Steps Toward Sustainability
With so much information thrown at us, it is our responsibility to become more ‘conscious consumers’ and understand what we are purchasing. This includes in our wardrobe choices. Being conscious is a lifestyle term, indicating an aware consumer with high standards privy to health and wellness and the environment. The conscious consumer reads labels and is willing to buy less to spend a little more on sustainable, fair trade, and/or clean products.
With the overuse of buzz words by marketers related to environmental impacts, there is a lot of confusion or misunderstanding among consumers. So let’s take the first step in becoming conscious consumers: learn the lingo . . .
Green is a very broad term. It can be used to describe ANYTHING that benefits the environment.
Eco-friendly is that something won’t harm the environment.
Fair Trade is a government certification that protects producers of goods in developing countries. It ensures that these workers and farmers have received a fair price, in trade for their products. This certification also typically promotes ethical treatment, sustainable farming practices, and the reduction of poverty.
Ethical refers to the working conditions of those workers. Ethical is not legally certified, but it means that workers have fair job hours, legal rights and fair wages. It also means that laborers are protected health and safety-wise, in their workplace.’’
Sustainability is an initiative that brings all of these ideas together and that we can work toward in all facets of our lives. The World Commission on Environment & Development says: “Sustainable development is a development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
A fashion company working toward sustainability should strive for a financially solid business model, act in an environmentally friendly and socially acceptable manner, and not harm animals. A sustainable practice uses a small amount of resources, doesn’t require a lot of energy to create, and is biodegradable without causing pollution during the process, from creation to shipping and to disposal.
For us consumers, a few ways we can begin to discover which fashion companies are working toward sustainability is by identifying if they are using more environmentally friendly fabrics, looking at where items are being produced and who’s producing them, and noting if they have more eco-friendly options for their packaging.
Companies who are fully committed to working towards sustainability (versus those embracing the “it” topic to drive sales) are generally transparent and fully explain their initiatives on their websites or in other company literature.
Sources:
https://www.ecobabe.co/blog/eco-sustainable-green-natural-organic-difference
https://www.moodfabrics.com/blog/eco-friendly-sustainable-organic/
https://www.considerate-consumer.com/sustainable-fashion-terminology#what-is-‘sustainable-fashion’