Community as an ideology allows us to feel a part of something and fashion allows us to instead be individual. Whether it’s where we live, supporting a sports team or just having one thing in common. It’s the concept of coming together and having a sense of belonging.
As a community, we can come together to care for the world we live in. Climate change is a huge issue as we know. The production and waste of clothing contributes to the strain put on the planet enormously with CO2 emissions. Not to mention the amount of clothes we throw away to landfill.
Brands such as Zara, H&M and ASOS have since released sustainable clothing campaigns to raise awareness and create positive change.
What does this mean for fashion consumers?
Working as a community allows us to continue to engage in the high street fashion brands whilst ensuring we are making a positive change for the planet. As consumers, we can still shop the latest trends knowing it isn’t causing detrimental damage. It’s important to be aware of these clothing ranges.
There are many aspects and meanings to community but being sustainable with fashion can only be a positive attribute.
High Street brands turning sustainable
To use Zara as an example; a staple in all wardrobes. Zara has committed to become environmentally stable by 2025. They have introduced their ‘Join Life’ collection. This label classifies all garments produced using processes and raw materials to reduce impact on environment. Materials such as organic cotton, Tencel or recycled polyester.
Zara have created a system that controls where the garments are handled. This means the company can work with suppliers that comply with their code of conduct. As consumers, it means we have an insight into where our clothes have come from. Particularly with Covid-19, its crucial companies are ensuring their staff are working in a safe environment. Zara have ensured their suppliers are following official guidance in factories during this unprecedented time.
Additionally, H&M have their ‘Conscious’ range. Similarly, to Zara, Conscious ensures customers that they are shopping environmentally friendly. H&M are aiming for their products to be made from recycled or other sustainably sourced materials by 2030.
This currently applies to 57% of the products in use. The ‘Conscious Concept’ means the items of clothes are made with extra consideration for the planet. The clothes are made from at least 50% sustainably sourced materials. The brand hopes to continue to make the range even more sustainable.
ASOS have a responsible range of clothing. A range of brands that include sustainable clothes can be found on this section of the app. Whether you have a favoured brand of clothes, it is more than likely you can find it on ASOS. We are now seeing more brands conform to creating sustainable clothing. This is beneficial to us as consumers in the fashion community.
Brands you might not know are sustainable
We all rely on the high street brands when looking for a wardrobe update.
Some brands that pride themselves on being sustainable
House of Sunny
Reformation
Stella McCartney
Veja
Levis
What else can we do?
Rather than buying new, why not recycle old clothes. Apps such as Depop, Vinted and Ebay allow us to buy and sell each other’s preloved clothes. This provides us with the satisfaction of new clothes without the strain on the planet. It also can be great if you wanted an item of clothing that sold out before you got the chance to purchase. It also would be a good idea communicating with the seller to determine price and shipping.
Being sustainable doesn’t have to be in your clothing. The cosmetics industry can be damaging by polluting our oceans once deposited. Maybelline have recently introduced a recycling bin for beauty products.
Bins are in Superdrug, Tesco and Boots and accepts all brands and products. The campaign is to ensure makeup is disposed of in an environmentally friendly way. Makeup will be recycled into plastic pellets creating items like garden furniture.
Being aware of the little changes you can make when shopping is important to be environmentally friendly. We all want to keep up with the latest trends but should work together to not damage the planet in the process.