This page may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Have you ever wondered what impact your clothes have on the environment? Do you wonder if you are doing damage to the planet without realizing it? Both of those questions have been on my mind lately. We wear our clothes 365 days a year, yet know little(nothing?) about the environmental impact of our clothes or its sustainability.

What is Sustainable Fashion?

In a nutshell, sustainable fashion’s aim is to create as much of a neutral impact on the environment, as possible. A sustainable fashion brand analyzes its business from the top to the bottom, from the materials they source, to the environment they leave behind when those materials are processed.

One thing to mention is that sustainable fashion is in its infancy. Sustainable fashion brands do not have a blueprint for how to do this and are figuring it out as they go along. Like all new ideas, it gets better as it goes along and one day it will become second nature.

Is Sustainable Fashion Expensive?

Generally speaking, it costs more money to thoughtfully produce a piece of clothing. Sadly, we are all used to fast fashion, but at what cost to the health of our planet?

By investing in thoughtfully made clothing, you are also investing in the future of our planet. Buying beautiful, sustainable clothing, has no downsides. Cherishing your clothing for years is the ultimate way of living sustainably.

Change is Slow, but Possible

Right now there is little awareness about the environmental impact of our clothing. But remember, not long ago, recycling wasn’t even a thing. Our trash cans used to be bottomless pits, where throwing plastic and paper away was totally normal.

Now, we’re proud recyclers, carefully separating the paper from the plastic in our homes. We feel good doing our part to keep our planet healthy for our families and future generations, and it’s worth it.

Clothing is next on the list. When it comes to buying our clothes, we need to learn how to make the best choices for our planet.

Watch Out for Dishonest Brands

There’s something you should know about sustainable fashion. Some brands that claim they are sustainable are “greenwashing”.

Which is to say, they are exaggerating their company’s sustainable practices in order to get your money.

Since there are no current rules in place to measure sustainability, you have to be careful as a shopper. Despite this, some fashion brands are taking it upon themselves to be transparent and are leading the way in sustainability.

3 Things to Look For When Judging a Brand’s Sustainability

Shopping for sustainable fashion may feel like the “Wild West” right now, but you can still spot the good from the bad. Here are a few tips to help you decide if a brand is right for you.

1. What fabrics and materials are they using? Fabrics are a simple way of reducing clothing’s environmental impact. It’s part of a company’s supply chain and makes up a huge part of their impact of the planet.
2. Does the brand use any eco-friendly certifications? If a brand consistently shows symbols or certifications across their website, it’s a good indication of their intentions and high standards. For example, if they use GOTS certified Organic Cotton and FSC certified wood, that’s a good sign.
3. Do they regularly and openly reply to questions about their sustainability on their Social Media channels or customer service department? If a brand is defensive or sidesteps questions completely, that’s a good indication of their questionable sustainability practices. Even if a fashion brand is working on rolling out more sustainable products, it’s much better to hear them say that honestly, than to not answer at all. It will help you to make a considered decision.

How To Increase Your Clothing’s Sustainability

1. Keep your clothing for as long as possible. Buy intentionally and thoughtfully and you can wear your favorites for years!
2. Buy high-quality second-hand clothing. Some of it has never even been worn! Recycling at it’s finest.
3. Air dry your clothing to reduce your carbon footprint. A clothes dryer uses energy that is derived from fossil fuel sources.
4. Wash your clothing in cold water if possible.
5. Only wash clothing when they’re definitely dirty.
6. Recycle old clothes by donating them to a thrift store or selling them online.

5 Sustainable Fabrics I Love and Why

Organic Linen

GREEN SCORE: 9/10 Outstanding

• Made from the Flax plant, Linen is a natural fabric.
• Compared to Cotton, Flax uses far fewer natural resources (ie. water and land) and yet produces more crops.
• Organic Linen is pesticide free and does not use chemical fertilizers.
• Look for GOTS-certified linen or Organic Linen.

Organic Hemp

GREEN SCORE: 9/10 Outstanding

• Made from the Hemp plant, it’s naturally pest-tolerant so it needs little to no pesticides.
• It requires little water and leaves more nutrients in the soil after harvesting.
• Non-Organic Hemp is still a sustainable choice, but Organic Hemp is best.
• Although it’s related to the Cannabis plant, it has no psychoactive properties, in case you were wondering. At the end of the day, it’s a natural plant.

Organic Cotton

GREEN SCORE: 8/10 Very Good

• Uses much less water compared to traditional pesticide-sprayed cotton and leaves more nutrients in the soil after harvesting
• Look for GOTS-certified cotton or “Better Cotton“
• Did you know it takes 5,000 gallons of water just to produce a standard Non-Organic t-shirt plus a pair of jeans? That’s why Organic Cotton is far superior to the common Non-Organic Cotton.

