8 Facts about Ethical Fashion and Their Impact
Your spur-of-the-moment shopping sprees where you end up with more clothes than you need, may be tugging at your conscience. And rightly so. With the fast fashion market value worldwide reaching an overwhelming $106 billion in 2022 these seemingly innocuous choices of shoppers can not be ignored. However, consumers are finally paying heed to the crisis.
The increase in consumer awareness leads to a shift towards ethical fashion. But what is ethical fashion? Put simply, this phenomenon takes care of the labour involved in it, the animals that provide the raw materials for it, and the environment surrounding it.
The ethical issues regarding fast fashion are well known. The main difference between ethical fashion and fast fashion lies in their production processes as well as how long the clothes last.
Ethical fashion should also not be confused with sustainable fashion. The latter focuses just on issues that harm the environment while the former also caters to issues regarding labor and animal mistreatment.
Learn other interesting facts on ethical fashion below!
- Materials used
It is common practice amongst ethical fashion brands to use materials that have the least harmful impact on the environment. Organic cotton grown without the help of harmful chemical additives is a go-to for a number of brands. This is the reason the global organic cotton market size is expected to be USD 25,890.2 million by 2032.
The use of recycled nylon, cotton and polyester is a helpful strategy as it is easier to procure and helps cut down on waste generation.
Wood-based materials are also being introduced by many companies and are increasingly being used.
Innovative materials like CELYSTM fully compostable fibre are proving to be a game-changer in the move towards ethical fashion.
- Dyes used
Eco-friendly dyes used ethically provide an alternative to the harmful conventional ones used in fast fashion.
Natural dyes are often extracted from animals, plants or even minerals consuming lower energy and emitting fewer greenhouse gasses.
Low-impact synthetic dyes, like the fibre reactive dye, provide another valuable alternative. Using these dyes saves workers from exposure to toxic chemicals present in other dyes.
With the innovation of new dyeing technologies, such as digital printing with pigment inks, the ethical fashion industry is now able to carry out the dyeing process with minimum need for freshwater.
- Cruelty-free production
This aspect of ethical fashion stresses the importance of limiting harm to animals in the production processes. According to research, only 38% of fashion brands consider animal welfare risks before sourcing their raw materials.
Fashion brands doing business ethically take care of many things.
Firstly, the raw materials used are animal-free and plant-based as mentioned above. There is no animal testing in any of the production stages including the dyeing stage. Brands make sure that animal welfare is taken care of, especially in the early part of the supply chain. For example, wool will never be sourced from a sheep farm where animals are known to be mistreated.
- Labor rights.
Many ethical fashion brands conduct rigorous supply chain audits to ensure that labour rights are guaranteed in the production process of the clothes. In ethical fashion, stress is laid on fair and equal wages for workers, unlike its counterpart, fast fashion.
There needs to be proper ventilation, adequate lighting and secure machinery to create a safe working environment for people working at the factory. Ethical fashion brands do not endorse cheap child labour or gender-discriminatory wages. So these brands do not need to set up their factories in developing countries where labour laws are non-existent. This allows them to produce locally.
- Transparency
To create credibility amongst consumers and an environment of transparency, ethical fashion brands often get themselves certified by famous organisations such as PETA. They do not shy away from sharing detailed information about their supply chain to gain the trust of their customers, as they ensure the materials used in all stages of production are completely organic and cruelty-free.
Labour practices and humane working conditions provided by the brands are also selling points as they look for ways to promote themselves and gain popularity amongst consumers.
- Slow Fashion
The basic intention for slow fashion movements is to slow down the process of production and consumption of clothes in the fashion industry. This eventually leads to the reduction of waste and harmful gasses produced by the industry, not burdening the labour involved, as well as keeping the sustainability of the planet in mind.
Thus the aims of slow and ethical fashion go hand in hand. It is hardly surprising that ethical fashion, in an attempt to promote and support slow fashion, produces clothes that are very durable and long-lasting.
- Local Production
Relying on local manufacturers to provide the inventory is a step taken by ethical fashion brands that goes a long way in helping them achieve their cause.
As goods are produced closer to the point of sale, the environmentally harmful process of shipping is unnecessary, lowering the carbon footprint. Geographical proximity allows brands to keep a stricter eye on the quality of products produced as well as the standards of work environment available to labourers.
Consumers may also feel a sense of attachment to a brand producing locally as it leads to economic resilience and newer job opportunities.
- Recycling and Upcycling
Recycling and upcycling play a big hand in slowing down the harmful effects of the fashion industry. This trend is now increasingly favoured by customers. This is evident by the fact that the value of the second-hand apparel market is expected to rise to USD 100 billion by 2026.
Textile and fabric recycling can reduce the waste produced with the help of advanced technologies. Brands practising recycling in their production methods stand out and earn a larger market share than those that do not.
The process of upcycling involves turning old and discarded pieces of clothing into new items. An example of this is the conversion of leftover discarded fabric from shirts into bed covers or curtains. Materials meant to be discarded can now be diverted away from landfills and can be used as raw materials in the production of other items.
Conclusion
In recent years, it has become increasingly evident that climate change poses a serious threat to the world we live in. It was imperative that the fashion world play its role and shift from fast fashion practices to ethical ones, becoming a more eco-friendly industry. As more people start supporting businesses adopting a sustainable and ethical way of business, it is clear that this shift is going to help brands gain customers rather than lose them.
In the words of historian Robert Swan,
"The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it."
This quote sums up our combined thought process brilliantly. We cannot afford to be complacent. We cannot wait for someone else to step up. It has to be us.
