A-Z of Ethical Fashion | Part One

Have you noticed my snazzy new website? I’m really happy to have finally re-launched my online space to reflect everything I’m up to . While I still have 3+ years of blog posts on here, plus all my published articles, I also wanted to showcase my freelance digital marketing work (my day job) to help spread the word about what I do!

I realise that I’ve been on a wee bit of an unintentional hiatus from blogging itself, instead spending a lot of time on Instagram. But as we’re all reaching Insta-overload - I, for one, truly believe that blogging is not dead. I spend most of my day creating long-form content for other people - so why not myself? I have dozens of drafts in my CMS, and I’m buzzing with ideas, so it’s time to start making them happen.

In the meantime, here is a quick and easy guide to all things ethical fashion through the tried and trusted medium of the A-Z. I’m splitting this into 2 parts so it’s not too long - we’re all busy!

A - Appropriation

Ethical fashion goes way beyond the environmental impact and the people that make our clothes - it’s about every single link in the supply chain, and it starts with respect. Cultural appropriation is rife in the fashion industry - where fashion designers and communicators borrow elements of culture sacred to ethnic backgrounds or nationalities different from theirs without payment, without inclusion in the decision process, without representation in the business (or it’s communications) and more often than not - without permission or credit. “Nothing about us, without us” is the phrase we should all be keeping in mind if we work in fashion. Follow Diet Prada to get real angry real fast about the vast amount of cultural appropriation (and plenty of copycatting) at every level of fashion.

B - Bloggers

“Clothes aren’t going to change the world. The women who wear them will." - Anne Klein

Influencers play a huge role in helping to promote the ethical fashion movement. Highly impressionable followers, especially young people, take so much inspiration from fashion influencers who by and large promote products from fast fashion retailers to their audience. If they made the switch to sustainable brands, this could make a colossal difference. If you’re a blogger reading this, your silence is deafening - you cannot ignore the murky ethics of the brands tagged in your outfit posts (more on your ethical responsibility to your followers here). If you need some inspiration, follow some of my current favourite ethical fashion bloggers - Curiously Conscious, Uncomplicated Spaces, Beatrice Turner, Jill Matthews and Mikaela Loach.

C - Circular Economy

Our current system of consumption is a resource-intensive and highly wasteful linear economy which goes like this:
Take >> Make >> Buy >> Use >> Dispose

The circular economy, a system where the loop of a product exists in a ‘closed loop’, goes like this:
Make >> Use >> Recycle / Reuse / Renew >> Make >> Use >> Recycle / Reuse / Renew

Head over to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation to explore the shift towards an economy that is restorative and regenerative by design, in fashion and beyond.

D - Dhaka

In the ever-growing conversation about sustainability, I sometimes fear that we are yet again ignoring the lives of garment workers. Lest we forget the Rana Plaza disaster in Dhaka, Bangladesh, where a factory making clothes for dozens of major fashion brands collapsed, killing 1138 innocent people and injuring hundreds more. It was after this unthinkable tragedy (which is not even the only major factory disaster in recent years) that Fashion Revolution was formed to fight back against the fashion industry’s ignorance of the people who make our clothes, and the fight continues, 6 years on.

E - Ecology

The State of Nature is a yearly report presenting an overview of the UK’s natural wildlife. The 2019 report - which I would highly recommend anyone who cares about the future of the natural world to read - shows a rapid decline in population, distribution and wellbeing of hundreds of species of plants and animals. It is undeniable that climate change is to blame for this dramatic shift, and fashion (an industry more polluting than international flights and maritime shipping combined), is certainly not off the hook. Remember that ecology includes humans too - the future of all living things depends on the existence of all other living things. So whether you’re an animal lover or not, your life depends on protecting nature. And what we wear is a great place to start.

F - Fairtrade

Fairtrade is not just for bananas and coffee - you can choose to buy fairtrade clothing too. In a blog post I wrote last year called ‘Why You Should Be Shopping Fairtrade’, I talked about investing in brands that can guarantee - through a certification like the Fairtrade Foundation - that their products are made ethically, because:

”no matter how beautiful a product looks, if the people who created it were not treated or paid fairly, it will never truly be beautiful.”

Look out for the Fairtrade logo next time you’re out shopping - but also remember that small brands cannot always afford to invest in this certification while still being able to showcase their fair treatment of garment workers in other ways - if in doubt, ask the question via social media or a quick email. (PS. Self-auditing is not good enough - a brand should have nothing to be ashamed of by employing a third-party inspector).