Tencel ®

GREEN SCORE: 8/10 Very Good

• Made from dissolved wood pulp from trees, the standard fabric is called Lyocell.
• The Austrian company, Lenzing AG, make their Lyocell from sustainably harvested eucalyptus, and call their trademarked version Tencel®.
• Compared to Cotton, Tencel® requires less water, land, and energy to make fabric. It is naturally pesticide-free too.
• Great sustainable option for athletic clothing. It’s breathable and wicks moisture away.

Recycled Fabrics

GREEN SCORE: 7/10 Good

• New clothing is made using existing fabrics (remnants and overstock) that would otherwise be thrown away or burned.
• Natural choices include Recycled Cotton and Recycled Wool
• Synthetic choices include Recycled Nylon, Recycled Polyester, Chemically Recycled Nylon and Chemically Recycled Polyester.

Note: Recycling synthetic fabrics is overall much better than creating/processing fabrics from scratch. But, washing them creates microfibers that end up in our oceans. It’s not a perfect sustainable option, but it has many benefits, mainly reusing materials that already exist. There are options you can buy to minimize these microfibres from being washed away down the drain. You can now buy washing bags that keep microfibres from leaving your washing machine. Here’s one I recommend.

8 Common Fabrics to Avoid and Why

Non-Organic Cotton 

GREEN SCORE: 1/10 Terrible

• 50% of fabric production in the world, Cotton plants require enormous amounts of water and pesticides.
• Lakes have completely dried up as a result of irrigating cotton.
• Growing the plants leaves the soil infertile, which has led to the overuse of chemical fertilizers and continual land destruction in search of healthier soil.

Wool & Merino Wool 

GREEN SCORE: 1/10 Terrible

• Produced from sheep, wool is a natural fiber.
• Sheep farming contributes to 45% of the earth’s greenhouse gases that are produced by livestock farming every year.
• Methane, a greenhouse gas, is produced naturally during the digestive process of all livestock, which includes sheep.
• Methane is 25 times stronger than CO2 when it comes to global warming.

Cashmere 

GREEN SCORE: 1/10 Terrible

• Made from special goats, Cashmere is a high-quality wool.
• It takes about four years for one goat to produce enough wool for one sweater.
• The slow pace of growing wool, mixed with the high demand from consumers, has created unsustainable conditions in Mongolia and China. Goat herders have responded to demand by farming millions of more goats than ever before, increasing Methane levels.
• Too many goats are being grazed per acre of land, leading to the destruction of natural grasslands.

Bamboo & Organic Bamboo 

GREEN SCORE: 1/10 Terrible

• As a plant, growing bamboo is very sustainable. It grows quickly and grows back after it is cut down.
• The problem arises when it’s processed and turned into fabric.
• Processing bamboo requires nasty chemicals and a lot of energy to turn it into a soft fabric.
• Until new processing methods are created, all bamboo is unsustainable.

Rayon, Viscose and Modal

GREEN SCORE: 1/10 Terrible

• Rayon, Viscose, and Modal, are fabrics made by dissolving wood pulp with chemicals.
• After turning the wood pulp into a fabric, the chemicals are discarded into our environment.
• Chronic exposure to these harsh chemicals has been shown to damage the health of factory workers.
• Many healthy rainforests are cut down and replaced by bamboo trees for use in fashion products.

Nylon (synthetic)

GREEN SCORE: 1/10 Terrible

• Creating the synthetic fabric produces nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas that is 310 stronger than carbon dioxide.
• Nylon requires lots of energy to produce too.
• It releases up to 1900 plastic microfibers into our oceans.

Polyester (synthetic)

GREEN SCORE: 2/10 Bad

• Created after combining fossil fuels, energy, and water, polyester is a plastic synthetic fabric.
• By the time it’s turned into a plastic fiber, it has already released chemicals into the water and air.
• Polyester has a high carbon footprint.
• It releases up to 1900 plastic microfibers into our oceans when it is washed.

Acrylic (synthetic)

GREEN SCORE: 2/10 Bad

• Created after applying heat and pressure to fossil fuels, acrylic is a plastic synthetic fabric.
• It has a high carbon footprint.
• Acrylic fabric can last up to 200 years in a landfill.
• It releases up to 1900 plastic microfibers into our oceans when it is washed.
• As a fabric, it pills and looks shabby after a few washes, so will need replacing.

The Best Sustainable Clothing Brands

Veja

Why they’re great:

• A favorite of fashion-conscious women from LA to London. Megan Markle is a fan.
• Lovely and soft Organic Cotton inner shoe lining (GOTS Certified).
• The Rubber soles are Fair Trade and sourced directly from farmers in Brazil. Fair Trade products assure workers are paid a living wage.
• Their “B-Mesh” sneakers are made using three recycled plastic bottles.