Sustainable Fashion made simple

Sustainable fashion is a topic that has been talked about more in recent years, but with this added interest into the topic there is much confusion. Most of this confusion could be tied to companies that are using sustainability as a way to boost sales, rather than a real issue they care about. Sustainable Fashion has recently become a buzzword in the media, but that's not what it really is.

To many, sustainable fashion isn’t something excessive or hard to attain it's just what they do everyday. One of the issues is the increase of “greenwashing” coming from brands and companies it has made it so that the true meaning of sustainable fashion has been lost. The reality of sustainable fashion doesn't need to be super fancy and in fact it's usually not, most people do things that are sustainable everyday without even noticing.

Infographic by Kari Mullan (Definition source Merriam-Webster)

"Greenwashing" is a term you may have heard being thrown around but what is it really? To put it plainly greenwashing is defined by merriam-webster as “the act or practice of making a product, policy, activity, etc. appear to be more environmentally friendly or less environmentally damaging than it really is.” Greenwashing is extremely prevalent in the fashion industry, probably due to the large environmental impact that the industry has on the environment.

A report conducted in 2021 from the non-profit, Changing Markets Foundation, looked into the validity of the claims some of these big fashion brands were making and found that 60% of all the claims they made were untrue.

Greenwashing is a very real issue because companies are willing to pay to certify their products as sustainable rather than actually qualify for those certifications so they get more sales and make more money. Some companies will do all they can to make it look like they care more than they do and that their products are more environmentally friendly than they are, whether this is by skewing data or not giving the necessary information on their environmental campaigns.

Alicia Bubka

I spoke to a current college student, Alicia Bubka, about sustainability and the things she does to minimize her impact on the environment when it comes to fashion. We discussed what sustainable fashion means to her and the actions she takes on daily basis and we found that it really comes down to the little things.

Bubka said, “To me, sustainable fashion means being more conscious of what I’m buying and where it’s coming from."

She goes on to describe the actions she takes to be more sustainable by saying, "When shopping for new items, I try to prioritize quality pieces that I will continue to wear. I will not shop at brands like Shein that have become synonymous with fast-fashion and infamous for unethical labor practices and treatment of workers."

Bubka also says, "Sustainable fashion for me also means extending the lifespan of clothing by shopping and selling on resell sites like Poshmark.”

Extending the length of clothes by taking good care of your items and or selling them once you stop wearing them are good ways to help keep clothes from being thrown out or discarded even more frequently.

These actions like not buying from companies she knows are not environmentally friendly and focusing on buying things she will rewear are major steps that can help keep more textile waste from going straight to landfills, and they aren't difficult to do. She is just a normal student and does not have the power to make major changes in the fashion industry but her actions do make a difference and it should be evidence that everyone of us have the ability to choose the sustainable option.

I know it can be hard especially since many corporations are trying to mislead you but every little bit helps. Sustainable fashion doesn't need to be overly complicated and it can actually be quite simple.

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