G - Greenwashing

Ah, where do I even start with greenwashing? With seemingly every fashion brand on the market jumping on the ‘sustainability bandwagon’ this year by exaggerating their green credentials without substantial change, I grow increasingly fearful of the well-meaning shoppers being brainwashed into what sustainability really means. From Pretty Little Thing, ASOS and Little Mistress to Topshop, H&M and Mango - greenwashers are everywhere, and we have to stay vigilant and read between the lines of clever marketing campaigns. While I think it’s brilliant that big brands are making some changes, it is undeniably dangerous to claim those changes are anything more than small steps in a much bigger, much more necessary, total shift in business model.

H - Handmade

Sometimes the sheer volume of ethical fashion brands, and fast fashion brands claiming to be ethical, can be completely overwhelming. How do we make the right choices? One piece of advice I often give people is to shop small and shop local. When we support independent designers and makers, we can ensure that our products are ethically handmade by a single pair of hands. Plus, it helps boost the local economy and makes the creative person behind the business do a little happy dance because you’ve helped boost their passion project. What’s not to love?

I - Innovation

I have the tendency to get quite cynical about the state of the fashion industry (and oh boy, it’s a real state), but when I want to feel a little better about the world, I look to all the incredible startups investing in innovations to help make the future of fashion a little bit brighter. Take a gander at Fashion For Good, the sustainable innovation platform which has supported dozens of new business working to embrace the circular economy in fashion. From futuristic bio-textiles to resale programmes and recycling technologies - some brilliant boffins are out there truly making the industry a better place for the next generation.

J - Jeans

Who doesn’t love jeans? The ultimate in universal style, denim is a fashion leveller, and it’s durability, versatility and accessibility isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. The problem is, creating just one pair of blue jeans takes over 7,600 litres of water - possibly the thirstiest garment in our wardrobes. Most cotton used in denim is conventional rather than organic, so it’s gluttonous use of pesticides impacts biodiversity, soil health and human health too. That’s before we even take into account the indigo dyes, and the harsh chemicals used to create any distressing or fading of the jeans to make them look ‘worn-in’, creating problems in the world’s rivers.

Watch the documentary River Blue to learn more about the impact of denim on the environment. And check out Kings of Indigo, Mud Jeans and Monkee Genes for a more sustainable alternative. (Or even better - go second hand! Most vintage shops and resale sites are filled to the brim with retro Levi’s and Wranglers that will last you a lifetime.)

K - Knowledge

In this world of eco-anxiety, knowledge is power to ensure we can stay positive and focus on actionable solutions. Some of my favourite Instagram accounts to follow to educate myself on all things ethical fashion include Aja Barber, Fashion Revolution, Sustainable Fashion Forum and Tick Over. I can also recommend stepping away from your screen and reading some books on the subject, including Elizabeth Cline’s ‘Conscious Closet’, Dana Thomas’ ‘Fashionopolis’, Lauren Bravo’s ‘How to Break Up with Fast Fashion’, and ‘Slave to Fashion’ & ‘Slow Fashion’ by Safia Minney. Fancy some audio learning? Listen to these brilliant podcasts - Wardrobe Crisis, Switch, Conscious Chatter, Ethical Hour and Business of Fashion. There’s loads more ethical fashion resources here.

L - Labels

“Care for your clothes like the good friends they are” - Joan Crawford.

DId you know that up to 20% of the environmental impact of a garment occurs in the laundering stage? Knowing what our care labels mean is an excellent way to make our clothes last longer by washing, drying and ironing them correctly. I’ve become familiar with the various symbols due to studying textiles while at university, but here’s a simple guide to care labels so you can swot up too. My two top tips are to invest in a Guppy Friend to wash any polyester garments n (this snazzy little bag captures microfibres in the washing machine), and to simply wash clothes less - particularly durable items like jeans, jumpers and bras (or at least wash them at 30 degrees to save energy.

The fibre content part of the labels stitched into the clothes we buy (or listed in their online product descriptions) - look out for single fibres rather than multiple fibre blends (this makes the clothing easier to recycle at the end of it’s useful life), and wherever possible, try to avoid virgin polyester, acrylic, nylon, PVC or other petrochemical-based materials, opting for natural, biodegradable fibres instead.

M - Marketing

Beyond the greenwashing messages mentioned above, the sheer volume (both in terms of quantity and unavoidable ‘loudness’) of marketing messages we receive from fashion brands is overwhelming - and that’s coming from someone who pays their rent working in fashion marketing.

My top tip for someone wanting to start distancing themselves from fast fashion and overconsumption in general is to unsubscribe from as many newsletters as possible, especially if the tone of those emails are urgent and high pressure (‘buy now!’ ‘last chance to buy!’ or ‘get it or regret it!’), and you find it difficult to resist discount codes and free shipping offers (I feel you, boo).

Same goes for social media - if you don’t like a brand’s ethics, don’t give them the privilege of your attention, simply unfollow (and block any ads that pop up like little fast fashion demons). Check out Fashion Revolution’s Black Friday campaign to find out all about dodging the dark side of a ‘good deal’.