COULD CURBING YOUR CLOTHING PURCHASES HELP THE PLANET?
A recent study has shown that if we curve our clothing purchases to as little as 5 new items per year, we could help make a significant impact on reducing the effects of climate change. This would be a significant reducing, as on average we purchase approximately 68 new items of clothing per year. The study also noted that if we want to reduce the carbon footprint of the fashion industry, reducing the number of items we purchase will have a greater impact, than reusing the clothes that you have.
Did you now the production of new clothing, contributes to 80% of the fashion industry’s carbon footprint? Less emissions are produced during the remainder of a garment’s life cycle, with 10% of the carbon footprint coming from the disposal of used garments. Although many of us donate our clothes to op-shops, still 30% of used garments ends up in landfill or incinerated, having a huge impact on the planet.
Unfortunately, the fast fashion industry has been very slow when it comes to make sustainable changes, which is very difficult as their very business model is at the root of it, unsustainable. One of the many culprits towards the fashion industry’s large contribution to green house gas emissions is Shein. They are a company based in China and produce a staggering 10,000 new styles per day!!
Currently one of the biggest hurdles consumers face is the lack of transparency that fashion brands have. So given this, here are KEEPER Denim’s top 5 tips on identifying a sustainable fashion brand:
- SMALL QUANTITIES
Slow fashion brands make small quantities of clothing to ensure they don’t create unnecessary waste. This is built into their business model as it is an integral part of their design process.
- DON’T RELEASE NEW STOCK EVERY SEASON
Fast fashion brands release on average 24 new collections of clothing every year. As opposed to slow fashion brands that don’t even release a new collection for each of the 4 conventional seasons. That is because their pieces that are often timeless and they don’t follow seasonal trends so they can be worn for many years to come.
- HIGH QUALITY
The pieces are made of high-quality natural fabrics, that will wash and wear well overtime so you can keep them for years.
- CIRCULAR BUSINESS MODEL
This isn’t a ‘must-have’, but often slow fashion brands are built around a circular business model, rather than the conventional linear model. A linear economy is how conventional products are manufactured, where resources are taken from the earth to make it and then when it comes to the end of its’ life, it is thrown away, which creates waste. A circular economy is the opposite of this - where the economic, environmental, and social impacts of a product are considered with a focus on reducing waste.
- PROVIDE A GUARANTEE OR WARRANTY
When a brand commits to the high quality of their products by providing a guarantee or a warranty period, that is a clear indication to you that their products are made to last.