Sustainable Fashion

The term “sustainable fashion” was coined by author and activist Kate Fletcher (State of Matter Apparel, 2024). Sustainable fashion is defined as practices that aim to protect, “both the environment and those producing garments” (Chan, 2022), and “seeks to reduce the ecological footprint throughout the entire life cycle of a garment.” (Domestika). Sustainable fashion aims to reduce the impacts of a currently environmentally detrimental industry by encouraging underconsumption and repurposing, amongst other things. 

Sustainable fashion expert Michelle Blair Gabriel (introduced to the right) detailed how she understands fashion and more specifically sustainable fashion as a system.

Michelle Blair Gabriel

Michelle Blair Gabriel is a fashion sustainability researcher, expert and educator focused on the systems, strategies, policies, and laws that are necessary to instill sustainable practices within the fashion industry. She frequently speaks about and hosts insightful panel discussions that explore key issues in the fashion world, sharing her extensive knowledge and expertise. Gabriel has also written extensively and contributed to numerous works, offering valuable perspectives on the intersection of sustainability and fashion. She developed and is the Graduate Program Director for the Sustainable Fashion program at Glasgow Caledonian New York College, the first graduate program of its kind in the Americas. She frequently collaborates with and supports leading global fashion organizations and nonprofits, including the United Nations, the Yale Center for Business and the Environment, The City of New York, Collective Fashion Justice, Earthday.org, The Fashion Connection, and Fashion Revolution, among others.

The Need for Sustainable Fashion

The fashion industry currently is responsible for a considerable portion of the global carbon dioxide output, produces 20% of global waste water, and 85% of clothing and textiles end up in landfills (UNFCCC, 2018). With the growing climate crisis, fashion brands have had further incentive to engage in environmentally friendly and ethically sound practices. Integral elements of sustainable fashion include, but are not limited to, eco-friendly materials, ethical production and consumption, reduced waste, and circular fashion. 

Younger generations have recognized the importance of integrating sustainability in all facets of society, the fashion industry included, because they acknowledge that climate change directly impacts the quality of their future and the generations that will succeed them. A recent “UNICEF report labeled the climate crisis a ‘child rights crisis’: nearly half of the world’s young people live in countries exposed to multiple, overlapping climate hazards that may threaten access to essential services (e.g., education, nutrition) in the upcoming decades.” (Thomaes et al., 2023). Young people's engagement in sustainability is integral because their efforts range from social media activities, community work, and most importantly political protests (Thomaes et al., 2023).

As a result of younger generations’ interest in sustainable fashion, fashion brands such as Reformation, Patagonia, and Stella McCartney, have gained momentum and collaborated with well known public figures. Reformation has taken initiative to install a Climate Positive Road Map that claims the fashion brand intends on becoming ‘climate positive’ by the year 2025. The term ‘climate positive’ has been defined by the company themselves as, “meeting our greenhouse gas reduction targets and removing more emissions than we produce” (Reformation, 2024). Reformation has also claimed they're making advancements towards an entirely circular company by the year 2030. Activist, writer, and producer Monica Lewinsky collaborated on a collection with Reformation in 2024, and, “brought an astonishing level of attention and gravitas to the sustainable brand,... showing that when a brand and its spokesperson share authentic values, the impact can be monumental." (Jones, 2024). 

A notable and damaging component of the fashion industry is the dominance of fast fashion, where clothes are made cheaply, quickly, with little regard for the manufacturing process and waste produced. Fast fashion is also infamously known for violating ethical labor practices and exploiting workers via inadequate pay and strenuous working conditions, and the most concerning of all, child slave labor. Fast fashion’s driving contributors to global pollution include excess use of nonrenewable materials, use of microplastics in their materials, and is an energy intensive process (Maiti, 2024).

FTC Green Guides

In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission's (“FTC”) Green Guides, “are designed to help marketers avoid making environmental claims that mislead consumers” and understand “how consumers are likely to interpret particular claims and how marketers can substantiate these claims” (FTC). “While the Green Guides themselves are not separately enforceable, the FTC considers them ‘administrative interpretations of the FTC Act as applied to environmental claims’” (Benway et al., 2023). The FTC Green Guides, although not solely dedicated towards the fashion industry, are important guidelines for the fashion industry’s advertising and marketing. Applicable sections in the FTC Green Guides include: 

260.12: Recyclable Claims - “It is deceptive to misrepresent, directly or by implication, that a product or package is recyclable. A product or package should not be marketed as recyclable unless it can be collected, separated, or otherwise recovered from the waste stream through an established recycling program for reuse or use in manufacturing or assembling another item” 

260.13: Recyclable Content Claims - “It is deceptive to misrepresent, directly or by implication, that a product or package is made of recycled content. Recycled content includes recycled raw material, as well as used, reconditioned, and re-manufactured components.” 

