The word, ethical fashion, over the past few years has been trending. According to googletrends, the word ethical and sustainable fashion went to a popularity of 25 (100 being the highest) in 2016 to 73 in 2021. This is amazing news for everyone who understands the impact of fast fashion on people and the environment. You might have done research and learned about slow fashion, sustainable fashion or even fast fashion revolution. But all those buzz words are also linked to greenwashing which makes us wonder what is ethical fashion?
What is ethical fashion?
The answer is not that easy but one thing is sure (eventhough the definition changes consistently) it helps reach a better and more transparent view on the process of fabrication of any product, hence ? its carbon footprint.
Ethical fashion represents the social part of the fashion industry mainly. It looks at not only the final product and the quality of the material but also where it originates from, the workforce, the working conditions, the factories and the primary materials manufacturers.
Sustainable fashion does not look only at the social injustice but also at the environmental impact of a company and the economic aspect of it. Sustainable fashion does look at the whole production of the products and every impact of it.
Some would argue that sustainable and ethical fashion are the same. Looking at the definition we can find some differences however we do believe that if a company takes the time to ensure no social injustices, they will also look into the environmental impact. Well, at least they should.
However, be aware of greenwashing! A lot of fast fashion companies nowadays come with a new “conscious collection” …Do not be fooled!! They might have looked into the composition of their fabrics however the garment workers are still not paid. If you do believe we should help those big corporation while they introduce change I would like you to look at their actual annual profit and how many times they did not pay their workers and you will understand the shock that it is. Even in developed countries such as the UK, you can still fight?? slaves?? (sure to use that word?) big statement?) workers working for less than 3.20£ per hour. Paying workers should not be a promise, it should be done and even if the competition is hard, we are talking about human lives.
Why does this term need to exist?
Gosh, if only it did not need to exist… but unfortunately due to the growth in the fashion industry and its competition we nowadays need to ensure the good use of this term.
The term ethical fashion exists due to the growing society and unhealthy economy we have been raised in: we need to own more than ever, there are more and more discounts everywhere, the prices are cheaper and cheaper for bad quality clothes considered as stylish. Nowadays re-wearing or even wearing the same as a friend is considered dramatic. Instead of embracing it, people decide to buy a lot to make sure this will not happen.
While we buy more and more clothes from companies, they need to produce quicker than ever with different styles to satisfy as many customers as possible. For that garment, workers mainly in Bangladesh, need to manage this affluence of work. They are most of the time overworked and underpaid due to a high turnover of clothes that they need to saw.
If they want to change life or want to argue their rights they are silenced. This is because of their lack of voices that we are here and we should speak for them. By buying less we push companies to produce less or review their business model.
We need ethical fashion and sustainable fashion nowadays to support human rights. This is one of the reason why those terms exists.
