The Future of Fashion & Sustainability | 14 Sustainable Fashion 101 - The Terms You Need to Know

The fashion industry’s impact on the environment is well known today, and using the term “Sustainable Fashion” is now commonplace. Today’s consumers are more climate-conscious, and with the help of social media platforms, vocal about the change they want to see. Social media permits real-time communication directly with brands, personalities, and fashion publications. Many brands are listening and adapting how they do business but lost in all the conversation around meaningful change is the importance of precision of language.

An evolving fashion lexicon demands that we become well-versed in the language of fashion. In recent years the fashion industry has been criticized for downplaying its contributory role in climate change and for the spread of misinformation, which undermines legitimate efforts to address climate change. Understanding what terms mean and don’t mean allows consumers to recognize misinformation and engage in commentary with credibility. Quite frankly, sustainable fashion terminology can be confusing, and it is easy to mix up terms like “sustainable fashion,” “ethical fashion,” “bio-fabricated,” etc., and their meanings. Here’s a non-exhaustive list of fashion terms used in the language of sustainable fashion.

Sustainable Fashion: Sustainable Fashion is a paradigm shift from fashion’s historical set of practices across design, production, distribution, and communication. The concept establishes the interconnectedness between the production of clothes, footwear, and accessories, the treatment of workers, and the impact of fashion’s supply chain on the environment. A “sustainable” brand and “sustainable” products must consider the environmental and social impacts of their production. Widely recognized as the overarching term to describe the fight to reduce fashion’s environmental impacts, however, Sustainable Fashion fails to set a clear framework for what it aims to accomplish. Other critics of the term question how fashion as we know it today can ever be “sustainable.” According to the New York Times’s chief fashion critic Vanessa Friedman Sustainable, fashion is an oxymoron.[1] Sustainability implies the ability to maintain at a certain level, while fashion inherently is ever-changing, a trend.

The lack of an industry-standard/commonly agreed-upon definition of “sustainability” has allowed for rampant misinformation and greenwashing by companies that aim to present their work as sustainable. Using the language of sustainable fashion, actors across fashion are misrepresenting their efforts in production, material sourcing, and environmental impact. Industry groups and lawmakers must establish the terminology and the framework used to reduce the fashion industry’s current scale of impact on the environment. The reality is that no one brand is truly “sustainable”, and using the term Sustainable Fashion reduces its potency. The goal should be the reduction of fashion’s harmful impact and a more responsible fashion industry.

Ethical Fashion: Ethical Fashion is sometimes used interchangeably with Sustainable Fashion, but Ethical Fashion focuses more on the social impacts of the industry. Ethical Fashion may indicate companies that place non-exploitative contracts, provide equal and fair pay, institute positive working conditions, and maintain animal welfare. Labelling a brand as ethical vs. not is difficult to accomplish, without transparent visibility into companies’ supply chains. Good On You – a source of sustainable fashion brand ratings - incorporates a “People” rating to how brands treat their workers. Good On You uses information made publicly available by companies.  

Fast Fashion: Fast Fashion is a model of mass production associated with cheap, lower-quality apparel. Fast Fashion produces trendy clothes at break-neck production, allowing consumers to refresh their wardrobes with the latest designs, priced at ultra-low prices. According to McKinsey & Co.’s State of Fashion 2024, “40 percent of US consumers and 26 percent of UK consumers have shopped at fast fashion giants Shein or Temu” in the past year.[2] When accounting for other fast fashion retailers (e.g., H&M, Zara, ASOS), that figure is likely higher.

The popularity of fast fashion brands comes with a heavy environmental cost. Certain reports estimate that as much as 92 million tons of textile waste is produced per year globally, with textile waste estimated to increase by 60% between 2015 and 2030.[3] Consumers on average wear fast-fashion apparel for an average of 7-8 wears, discarding these clothes as quickly as they buy them.[4] There are additional concerns over the treatment of factory workers, global carbon emissions, and water pollution to name a few. Fast Fashion is a key contributor to an industry rampant with overproduction and one of the largest polluters in the world.

