To buy new clothes is always a refreshing experience. Elegant garments will make us look, if not better, surely more fashionable! To buy new and sustainable fashion clothes, will also help the planet look slicker, maintaining its characteristics and always in style, blue colour!
To find Environmentally-Friendly clothes is not so difficult anymore. The growing demand for sustainable fashion, the turn to more ethical commerce and the latest technological advancements, have boosted the production and use of sustainable fabrics.
However, there is one problem with sustainable fashion! At a time when the environment cries out for Eco-Friendly solutions, sustainable fashion accounts barely for 0.33% of the global fashion industry. A sector that is currently worth over £1.5 trillion.
Not little, but giant steps must be taken right away!
Some Interesting Sustainable Fashion Statistics!
- The fashion industry is the second largest polluter (and the second largest polluter of water, accounting for 20% of all industrial water pollution). The growth of sustainable fashion must be the sector’s number 1 goal in order to contain the damage.
- In the UK, 350,000 tonnes of worn but still useable clothing (worth roughly £140 million), end up in landfill annually.
- The sustainable fashion industry is currently worth over £5.4 Billion and it is expected to reach £8.9 Billion by 2025. By 2030 that number is predicted to climb up to £13.37 Billion
- According to a McKinsey survey, because of the COVID-19 crisis, 65% of the participants plan to purchase more durable fashion items and 71 % plan to keep the items they already have for longer
- In the UK, almost 25% of consumers make purchase decisions based on sustainability!
- The majority of consumers that buy clothing and other accessories, depending on sustainability factors, are spread among gender and age but most often they have above-average income
- A survey conducted by the United Nations Climate Change Conference shows that in the last five years, 32% of Millennials have turned to sustainable purchase behaviours and a third of them will choose a sustainable product when available
5 Sustainable Fashion Fabrics (for you to use) and their Features!
The palette of Sustainable fabrics is getting amplified by the day. Clothes for any occasion, in all sizes and styles are now produced with sustainable fabrics –natural or man-made – and environmentally-friendly methods!
So, let’s discover 5 sustainable fabrics that can really make a difference!
1. Organic Cotton
Not very long ago, most of the garments were made with Cotton. Then, times changed and for some time now, the majority of clothes are made with polyester (or similar synthetic materials). But Organic cotton is always the best choice when we need a natural, sustainable, durable, soft fabric to use for the production of –almost – any kind of clothing. From tank tops to jackets and from socks to joggers! Organic Cotton is better for the soil than conventional cotton, grown mostly with rainwater, it is also chemical-free and crop rotation helps to protect the plants from pests and other diseases.
2. Organic Linen
One of the most sustainable fibres that exist! Fertilizer and pesticide-free, compostable and bio-degradable (when produced with no harmful products). Sadly enough, less than 1% of the linen used today is organic…
3. Recycled Polyester
The sustainability of this specific fibre is debatable. Professionals and scientists point out the over-use of plastic and the alarming issue of the micro-fibres that end up in the oceans. But at this point, when most of the clothing is made with polyester, the use of recycled materials is better than nothing.
4. Qmonos
Synthetic, made with microbes and spider genes, it is believed to be the strongest fibre in the world! Stronger than still, lighter and more flexible than nylon and biodegradable! What more to say than: Thank you spiders and microbes!
5. Vegan – plant-based – Leather
Piñatex, apple leather, mushroom, or cactus leather. If someone wants to wear ethical and sustainable leather, the options are many! More than a billion cows, pigs, goats, sheep, alligators, ostriches, kangaroos, and even dogs and cats are cruelly slaughtered for their skins every year. With so many alternatives available maybe we should put an end to this cruelty today!
We just mentioned five sustainable fabrics, but there are a lot more; natural, semi-synthetic or synthetic. Rayon, TENCEL ™, Bamboo, or Cork are more examples. We should add nevertheless, that up to date at least, there is no perfect solution. Every sustainable fibre (and its production) has its pros and cons. But the scientific community works non-stop with just one thing in mind; to minimize the negative footprint of all human activity; not only in the lifestyle and fashion sector but in all sectors!
How Men Respond To Sustainable Fashion Clothing?
Men want and search for good quality sustainable clothing. They are interested in wearing clothes that are produced in the best conditions; environmental, social and financial!
- Men aged between 25 and 34 years old will most likely buy sustainable fashion
And
- Men between 25 and 44 years old, are most likely to say that they only buy sustainable fashion.
The data shows that Sustainable Fashion is on the rise but still, too far away from where it should be. Some evidence leave space for optimism, but further measures must be taken by the fashion industry, to induce significant changes as soon as possible. To improve is our only choice!
Being stylish and elegant is meaningful only if we can breathe clean air and walk on a healthy soil!
Buying, using or offering clothes that on their labels we read solution, is the first thing we can do to reverse the current situation. All the knowledge and information needed, flows through our airspace and it is within our bandwidth.
Let’s listen to what our planet is so clearly saying, because its words are more that wise! They are verses of salvation.
Many brands like Bam Bamboo, Rapanui, Komodo or Dockers® and fashion designers like Richard Malone, Katharine Hamnett or Marta Marques and Paulo Almeida, the UK-based duo from Portugal, seem to listen and offer clothes made responsibly, sustainably and respectfully! The brand from San Francisco has also developed Water<less®, a series of water-saving techniques!
It is elegant and wise! Let’s opt for garments and fabrics that are threaded with love, inclusivity, sustainability and respect! Not only for the SS or the AW but for all seasons!
