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In the past, the focus of the fashion industry has been to push the boundaries of art, design and trends. But, as the conversation around sustainable fashion has continued to grow policy makers, industry leaders, environmentalists and consumers alike have helped swing the needle of the industry’s focus to circularity, water conversation and certifications verifying ethical production. Heritage denim brand, Levi’s, has developed a water recycling system to conserve water use during the dyeing process of their jeans. Luxury fashion house Chloe has undergone a third-party vetting system to recieve the highest ethical and sustainable certifcation brands can have.
These are a few of the meaningful actions that have come about as brands restructure their focus to sustainable fashion. Most importantly, when you look back at the industry over the last few decades you can see that real change is triggered when real actions are taken. This is sustainable fashion at its best.
2001: Stella McCartney’s launched her eponymous label with a vegetarian collection.
2006: The Ethical Fashion Forum is launched with 20 industry experts spanning across four continents.
2007: The term ‘slow fashion’ is coined by Kate Fletcher.
2009: The Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) launches. This alliance between the apparel, textile, and footwear industries creates tools to improve social labor and minimize the negative environmental impacts from these three industries. Through the Higg Index, a value system created by SAC, data is used to help brands address their problems and reach their goals.
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2010: Fair Trade USA launches its first ethical fashion certification label.
2011: Greenpeace launches the ‘Detox’ fashion campaign to help the fashion industry become toxic-free.
If the fashion industry has the power to influence trends, then it also has the power to play a positive role in protecting the planet.
Greenpeace
2012: Nike releases Flyknit trainers that were made from recycled plastic bottles sourced from the ocean.
2013: Rana Plaza, a garment factory in Bangladesh collapses killing 1,000 garment workers. The Human Rights Watch demands for factories to be transparent, safe and to protect their workers.
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2014: Luxury conglomerate Kering which owns fashion houses Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent and Alexander McQueen launches their ‘Clean by Design’ program. Developed with the Natural Resources Defense Council it aims to improve water and energy waste in textile mills.
- Levi’s begins to manufacturing jeans using 100% recycled water.
- Fashion Revolution, launches on the anniversary of Rana Plaza calling for actionable changes in the fashion industry to protect the health of people, animals, and our planet.
- San Francisco City launches the ‘Zero Textile Waste’ initiative.
2015: Director Andrew Morgan releases the documentary True Cost. It gives an in depth look into the problems plaguing fast fashion production.
2018: There is a 100% increase for ‘sustainable fashion’ on Google since the year before.
2020: The Wellness Feed launches, helping you to become obsessed with living a sustainable lifestyle.
- Post Covid-19 consumers seek to connect with meaningful brands who make conscious efforts to positively impact the workers in their supply chain while minimizing their environmental impact.
2021: Chloe became the first luxury fashion house to achieve BCorp status, a rigorious certifcation that evaluates a brand’s social and environmental impact.