Sustainability + Social Good: Education and Practice

ability is all about education. How can we educate the consumer through the product and its packaging? I hope that buyers come here not only looking for the price but also looking for the message behind it.”

At an education session led by Dr. Cindy J. Lin of Hey Social Good and featuring Holli Gibson, of Direct to Source and Ng, the message was clear that there is no perfect solution for sustainability, but that we should all make better choices whenever we can.

Gibson shared her own personal experience of discovering that a manufacturer she had subcontracted with was not providing acceptable conditions for its workers, so her company’s solution was to build its own factories and hire its own labor force.

The Sustainability and Social Good pillar of the SOURCING at MAGIC event came to life this season with engaging seminars, captivating displays, and one-onone connections, all fortified by our ongoing partnership with sustainability verification company, Hey Social Good.

As Devana Ng, Co-Founder of Invisible Company, says “Sustainability is a 360-degree commitment. Don’t look at price only. Sure, it’s important, but we need to focus on the end of life of the product. How do we educate the consumer? At the end of the day, sustain-

“When we built Direct to Source, we looked at everything. We looked at where we were going to get our fabrics, how much plastic we were going to use, what could we use that was recyclable and more sustainable, and what can we do with the scraps and leftover fabrics. We spent several years planning, always asking if those were the best choices we could make,” said Gibson.

Similarly, Ng recognized that recycling wasn’t being aggressively pursued in her native Hong Kong, so her solution was to find a water-soluble material that could be used to create transparent bags for garment packaging, thus decreasing litter and contributions to landfills. While all of us may not be able to go that far, making smarter, more informed smaller decisions can advance us all to a better situation for the planet. “I used to work in the cosmetics indus- try and I saw how much we were consuming with the packaging, and that we didn’t have enough facilities to recycle all those containers. My husband and I were hiking and kept finding plastic trash on the trails. So we started doing some research and found a material that was water soluble. So we created a product called the Invisible Bag.”

Beyond inspiring, informative seminars, Social Good Row functioned as a matchmaker between brands and non-profit organizations to build collaborative relationships. FABSCRAP, The Climate Reality Project, and locals Friends of Red Rock and NPHY all sent representatives to talk with labels about how they might do well by doing good they could do good, without much effort. Hey Social Good set up shop with Social Good Row, too, continuing its work to independently verify sustainability claims

(with a framework of 17 goals) while offering advice to sustainably minded professionals all along the supply chain.

Finally, the Sustainability Gallery and the Positive and Responsible Impact with Sustainable Denim exhibit both showcased key sustainability initiatives while functioning as an easy, welcoming introduction to the area. The

Gallery showcased some of the capabilities of sustainably focused exhibitors. The Denim exhibit used video and actual garments to show how modern techniques — from using less or no water in the washing process to alternatives to potassium permanganate for finishing effects, to using lasers as a substitute for hand whiskering and sanding.