260.16: Renewable Materials Claims - “ It is deceptive to misrepresent, directly or by implication, that a product or package is made with renewable materials.” 

In 2022, the FTC sued both Walmart and Kohls for having labeled rayon-based garments incorrectly. Both Walmart and Kohls claimed the material conversion process from bamboo to rayon was eco-friendly, however, “converting bamboo into rayon requires the use of toxic chemicals and results in hazardous pollutants” (FTC). The settlement agreed by the parties resulted in combined penalties of $5.5 million for the companies and an order that they, “stop making deceptive green claims or using other misleading advertising” (FTC, 2022).

Greenwashing Defined

Greenwashing is, “when a company or organization spends more time and money on marketing themselves as being sustainable than on actually minimizing their environmental impact” (Robinson, 2022). This method of advertising and marketing is frequently used to appeal to consumers who’ve confirmed their regard for the environment. A recent poll indicated that, “85 percent of global consumers said they considered the environment more when shopping… and are willing to spend more money for green products” (Lindwall, 2023). 

Common examples of greenwashing include: 

  • Packaging and visuals that allude to sustainability, even if the product itself has no correlation to it. 

  • Use of language on a product’s packaging or advertising that implies sustainability. The wording can be, “intentionally vague enough to remain subjective and unregulated while still attempting to convince customers of a product’s benefits” (Lindwall, 2023). 

Greenwashing within the fashion industry is often noted through their use of language. A “brand may market a clothing line as “made from recycled materials” without disclosing that only a small percentage of the recycled material was used in the final product” (Zwieglinska, 2024). 

Washington D.C.-based fashion and entertainment lawyer Anthony V. Lupo and his associate Dan Jasnow discussed methods on how fashion brands and companies can advertise and market sustainability without engaging in greenwashing and misleading consumers.

Legislation and Sustainable Fashion

Some new policies that more strictly regulate the fashion industry’s environmental impact have been proposed, such as The New York Fashion Act, but they have yet to be passed (Lopes, 2023). We asked Michelle Blair Gabriel, a sustainable fashion researcher and expert, her thoughts on the government's role in contributing to a sustainable fashion industry. Gabriel referenced the notion of “planned obsolescence,” and how the fashion industry thrives off the idea of preparing and supplying clothing that fuels economic output rather than honoring the longevity of clothing.

<— Gabriel speaks about the impact of government on the fashion industry and historical context.

<— Gabriel speaks about the importance of public engagement and how it incites policy change towards a cleaner industry.

Gabriel emphasizes the importance of financial support from governments that would aid the establishment and success of sustainable fashion companies. —>

The New York State Fashion Act

Gabriel emphasizes her excitement for prospective legislation that would establish new standards for fashion companies and brands, including the The Fashion Sustainability and Social Accountability Act, otherwise known as the New York Fashion Act. The proposed bill, “would require fashion retailers and manufacturers doing business in New York State to comply with stringent supply chain mapping requirements and to disclose the environmental and social impacts of their activities” (Lupo et al., 2023). 

The New York Fashion Act aims to: 

Mandate that companies know and disclose their supply chains: The bill states that an integral first step towards improving a fashion company’s production involves transparency, and the first step of, “the Fashion Act requires companies to map their supply chain down to their raw material providers” (The New York Fashion Act, 2022) 

Require companies to be responsible for their impact in those supply chains, through the legally binding Mandatory Due Diligence Framework: “Once apparel companies know and disclose their supply chains, they are then required by the bill to draw down their negative impacts” (The New York Fashion Act, 2022).

Regulations and Enforcement: “The New York Department of State, working alongside relevant state agencies, would be tasked with developing regulations to guide companies in complying with the law. It would be enforced by the Attorney General or the Attorney General's designated administrator” (The New York Fashion Act, 2022). 

Anthony Lupo shared his concerns about the effectiveness of the New York Fashion Act and its implications on smaller fashion brands and businesses.

References

Hoopes, Justin. “A Comprehensive History of Sustainable Fashion.” State of Matter Apparel, 3 Jan. 2024, stateofmatterapparel.com/blogs/som-blog/a-comprehensive-history-of-sustainable-fashion.

United Nations. “UN Helps Fashion Industry Shift to Low Carbon.” United Nations Climate Change, 6 Sept. 2018, unfccc.int/news/un-helps-fashion-industry-shift-to-low-carbon.

Federal Trade Commission. “Green Guides.” Federal Trade Commission, 31 Oct. 2018, www.ftc.gov/news-events/topics/truth-advertising/green-guides.

Maiti, Rashmila. “Fast Fashion and Its Environmental Impact.” Earth.org, 5 Jan. 2024, earth.org/fast-fashions-detrimental-effect-on-the-environment/.

Lopes, Roma. “Green Is In: The First Sustainable Fashion Federal Legislation.” Natlawreview.com, National Law Review, 2023, natlawreview.com/article/green-first-sustainable-fashion-federal-legislation. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.