BETHANY WILLIAMS being a sustainable brand believes that social and environmental issues go hand in hand and through exploring the connection between these issues we may find innovative design solutions to sustainability considering the damage done to our environment because of the prevalence of fast fashion.
Sustainable fashion is simply about fostering a fashion industry that takes a long term approach to the design, manufacturing, and consumption of clothes and accessories. It's about fashion that both creates good and avoids harm, whether to people, the planet, or animals. Strictly speaking, sustainability means maintaining an ecological balance by avoiding the depletion of natural resources. But sustainability is commonly extended to social systems-ensuring they promote the wellbeing of all the individuals and communities affected.
More sustainable fashion can be defined as clothing, shoes and accessories that are manufactured, marketed and used in the most sustainable manner possible, taking into account both environmental and socio-economic aspects. In practice, this implies continuous work to improve all stages of the product’s life cycle, from design, raw material production, manufacturing, transport, storage, marketing and final sale, to use, reuse, repair, remake and recycling of the product and its components.
Sustainable fashion is today a highly debated and increasingly covered topic in media and at seminars worldwide. More and more clothing companies are transforming their business models and improving their supply chains to reduce overall environmental impacts, improve social conditions in factories, etc. We also see a growing awareness among consumers, especially younger generations. (It may be added that some individuals rightly question whether the word “sustainable” should in fact be used in relation to the fashion industry, which by definition relies on fast consumption. A better term may thus be more sustainable fashion. Because environmentalism goes hand in hand with socially equitable practices, however, ethical and sustainable fashion are intricately tied together.
Fashion can be made more sustainable in numerous ways—from using organic materials, using biodegradable dyes, to engineering patterns that create zero waste.
The sheer number of different ways to improve the industry, though, means that shopping “more sustainably” can prove to be overwhelming at first, with a multitude of factors to consider. Natural materials such as hemp, linen, cotton, silk, wool, leather, and cellulose fibers (i.e., synthetically made fibers originating from plant sources, including viscose, rayon, lyocell, etc.) are generally preferable over virgin, petroleum-derived synthetics like polyester, acrylic, and nylon.
This is because natural fibers are biodegradable and can compost cleanly back into the soil (assuming there are no harmful chemical residues left in the fabric), unlike synthetic fibers that will not biodegrade and instead sit in landfills, continually leaching toxic chemicals and fumes.
That said, some natural materials are more sustainable than others, with hemp, linen, and organic cotton generally being among the most environmentally friendly. Some wools and plant fibers can even be grown in ways that are regenerative, meaning able to regenerate healthy soils and sequester carbon (which helps to combat climate change).
As for cellulose fibers—while they come from plant-based origins, some are extracted from destructive harvesting that aggravate deforestation, while many are made in ways that produce toxic chemical byproducts in the manufacturing phase.
Using pre-existing materials to create new clothing is always a great choice because it does not require the extraction of new resources from the Earth but rather makes the most use of materials that may otherwise go to waste.
A lot of waste in the fashion industry comes from cutting out patterns, so some sustainable fashion brands are designing patterns that result in zero wasted material instead.
In addition, brands may strive to minimize the amount of water and energy use from the manufacturing process; reduce waste by eliminating excessive plastic packaging when transporting from the manufacturer, to the warehouse, and to the customer; and/or ship in bulk and using recycled or biodegradable shipping materials.
Instead of opting for fast fashion that is cheap and meant to be thrown away quickly, you can be a more sustainable fashion consumer by also responsibly caring for your clothes to prolong their lives or buying secondhand, which keeps clothes out of landfills for longer.
Buying higher quality, more durable clothing that you can envision yourself wearing again and again throughout the years (even if it's a little more expensive) helps as well, as it means that it may last in your wardrobe for longer.
Finally, taking good care of your clothes can make a big, positive difference as well, since much of the environmental impact (e.g., water and energy use) from our clothes’ life-cycles may come from this care-taking stage.
Thrifting is another good option. Where one can get unique and branded preowned and pre-loved clothes in low prices.
To fill your wardrobe with sustainable fashion products, you can prioritize:
Buying clothes made locally or in facilities run on renewable energy. Clothes made with low impact, natural and organic materials, recycled, up-cycled, or deadstocks materials, eco-friendly dyes, and/or zero- or low-waste designs;
Turn towards thrifted or secondhand clothing;
Prolonging the life of your clothes by taking care of them well, mending and tailoring as needed, and making alterations to modernize their looks to match your current tastes.