We know that the fashion industry is the most polluting after oil.
The greatest elegance is truth
Thierry Mugler, Fashion Designer
Have you ever imagined the path taken by your clothes, from their production to your dressing room?
Faced with the recurrence of “Made in China”, “Made in Taiwan”, “Made in India” labels… consumers no longer necessarily ask themselves the question. Indeed, the use of low-cost production factories is a practice that extends from so-called low-cost brands to some of the biggest luxury houses. Moreover, we have entered the fast-fashion era, where quantity too often prevails over quality. A worrying trend.
So how to find happiness while doing good for the planet?
Behind the rhinestones and sequins, the carbon footprint of fashion is constantly increasing
The textile industry is the third largest consumer of water. According to the ADEME, 4% of the world’s drinking water is used for the production of clothing. A production that is constantly increasing to meet an ever-growing demand. Indeed, according to the environmental agency, a person buys, today, on average, 60% more clothes than 15 years ago. Thus, more than 100 billion clothes are sold in the world each year.
An increased demand is worrying when we know that the most used textiles like polyester are non-renewable resources. What’s more, these materials are major sources of plastic microfibers when they go through the machine, which most often end up in the oceans. A maritime pollution of 500 000 tons of plastic per year, equivalent to more than 50 billion plastic bottles! In addition to the pollution of the oceans that actors are trying by all means to eradicate, the over-consumption of clothing has other harmful effects.
Indeed, the phenomenon of fast-fashion is unfortunately still far from being compensated by recycling. Only 1% of the clothes we wear are recycled while in Europe 4 million tons of clothes are thrown away every year.
Information is the key to adopting an “eco-responsible style
To address the lack of knowledge of consumers about certified eco-responsible brands, applications and platforms like Clear Fashion have emerged. Developed by Rym Trabelsi and Marguerite Dorangeon, two young French entrepreneurs, Clear Fashion is positioned as the Yuka of fashion. In other words, the application allows us to evaluate the human and environmental impact of our clothes. And to do this, 3 options are available to us:
- Take a picture of the garment in question
- Manually fill in the information about the composition of the garment
- Search directly for information on a particular brand
Admittedly, the application is still in development and is not yet available on download platforms. But it already offers the first elements of answer to pierce the opacity and the lack of transparency of some brands.
Alternatives to consume a more responsible fashion
To a lesser extent, websites such as Vinted or UnitedWardrobe, not to mention thrift stores that have been able to capitalize on the vintage trend, help limit clothing waste while offering savings to consumers who recover second-hand clothes. However, the benefits of this market are still debatable. Is it really a way to recycle clothes or on the contrary, an additional incentive to fast-fashion?
To avoid this debate, some brands are ready to innovate, even if it seems a bit confusing at first. This is the case of Carling, which offers clothes… imaginary! The idea is quite surprising. But it is actually perfectly adapted to the demand of instagrammers. These 2.0 models, who sometimes wear their “outfit” only once. The Scandinavian brand offers them the opportunity to dress with virtual clothes during a shooting. We let you admire some of their pieces (very futuristic if we may say so) below, the profits from the sale of which are donated to the association WaterAid, which works for water purification:
When green fashion takes over the catalogs
Our power, as consumers, is to make every purchase an act of voting for the future we want.
From ClearFashion’s website
Previously reserved for the shelves of specialized brands, green fashion is gaining ground. Today, it is part of many designers’ minds and we will share some of their creations with you in this final section.
Adidas, the mythical German sportswear brand has started a great ecological turn
A real technological feat, the pair is 100% recyclable. That is to say without glue or other non-renewable materials. Moreover, the brand with the three stripes has announced that it will use only recycled plastic for all its products by 2024. To do this, Adidas knows how to surround itself with committed actors like Parley for the Ocean, which fights for the depollution of the oceans.
Parley for the Ocean is not at its first try as demonstrated by its collaboration with Stella McCartney. The English stylist, daughter of Paul, has developed a backpack made of recycled plastic. Small bonus, the entire profits were donated in 2017 to the Sea Shepherd association, whose logo appeared on the back of the bag.
Dr. Martens revisits its classics to make them more eco-responsible
If you are familiar with the brand’s iconic models, you probably haven’t noticed any difference. And yet, these models are 100 vegan! An opportunity to do good for the planet with style. You can find the wide range dedicated to this category here.
The North Face and recycling, a love story that lasts
Specialized in mountain clothing, The North Face’s slogan is “Never Stop Exploring”. A message that connects its consumers to their environment. Quite logical, but equally welcome, to see the brand committed to environmental preservation.
In addition to this bag, The North Face has caused a stir by encouraging its customers to return their mountain clothing (whatever the brand) to the store in exchange for vouchers. Called Clothes the Loop, the operation was held in Paris on March 22 and 23 and should, we hope, return for new editions soon.
Green fashion, still a minority trend, but could become the norm
Fashion, style and the environment can therefore go hand in hand. All the more so, as consumers are more and more consumer-actors, even if they may sometimes forget it. Need for transparency, quest for meaning. These are the expectations that are gradually being imposed on consumers and that fashion cannot escape. It is often said that fashion is a matter of social mimicry and influence. So why shouldn’t the fashion sphere be able to blow a wind of eco-responsible inspiration?
