Sustainable Clothing Brands for Every Budget

 https://www.ecofriendlyhabits.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/ethical-clothing-brands.jpg

What is sustainable fashion?

“Sustainable clothing,” “low-waste clothing,” “ethical clothing,” and “organic clothing” are terms that are often used to describe what many people are looking for when they are trying to shop responsibly for their clothing. There are many reasons to choose sustainable clothing brands, some of which I described in a post about the clothing industry.

Sustainable clothing brands do their best to avoid and overcome common fashion industry issues such as:

Production Pollution and Resource Waste – opt for fabrics derived from crops that require minimal pesticide use, water use, energy, etc.

Material Waste – minimize post-production excess fabric waste and opting for materials that are compostable (e.g. organic cotton, hemp, or linen).

High Turnover Production Lifecycle – focus on slower production cycles and higher quality materials made to last for much longer than one season.

Why choose sustainable clothing options?

Ultimately what we wear is a representation of what we want to communicate about ourselves to the world. What better way to make a positive statement than to choose to wear brands that emphasize fair working wages, safe working conditions, responsible material sourcing, and weave elements of charitable giving into their business models?

What are the most sustainable clothing fabrics?

According to One Green Planet, you should focus on shopping for clothing made from the following sustainable fabric options:

Pre-Used – The most sustainable option for clothing is pre-used or second-hand. Any production of new clothing is going to have a negative environmental impact so if you are truly looking to reduce your carbon footprint, check your local thrift stores in Panama City Beach, FL first.

Organic Cotton – Organic cotton is an important distinction as conventionally grown cotton cops are heavily sprayed. In a Refinery 29 interview with Dr. Ed Barnes of Cotton Inc., Dr. Barnes was quoted stating that conventional cotton farming uses about 6% of the world’s pesticides while other sources state as much as 16%. Concerns resulting from these practices include dangerous levels of pesticide chemicals leaching onto fabrics as well as the health of cotton farmers and field workers regularly interacting with pesticide chemicals.

Hemp – Plant-based fabric that requires similar water and energy resources as organic cotton (source: Stockholm Environmental Institute). 

Silk – If produced responsibly, silk can be a very low-waste fabric. With that said, chemicals can be used in the cleaning and degumming of silkworm cocoons as well as in the bleaching and dying process (source: Good On You) so choose your silks carefully!

Linen – Plant based fabric made from flax and when un-dyed, is one of the most biodegradable fabrics available. The only con to linen fabric is production cost. Because of the laborious process required to spin linen fabrics, linen has become a higher priced fabric.

Fair and safe working conditions – fair wages, safe working conditions, no child labor.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What Does Sustainable Fashion Really Mean?

Image
Sustainable fashion is a hot topic right now. Not just because the   eco-friendly materials   used are much better for the planet, but because that tends to go hand-in-hand with   better treatment of people making the clothes , too. Not to mention better treatment of animals. But what does sustainable fashion really mean? What Is the Definition of Sustainable Fashion? At its most basic, the word “sustainable” means something can be maintained at its current rate or level. It can be applied to business: Can a company keep going while earning the same amount of money? It can be applied to the way you’re living your life. You’ve probably been admonished at least once by a well-meaning friend about your packed schedule, poor sleeping habits, or workload. “You just can’t keep going like this. It’s not sustainable.”  The same could be said for how we’re treating the planet, and how we make our fashion. We can’t keep going like this. It’s not sustainable.  We’re pullin...
Read more

Fast Fashion and Your Carbon Footprint

Image
    Many of us are aware of the Rana plaza collapse in 2013 that killed nearly 1,134 people. The collapse brought the working conditions in ‘fast fashion’ factories to the attention of the global media. The wages and working conditions for the people making our clothes are some of the biggest motivating factors to shop more ethically. However, another important ethical issue we need to consider is the environmental impact of our garments. We need to consider our carbon footprint. Contributors to the Fashion Carbon Footprint When we think about our carbon footprint we often think about cars, the air miles we clock up, and our household recycling. But what we choose to wear is one of the biggest impact factors on the environment and the fashion industry is one of the largest polluters in the world. Fashion is complicated. There are long and varied supply chains of raw material, production, manufacturing, shipping, and retail just to get your clothes to you. There is massive vari...
Read more

National Thrift Shop Day: Celebrate & Save

Image
      National Thrift Shop Day is here! It’s a day to remember and experience all the benefits of shopping at your local thrift stores. Not only can you save money in your day-to-day budget, but there is a lot more potential for your money shopping at thrift stores. 4 Reasons to Support National Thrift Shop Day Have you ever shopped at a thrift store? Thrift stores amass items that people donate, including clothes, shoes, games, books, housewares, furniture and small appliances. Most likely you have gone into a Salvation Army, Goodwill or a Savers at some point, although you may not have realized all the benefits of shopping there. Here are four reasons to start regularly buying at thrift stores. Saving Money at Thrift Shops The most obvious reason to shop on National Thrift Shop Day and beyond is to save money. Everything that goes into the store is below retail price. While most things are used and vary in condition, the deals are fantastic. The merc...
Read more