My personal guide for you
Consumer awareness of the importance of sustainability when it comes to choosing fashion brands has undoubtedly increased. Users are increasingly asking for clarity and want to deal with brands that try to truly respect the Planet and that do not make use of Green Washing. However, identifying truly sustainable brands and products can be complex. This article aims to help you understand more how to behave in front of fashion brands, when you are not sure whether they are truly sustainable brands.
Sustainability in fashion
1. Educate yourself on sustainable fashion principles
Do you know what “sustainable” or ethical fashion really means? This is the question all consumers should ask themselves before they start shopping. Sustainable fashion works, first and foremost, to reduce the impact of its production and distribution on the environment and does so with the use of eco-compatible materials and low-impact production processes. Ethical fashion, on the other hand, focuses primarily on fair working conditions, ensuring decent wages and safe working environments for workers.
2. Research brands and certifications
Compulsive buying is the planet’s first enemy. Compensatory shopping, which has more to do with filling an internal void rather than the emptiness of the wardrobe (which for the record is never empty enough).
The trick to getting out of this “spell” is to think about shopping before going out. Does leaving home necessarily mean buying? Can’t you not do it? Do this exercise: stand in front of your wardrobe at the beginning of a season (assuming they still exist :D) and go through all the items to understand what is still good, what can be given away, fixed, upcycled and simply still left in our wardrobe. When you go out you can look at the shop windows (the famous window shopping that has never hurt anyone), but you can then do other things, without necessarily buying. If you think about it beforehand, you can also study which materials are sustainable and already make a prior selection of what will fit sparingly into your wardrobe. Or you can think about the certifications like B Corp
Ethics and traceability
3. Choose eco-friendly materials
This is another good option that requires attention. Before you study which materials are eco friendly ( for example organic cotton, linen, hemp and recycled fabrics), than you open the wallet.
4. Check for transparency and traceability
Is the brand you would like to choose traceable? If it is, it means that it has adopted a transparency policy and therefore allows information to be collected about it. Here too, look for certifications (not all are the same and having a certification is not enough to be sustainable). GOTS for example is one of those fundamental certifications. You can use apps and websites to make sure that brands apply sustainable and ethical practices: for example, I always use Goodo on you which gives a reliable rating, especially on Italian brands that do not always respond enthusiastically to questions from this “certifier” site “. Or you can consult the Fashion Revolution Transparency Index. If blockchain exists in the supply chain, the brand shows a great sense of responsibility and proves that it is reliable. Even the consumer reviews that you find on some sites or even NGOs are helpful in clarifying the shopping phase.
5. Prioritize quality over quantity
Do you remember what the fashion designer Vivienne Westwood used to say?Buy less, buy better. If you invest in high-quality garnments, they will last longer and this is a sustainable choice. If you buy products at the cheap chains, they are flags. Pay attention to the durability of garnments.
6. Second-hand, vintage, local brands and artisans
Another way to reduce the impact of your clothes is to buy them second hand or vintage, or even have them given as gifts, when people no longer wear them. Once upon a time this practice was considered inappropriate for living in a certain type of society, today it is almost snobbish to do it, mixing clothes that you already have in your wardrobe with clothes found in street markets, purchased from second hand shops or received as gifts from someone friend.
If you are lucky enough to know producers of local clothing brands, it is a great opportunity to buy clothes from them because in this way you also help and support the local economy.
Adopting a circular approach to fashion means not only buying sustainably but also reducing waste. Reusing clothes, repairing them when possible, and recycling them properly at the end of their life cycle are fundamental practices. Many brands offer take-back programs to recycle used garments.
9. Join sustainable communities and initiatives
Joining communities of conscious consumers and participating in sustainable initiatives can provide support and useful information. Online groups, forums, and social media are great places to exchange tips, experiences, and discover new ethical brands.
(Viviana Musumeci, founder di Gaiazoe.life)
