Clothing Industry

Join the slow fashion movement. Buy less and wear more. While people interpret slow fashion differently, the key principles include thoughtfulness, minimalism, localization, and endurance. You can learn how to best care for your existing wardrobe by reading clothing labels. You can sign the Slow Fashion Season 2021 pledge, consider switching to a capsule wardrobe, or only supporting businesses with slow fashion practices.

Do less laundry, less often. The washing of clothes is connected to the plastic pollution crisis in our waterways, a high proportion of residential CO₂ emissions, and also wears clothing out faster. Refer to this guide on responsible laundry to make some easy switches with detergents and laundry settings depending on what is suitable for the climate you live in.

Buy second hand clothing. Shopping second hand clothing is one of the most ethical and sustainable ways to add to your wardrobe. It’s easier than ever to shop online through consignment-store websites. You can also support physical businesses by visiting local thrift stores.

Swap clothes. Exchange your unwanted clothes for new garments or, sometimes money or in-store currencies. Swap Society is one such organization leading the way with swaps in the U.S. You can also organize your own physical clothing swap in your community.

Rent your wardrobe. A growing number of businesses allow you to rent clothes, especially for occasions when you might only wear those clothes once. You can save wardrobe space, money, and even experiment with new looks.

Learn to repair or upcycle clothing. Instead of disposing of clothing at first sign of a little wear and tear, consider repairing fashion items, or upcycle them into new items once beyond repair. Here is a guide to mending common clothing problems that can be repaired at home.

Donate or resell unwanted clothing. Instead of throwing out unwanted clothing, consider what the next best options are. You can refer to this helpful guide to understand when it might be possible to sell or donate unwanted clothing.

If you must buy new, buy natural fiber clothing. Choose clothes made with 100 percent natural fiber. These include cotton, hemp, linen, silk, wool, and cashmere. Avoid synthetic fibers which are derived from virgin plastic, whose microplastics end up in our water bodies and in our air. Aim to buy clothes made locally.

​​​​​​Be a regenerative influencer. Social media influencers play a significant role in normalizing a consumption culture and keeping fast fashion thriving. If you are someone with a platform, lead by example.

​​​​​Grow regenerative fibers. By using regenerative agricultural practices, farmers can grow natural fibers such as organic cotton and hemp without excessive or any fertilizers and pesticides, and ensure workers’ health and safety.

Be transparent about your business practices. Disclose information about your purchasing practices, the people involved in the supply chain, and the materials and their environmental impacts in all products. This includes reporting your manufacturers, processing facilities, textile production sites, and producers. You can use Fashion Revolution’s brand policies and commitments guide (p.28) to report clearly about your supply chain and tools like the Higgs Product Tool to understand the impacts of different materials and life-cycle analyses.

Ensure livable wages and fair labor practices for your workers. Workers, not just within the company but also those of suppliers within the supply chain, should be guaranteed living wages, clear working hours, and safe working conditions. Further, companies should ensure that no child or forced labor is used along their supply chain, and allow garment workers to have registered unions. You can refer to Fair Wear’s internationally recognized code of labor practices as a guide.

Participate in the Textile Exchange’s Corporate Fiber & Materials Benchmark (CFMB) program. Take part in the peer-to-peer comparison initiative and receive a digital scorecard to share with stakeholders. The findings can be used to build a stronger fiber-and-materials strategy and contribute to alignment on climate targets.

Take responsibility for textile waste. Many fast fashion retail giants overproduce clothing and dump deadstock into noncompeting markets or sometimes even destroy it. Companies can produce fewer garments over fewer seasons, make more responsible orders, and restructure supply chains to pass along excess to other designers and brands. For example, LVMH has launched an online market platform to sell off its deadstock high-end fabrics.

Decarbonize your supply chain. Coal-fired supply chains, synthetic materials made of fossil fuels and a sprawled global supply chain are some key factors resulting in high emissions in the sector. This Stand Earth report identifies five critical focus areas to assess the decarbonization of fashion supply chains. These include ambitious emissions targets, renewable energy across the supply chain, renewable energy advocacy, low carbon and long-lasting materials, and greener shipping.

Offer repair and recycling services. Following organizations like Patagonia, instead of encouraging a culture of disposability, offer repair services for your merchandise at their outlets. Offer a collection bin for clothing at the end of its life cycle for recycling.

Fashionscapes: A Circular Economy by Livia Firth

The True Cost (Netflix documentary)

Fiber Visions by Fibershed

The Problem with Fast Fashion by Teen Vogue

The Ugly Truth of Fast Fashion by Patriot Act

Fashionopolis: Why What We Wear Matters by Dana Thomas

Earth Logic: Fashion Action Research Plan by Kate Fletcher and Mathilda Tham

The Human Cost of Recycled Cotton by Alden Wicker

Consumed by Aja Barber

Nearly 50% of Companies’ Sustainability Claims Are “Exaggerated, False, or Deceptive,” According to a New Probe by The Fashion Law

Some of the Favorite Greenwashing Tactics of Clothing Companies by Christine Ro

Fibershed: Growing a Movement of Farmers, Fashion Activists, and Makers for a New Textile Economy by Rebecca Burgess

Conscious Style Podcast: e.g., 7 Types of Greenwashing in Fashion

Wardrobe Crisis: e.g., Sustainable Fashion Is a Lie Without Garment Workers at the Table

Common Threads Podcast: e.g., How to Start an Ethical Fashion Brand

Conscious Chatter: e.g., The Need to Align Values with Business Models

Good Ancestor Podcast: Aja Barber on Sustainable Fashion

Love to Sew: e.g., Sustainability and Sewing

Costing the Earth: e.g., Microfiber Detectives