designers of America for her sustainability efforts, walk away from her nearly-decade long pursuit; the harsh reality is that she isn’t the first person to walk away after giving their heart and soul to the cause. Her hard work has paved an easier path for someone like me. It will just take a few more generations paving a clearer path for us to slowly build a road.
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