Sustainability in the Fashion World
By Milla Duca
Green, eco-friendly, and sustainable are all terms global companies use to attract consumers to their brands. Today’s retail customers are more environmentally conscious about carbon emissions, waste, and pollutants, and the effect they can have on oceans and animals on our planet. They care about the future of our world and want to preserve it for generations to come.
In the Harvard Business Review, Kenneth P. Pucker writes “Fashion is often said to both reflect and lead culture — the industry has a once-in-history opportunity to demonstrate that creativity and respect for boundaries can lead to authentic sustainability”.
The fashion industry has taken important steps towards sustainability. Some fashion companies have been applauded for their efforts in sustainable products, including:
Allbirds
Allbirds, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIRD) is a publicly traded global lifestyle brand known for their sustainable sneakers. It is headquartered in San Francisco, California with customers in 36 countries through over 50 stores and its website. Allbirds boasts eucalyptus tree fiber knit fabric as well as SweetFoam, a carbon negative sugarcane-based EVA foam. The company is committed to using natural materials for its footwear and apparel with sustainable manufacturing. In a founder’s letter by Tim Brown and Joey Zwillinger, the company stated its “products emit much less pollution than the industry average, and we have a plan to move our per-unit impact on the doorstep of neutral by 2030”.
Patagonia
Ventura, California based Patagonia is a privately held company founded by rock climber Yvon Chouinard that stresses the importance of finding solutions to the environmental crisis. Patagonia’s 2018 purpose statement solidified this commitment by stating, “We’re in business to save our home planet.” Patagonia’s website boasts 4 essential focus items including:
1.Guaranteeing everything they make as “prioritizing durability, resulting in consuming less energy, wasting less water and creating less trash.”
2.Knowing how clothes are made as it all impacts people and the planet. Thus the company has a thoughtful environmental and social responsibility program.
3.Keeping all gear in play through Patagonia’s Worn Wear initiative where consumers can buy used, trade in and fix garments and gear.
4.Pledging to give 1% of all sales for the planet in an effort to preserve and restore the natural environment.
In the fashion world, companies labeled as “fast fashion” for their affordable, forward fashion clothing which may come at exceptionally low costs to the consumer but with a hefty price of environmental waste are now developing eco-friendly products. A few retail companies to note include:
H&M
H&M, founded in Sweden, now offers its H&M Conscious line of eco and organic conscious clothing, skin care, hair care, bath products as well as accessories. Leyla Etur, H&M Group’s Head of Sustainability, wrote in a letter that the company has accelerated “net-zero ambitions and made progress in key areas such as material sourcing, inclusion and diversity, and circular design. [They’ve] partnered with others to test and scale circular materials, processes and business models, and to progress social protection and dialogue within [their] supply chain”. In 2013, the company instituted its Garment Collecting Program in which customers can place unwanted clothing in recycling bins in stores and receive a thank you coupon for a future purchase. H&M’s Take Care program offers tips to make clothing longer lasting by repairing, remaking, and refreshing garments. Since 2019, H&M has also offered a rental service for its Conscious Exclusive collections in Stockholm.
Princess Polly
Queensland, Australia headquartered Princess Polly has made a push towards creating products with lower environmental impact. According to its website, the company states that approximately “20% of its range is sustainably made using lower impact materials (defined as 20% of styles from our total full priced range.” Its goal by 2025 is to have 60% of its range as sustainably made with 100% as the ultimate target. Princess Polly offers a Lower Impact program in which it details items that are created with 80% lower impact materials. Such lower impact materials include organic, recycled, water-based, and forest friendly materials.
A Word of Caution
However, consumers must be aware of greenwashing when shopping for goods. According to Investopedia, greenwashing is defined as “the process of conveying a false impression or misleading information about how a company’s products are environmentally sound. Greenwashing involves making an unsubstantiated claim to deceive consumers into believing that a company’s products are environmentally friendly or have a greater positive environmental impact than they actually do.” Many consumers are misled about products that feature nature scenes on their packaging, sell at a premium due to their green labeling, or make false or deceptive claims about their environmental benefits. Out of the four companies mentioned above, H&M and Princess Polly use the most greenwashing tactics. One part of Princess Polly’s mission statement is “We’re making on-trend fashion more sustainable and accessible to everyone by transitioning our products to be made with lower environmental impact.” Although the company has a “lower impact” section, it has not released information about updates on meeting sustainability goals.
Alternatives to New Clothing and Accessories
While many consumers gravitate towards purchasing brand new eco-friendly clothing items and accessories, others have found high quality used fashion pieces through websites, thrift shops, Goodwill or charity donation centers, or consignment stores. Recycling and reusing is kind to our planet, not to mention our wallet. Another tool for determining if a company is sustainable is the Website “Good On You.”
Sources:
https://hbr.org/2022/01/the-myth-of-sustainable-fashion
https://ir.allbirds.com/static-files/fcaa3cdb-d2a9-41bb-954a-41652958d16d
https://www.patagonia.com/company-history/
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/14/climate/patagonia-climate-philanthropy-chouinard.html
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/g/greenwashing.asp
https://www2.hm.com/en_us/sustainability-at-hm.html
https://www2.hm.com/en_us/sustainability-at-hm/our-work/close-the-loop.html