Circular Fashion: The current fashion model operates linearly, with a take-make-waste process that emphasizes overproduction and overconsumption. Clothes are made from fossil-fuel-based synthetics that aren’t meant to be recycled or reused. The linear model directly contributes to textile waste. Circular Fashion envisions a paradigm shift from this traditional model, designed to reduce waste and maximize the lifespan of clothes. Circular Fashion adheres to several principles, including design for longevity and reusability; energy inputs that are safe & renewable; and closed loop systems where “materials are continuously cycled back into the economy, reducing the need for new resource extraction.”[5] Under a Circular Fashion business model, fashion retail & luxury companies would structure their supply chains with the end of life in mind.[6] Using materials that can be mechanically or chemically recycled or biodegradable, instituting repair and remake services for consumers, and facilitating recycling or upcycling programs. The Circular Fashion model keeps clothes in use.[7] The Circular Fashion model emphasizes waste reduction and minimizes the impact on the environment.

Greenwashing: Greenwashing is a marketing tool employed by companies to make their products, services, and organizational policies appear environmentally friendly when they are not. Companies take advantage of public interest in environmental issues by publishing misleading or false statements about the company’s environmental practices. Examples may include introducing a limited collection of “sustainable” products, while not holding their main lines to the same standard or marketing the use of recycled or organic products, when in truth these products contain only a fraction of such material. Companies aren’t addressing the root causes contributing to potential labor abuse, waste, and environmental harm. Here are some resources that address how to recognize greenwashing: Good On You; Washington Post; British Vogue; and Remake.

Traceability: Traceability is the ability for companies to understand their supply chain from start to finish and be able to trace each component – from the sourcing of materials to the distribution and sale of clothes. Traceability is key to transparency, for investors, regulators, and the public. With the growing threat of regulations and public outcry for transparency, companies are beginning to map out their supply chains. The proposed New York Fashion Act would require targeted brands to report on environmental impact within at least 50% of their supply chains. The European Commission’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation law would force brands to create a Digital Product Passport, which will easily provide sustainability details to consumers. Traceability is a crucial step toward shaking up the fashion industry, but this must be accompanied by a commitment to preventing environmental and labor abuse. Companies investing in Traceability and resale include Trove, Archive, Eon, and TrusTrace.

Biofabrics: Biofabricated textiles are materials grown from living microorganisms, including bacteria, yeast, algae, and fungi. Advancements in material science technologies have allowed companies to set the thickness, color, and texture of materials. In recent years, material science companies have invested in producing materials that do not require “arable land to be grown or cultivated,” and do not require pesticides or intensive chemicals.[8] Biofabrics are grown to create a biodegradable material. Many biofabricated fabrics are still developing, but companies like Adidas, Pangaia, Stella McCartney, and Lululemon have incorporated innovative materials into their products. A lack of funding and broad industry buy-in has hampered the growth of material innovation companies. A great example includes California-based Bolt Threads, which halted production of their leather alternative Mylo, after the company failed to secure funding to scale.[9] Biofabrics still have great potential, but challenges go beyond just funding. These materials must be tested for “look and feel, aesthetics, permeability, abrasiveness and durability,” along with market fit.[10]

[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/07/style/redefining-sustainable-fashion.html

[2] https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/state-of-fashion

[3] https://goodonyou.eco/waste-luxury-fashion/

[4] https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/sustainability/our-insights/style-thats-sustainable-a-new-fast-fashion-formula

[5] https://www.thesustainablefashionforum.com/pages/what-is-circular-fashion

[6] https://www.thesustainablefashionforum.com/pages/what-is-circular-fashion

[7] https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/fashion-and-the-circular-economy-deep-dive

[8] https://www.commonobjective.co/article/what-are-biofabrics-and-how-sustainable-are-they

[9] https://www.businessoffashion.com/news/sustainability/bolt-threads-mylo-alternative-leather-mushroom-pause-operations/

[10] https://www.voguebusiness.com/story/fashion/heres-why-ganni-is-taking-a-break-from-showing-this-season#:~:text=But%20for%20Autumn%2FWinter%202024,Future%20exhibition%2C%20opening%2030%20January.