Companies Paving the Way in Sustainable Fashion

Written by: Laaibah Hanan

As we’ve become more conscious about our clothing purchases, we often ponder the question: who’s in charge of making our clothes and in what kind of conditions? Recently the choice has been confusing for many to make. With the rise of so many so-called sustainable fashion brands, it’s not always clear who is doing the work building a sustainable brand and who is just enjoying the halo effect of being socially conscience.

Building a sustainable brand involves many aspects, including sourcing material that is innovative and effective in the goal of having a low environmental impact to making sure working conditions in companies are above minimal standards. Here are a couple of brands that make an honest and ethical effort towards building a sustainable lifestyle for consumers.

H&M

Swedish owned fast fashion brand H&M is one of the largest leading giants in the fashion industry. Second behind Zara, H&M has long been the target of widespread concern about the impact fast fashion has on the environment. H&M has set a science backed goal of reducing their greenhouse gas emission by 2030. They have also made a pledge to use 100% recycled or sustainable materials by 2030. While these pledges sound innovation and idealistic, we need to see what steps H&M is taking to ensure the success of this plan.

The brand has recently launched an initiative for consumers to donate or recycle clothes from any store to be used sustainably. This is has shown positive results in the company’s sustainability report resulting in progress in the brand’s goals. They also use campaigned for governments to pass laws supporting their initiative to require the use of renewable energy to produce apparel. In 2020, they signed a letter in support to the Cambodian government to invest in renewable low carbon energy as opposed to burning fossil fuels. The brand also has a project in the works to improve living wages for workers abroad. Overall, the brand has decent start as the goals they’ve mentioned now is only dependant of consumers reacting positively to it.

Patagonia

Patagonia is widely known for their outdoorsy and adventure wear clothing that appeals many consumers with an active lifestyle. They also take a strong stand with protecting our planet and preserving it for as long as possible with the mission statement “build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis”. This definitely demonstrates the high bar set by Patagonia and raises questions on how well the brand is working towards this initiative.

Patagonia has taken impressive steps towards their goal of reducing their environment impact. The materials many sweaters consist of recycled polyester, wool, and nylons. Patagonia’s brand stands out from most fast fashion companies as they aim to make great quality products with a very long shelf life. The company also has a similar initiative of recycling in that they have a program available for consumers to throw older clothes in to be used again in production. They also offer services of repair on damaged items of their clothing to prolong the life of their products for shoppers. The brand goes insofar they discourage consumers from buying necessary products they don’t have the need for form their company. Anti-consumerism is at the heart of Patagonia’s brand. This unique stance intrigues many customers to support the brand and use their products.

Reformation

Born in 2009 by Yael Aflalo, Reformation is a carbon- neutral women’s clothing company that creates the cutest and most chic outfits worn and seen on many celebrities today. They claim that sustainability is at the core of their brand and is the motivating factor when it comes to the inspiration behind all their pieces. The brand is in many ways an environmental leader, involving the use of recycled materials and textiles, with some of their products being Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certified. The rand also strives to utilize excess/cut off material in the production process into new pieces to reduce any form of waste they can. Reformation also has managed to reduce their carbon footprint by manufacturing their products close to where it is sold and utilizes a reputable carbon offset program. All in all, reformation ranks high in their goal of building a sustainable brand that consumers can be sure to shop and support in aim of bettering the environment.

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