One of the most common questions I am asked when people learn about Sunday Projects is ‘what is sustainable fashion?’ and it is something I have struggled to answer quickly, so I have tried to summarise here the key things I have learned over the past few years.

Sustainability is such a delicate thing to define, made even more difficult by the ‘greenwashing’ that is rife in the fashion world. To make things even less clear, there are no independent bodies determining who can use the term ‘sustainable’ when describing goods or a business. Ideally, products should only be called ‘sustainable’ when they are designed and produced mindfully using materials with minimal impact on the planet and people. The dream system would be one that is completely circular, with no negative impact at all. We aren’t there yet, but hopefully one day we will be.

Sustainable fashion (also known as eco-fashion) is a movement and process of fostering change to fashion products and the fashion system towards greater ecological integrity and social justice. Sustainable fashion concerns more than just addressing fashion textiles or products. It addresses the entire manner in which clothing is produced, who produces it, and how long the life span of a product is before it reaches the landfill. This sustainable movement combats the large carbon footprint that the fashion industry and fast fashion have created by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Reducing the environmental impact of fashion can combat air pollution, water pollution and overall climate change that could possibly prevent millions of premature deaths over the next century. - Wikipedia, 2022.

The environmental issues we as a planet are facing are overwhelming and varied, including climate change, plastic pollution, deforestation, loss of biodiversity, waste management and water scarcity (just to highlight a few of the heavy hitters). It seems like these issues are too big to tackle individually, especially in the world of massive corporations, however one pretty easy place to start is with the production and consumption of fashion. Unfortunately, the clothing industry is a significant contributor to environmental and human damage across the globe. On the positive side, choosing sustainable fashion supports a change in the industry and will encourage big players in the fashion industry to change their ways.

So, what can we do to make our wardrobe more sustainable?

Buy Less & Buy Better. As Patagonia says, “the most sustainable jacket is one that is already in your closet.” Choose second hand when you can, and if you need something new, make sure you buy quality items that are made to last. Globally, we consume 80 billion pieces of clothing each year (up 400% from two decades ago). North America is the largest textile consumer in the world, with each person buying 80 pounds per year. They’re followed closely by Australia’s annual clothes consumption rate of 60 pounds per person. Choose well made clothes you love to get the best out of your clothes.
Choose Natural Materials. One thing to ask when you are shopping is what are your clothes made from? Natural fabrics are always superior in terms of environmental impact, and I think they last longer and feel better on the skin too. The fabric of your garment determines what chemicals have been used in production and whether the garment will biodegrade after it is finished with. One of the reasons fashion has such an immense environmental impact is because the majority of clothes are petroleum-based and thus made from fossil fuels, including polyester, acrylic & nylon (check your clothing labels, you may be surprised at what looks natural is actually manmade and/or contains plastic). These manmade materials require significantly more energy in the production phase than natural or recycled fibers, they release plastic microparticles into the environment and they don’t biodegrade. If buying new, the best rule is to go for plant-based fibres (linen, hemp, cotton, etc), or natural wool.
Check for Chemicals. Check your labels and choose materials that are organic, OEKO-TEX®, GOTS, or BLUESIGN® certified (Sunday Projects linens are OEKO-TEX® certified. Have a read about what OEKO-TEX® certification means in our journal). Fast fashion items often undergo a complicated, intense chemical process before ending up on our hangers. Around 8,000 different synthetic chemicals are used to dye, bleach and wet process garments (ew!!). Those chemicals often end up polluting waterways, causing diseases or even deaths among farmers/manufacturers and may even inflict serious birth defects on their children or other people nearby. One study found 61% of Pakistani cotton pickers experience related health problems like skin irritations, coughs, headaches, and more. As a purchaser, some of these chemicals pose a real danger to our health as well, as our skin absorbs anything we put on it, including the chemicals in our clothes.
Support Ethical Manufacturing. Where are your clothes made and who is making them? Looking after the people making your clothes is a key part of the sustainability of each garment. Around 170 million children are engaged in some form of garment work according to recent statistics from UNICEF, defined as “work for which the child is either too young (work done below the required minimum age) or work which, because of its detrimental nature or conditions, is altogether considered unacceptable for children and is prohibited.” This is a massive tragedy and by choosing to support local and ethical manufacturing, you can do your part to prevent this. If a company doesn’t disclose the environment where their items are made, it is highly likely they have something to. hide.
5. Care For Your Clothes Carefully. Washing our clothes has a significant environmental impact and washing them less (and more carefully) is a really easy way to be more sustainable. The average household is reported to complete almost 400 loads of laundry per year, consuming about 60,000 liters of water. Heating the washing water and running the drying cycle consume a significant amount of energy, plus washing clothes made from fibres containing plastic releases tiny microplastics into our waterways, ending up in our oceans (read more about the impact of these evil tiny plastics in our journal). To help prevent this, try avoid plastic-based clothes (including polyester, acrylic & nylon). Once you take your garment home, wash your clothes less often, wash on cold when possible, handwash rather than machine wash and dry on the line rather than in the dryer. Read your care labels carefully and only wash clothes when you need to.
6. Minimize Waste. On the production side, this means designing carefully to prevent excess and ensuring it is reused if it is produced. Sunday Projects reuses our offcuts (into scrunchies, face masks and other little linen goodies) and we also produce smaller runs so there is not an excess of garments, but this is rare because it is time and resource-consuming and therefore, expensive. Fashion companies typically burn their excess stock rather than donating or recycling it, generally because they do not want to ‘dilute’ their brand image. Supporting smaller and sustainable brands, especially ‘made-to-order’ models is generally a good way to support waste minimization. As a consumer, if your clothes start to wear and tear over time, you can help by choosing to mend and repair them when possible. When you are finished with your garment, resell it, donate it to someone who needs it, or upcycle it into something new. If you buy quality, your clothes should have a long and interesting life. Natural materials have the added benefit that they eventually biodegrade back into the earth too, whereas plastic-based materials will continue to shed microplastics.