Fashion brands are mopping up their acts – and supply chains – with a new urgency now that sustainable and environment clothing has evolved from a gold decals initiative to a survivalist imperative.
A growing number of creatives are putting the environment first in there own products and business models, whether it’s by renting out denim, making ethical T-shirts, or turning seaweed into shoe soles.
As fashion becomes more eco-friendly, we’ve compiled a list of the trends you can expect to see more of.
Clothes for Rent
MUD Jeans, for example, offers free repairs and allows customers to borrow clothes for as long as they want through a leasing system. And it’s not just wardrobe essentials like jeans that can be rented. Rent The Runway and Frontrow are giving graphic artist styles the leasing treatment, providing a system that is better for the environment and your bank account.
Upcycling
Fashion students are at the forefront of all this trend. Upcycling, which uses discarded fabric or company deadstock, allows young, starting to emerge designers to create new styles from waste while drastically lowering the cost of their collections. The practise, also known as ‘creative reuse,’ has been around for a while but has recently gained new environmental importance.
Goodbye, Fur
Fur has almost completely disappeared first from surface of the fashion world after decades of development. While the long-controversial material may appear in an editorial component here and there, fur has been banned from the runways of many major retailers, including Gucci and Armani, and the waves are not likely to change anytime soon. Aside from the cruelty, fur farming produces a lot of chemical pollution and uses a lot of energy in the preservation process.
Transparency in Ethics
As sustainability becomes more important for industries around the world, it’s critical that it doesn’t just become a marketing ploy for companies that ‘green-wash’ and can’t put their supply chain where their mouth is. Many brands are following in the footsteps of resellers like Instagram cult favourite Enlightenment, which allows you to view the environmental impact for every individual garment on their website before making a purchase.
