My Learnings - Sustainable Fashion

I just finished a course dedicated to bringing topics in sustainable fashion to the surface. It was truly eye opening and full of such valuable information. Read on to find some of my learnings!

My biggest realization within the sustainable fashion movement was that sustainable fashion IS a privilege.

“There’s a money factor and a level of privilege involved with wearing sustainable clothing,” says Celine Semaan.

Money is one of the biggest factor in sustainable fashion. Any piece of clothing that is produced in an ethical and sustainable manner will most likely have a larger price on the price tag. Fast fashion can't even compare as it is so cheap mainly by the lack of money spent in other areas of the company's supply chain.

Sustainable fashion has become a class issue with marginalized/low income communities and POC struggling to get their voice heard in the oppressive systems they are forced into. Lack of diversity is one of the biggest reasons behind this as well. People often say "vote with your dollar" especially for the environmental movement but how can we put pressure on this when most low income communities physically can't purchase sustainable fashion? It's an interesting topic with much more complexity that what you are reading here.

My second learning was that sustainable fashion isn't just about the clothing's pre life but ALSO the after life. I also considered the material of the clothing, dyes used, fair payment and working conditions of garment workers but I rarely thought of what would happen to the clothing after I was done with it. It is said that North Americans send 10 million pounds of clothing to landfill annually (source rco.on.ca) I personally think that is mind boggling. Not to mention the amount of second hand clothing that is sent to developing countries.

Another thing I came to understand was that the system that is in place is weak. So so weak. The course touched on covid-19's impact on the industry and the thousands of dollars that AREN'T being paid to garment workers. Not to mention the amount of clothing that could become waste because by the time the pandemic is over it is considered "out of season" and "off trend".

I couldn't fit all of my learnings on this page but what I do know is that the fashion industry needs to change for there to be any possibility of reducing emissions and limiting negative impacts on the planet. We as consumers need to step up and raise our voice (if we have the privilege to do so) and our governments also need to step up to demand greater transparency and change within these large corporations.