SUSTAINABLE FASHION

Sustainable fashion is a topic that is becoming more and more important in today's society as our current ecologic crisis continues. Consumers are starting to realise how much of an affect fast fashion and manufacturing is having on the world we live in and companies are starting to do something about it. Fast fashion companies are made to deal with supply and demand; pushing out the newest trends as quickly and cheaply as possible. Due to this need to have product out rapidly the textiles used in manufaction are bad for the environment and the quality of them matches the prices. When these poorly made products break it's easier to just throw them out and replace them than repair them which results in increased amounts of waste entering landfill. We as consumers are buying 400% more clothing than we were 20 years ago and with new fast fashion companies popping up all the time that number can only go up.

Polyester is the most common material used in the production of textiles but people haven't always

realised what affect that is having on our own bodies. When this material is washed in a washing machine small micro fibres make their way into sewage and thus into our oceans where they are eaten by marine life. At first it might seem like a small issue but those micro fibres that are polluting our oceans are being eaten by plankton and then working its way up the food chain back to humans as we consume animals. Our planet is at a huge risk because of clothing production with textile dyeing being the second largest pollutant of clean water after agriculture, and clothing and footwear companies being accountable for 8% of the worlds greenhouse gas emissions.

So what are we going to do about this?

There are companies out there trying to make a difference and hopefully even more mainstream brands will follow suit to help save our planet.

TALA

TALA is a sustainable active wear brand launched mid 2019 by youtuber and Oxford University graduate Grace Beverly. All clothing produced by this brand is made out of sustainable textiles or recycled materials. In just 6 months of the companies start they have saved over 1 million litres of water by consumers purchasing their stock over non-recycled equivalents, and recycled over 40,000 plastic bottles during manufacturing.
The packaging customers receive their orders in is 100% recycled and recyclable with even the clothing tag attached to the item of being plantable so you can watch your seedling grow.

The brand also has a big focus on inclusivity with models ranging from size XS to 2XL and being from all social and racial backgrounds.





REFORMATION

Reformation is a US based brand that focuses predominantly on reworking clothing. In the sates textiles make up almost 6% of rubbish making its way into landfill every year. This brand hopes to help reduce this as remanufactured clothing can save 13,000lbs of CO2 emissions a year. As well as reworking pieces they use an array of sustainable materials, close to 15% of their products are made out of dead stock. Another textile they use is Alpaca wool which each pound of alpaca wool saves 400lbs of CO2 and 1500 gallons of water as apposed to none sustainable materials.

H&M CONSCIOUS

H&M Conscious is a sub brand to the high street retailer H&M that strives towards sustainability and better working conditions. Their goal is to use 100% recycled or sustainable materials by 2030. Clothing in this range can be found priced from £8.99 to £229, so there is something out there for all budgets. The product is made by independent suppliers in developing countries to create jobs and Independence (especially for women) to help them out of poverty and push economic growth. All suppliers must sign a contract saying they will provide good working conditions and fair wages to staff. To also promote sustainability in stores you can bring in any clothing you don't use in exchange for money off vouchers to give customers an incentive to think sustainability