In this day and age, fashion has become more and more accessible. The lifespan of a piece of clothing has shortened as new trends emerge from seasons to monthly new drops, causing the fashion industry to be one of the highest contributors of carbon emission and wastage globally. That’s sparked the rise of sustainable fashion and ethical practices among both young and established designers to combat the negative effects of fast fashion.
What is sustainable fashion and what does it mean to me as a consumer?
While fashion is a way of expressing oneself, it need not damage the environment. Sustainable fashion is fashion and clothing produced and intended to last for a long period of time, produced ethically with minimal wastage and well-chosen natural fabrics.
The rise of environmental concern has led to the fashion community to band together in a way that the fashion world has never seen before. This, in turn, drove designer labels to use more ethical ways to source fabrics to lessen their carbon footprint, creating pieces that are more innovative than the next. Who says saving the environment is not chic?
These brands are setting the path to a more sustainable and ethical fashion options:
Sean Sheila
Indonesia brand Sean Sheila has opened more work opportunities to marginalized women by employing them to create the items. These brands have elevated ethical fashion pieces to a whole new level, ensuring that the workers are paid proper wages while keeping the quality of the clothing intact. Their signature kimono are hand embroidered by local women in Indonesia.
SOE Jakarta
Like Sean Shiela, Indonesia-based brand SOE Jakarta prides itself in helping the local community by employing local women to hand-dye the items. Doing so is also a way of celebrating Indonesia’s many unique ways of hand weaving tradition alive. All items are carefully prepared, you can even see the name of the woman who produced the item for you in the brand’s tag.
Peggy Hartanto
Another Indonesian label, Peggy Hartanto has integrated the use of cupro cotton in some of their pieces. Cupro fabric is a 100% plant-based material which makes the item biodegradable. The water used to form the fabric can also be reused afterwards.
YCH
Other brands like Kimhekim and YCH have opt for the usage of vegan leather, showing the world that chic does not mean harmful to animals.
PH5
Meanwhile, New York-based knitwear brand, PH5 has minimal to zero wastage due to the fact that knitwear fabrics can be reused. In essence, knitwear pieces unlike woven clothing, does not have to be cut into patterns, paving the way to recycling its materials.
It is time to be more conscious of our consumption and rethink our wardrobe choices.