Baking Sustainable Practices into Fashion Choices

The fashion industry continues to seek more sustainable and environmentally-friendly solutions to sourcing, manufacturing, and product lines.

By Melissa Jenkins and Destiny Nolan

As consumers, we’ve become increasingly conscious of our purchases, channeling the power of our vocalized objections to make a positive difference for the people involved in the making of our clothes and goods. How conscious? According to statistics from the fashion industry, sales of clothes, shoes, accessories and other fashion wear made from recycled plastics, nylon, and other products are estimated to hit a whopping $64 billion by 2025 — reflecting sustainable sourcing and the desire of customers to wear a more environmentallyfriendly product.

Over the years, dozens of slow fashion brands have emerged that are dedicated to ethical and sustainable practices. The companies listed below represent some of the better ethical alternatives to fast fashion companies. Each has made it a central part of its mission to approach fashion in an ethical and transparent way that considers both people and the planet.

Outerknown

In 2014, legendary 11-time world champion surfer Kelly Slater, a longtime environmental activist, proponent of clean oceans and sustainable choices, teamed up with acclaimed designer John Moore and started expanding his sustainable brand, Outerknown. It seemed like the perfect fit: who is closer to the environment on a daily basis and more impacted by it than surfers who ply their trade in the world’s oceans? Not surprisingly, casual, effortless, and casual beach styles rooted in sustainability and transparency define Outerknown.

Over 90% of their products are made from organic cotton and hemp, recycled, or regenerated materials. The company’s manufacturing partners also follow strict guidelines of safety and working conditions.

Outerknown also made history in the industry by becoming the first brand to pursue fair labor association accreditation before ever shipping a single product (although had such accreditation existed in the 1970s, Patagonia would have led the way). And through Fair Trade USA, they invest in the livelihoods of over 5,000 workers who bring their vision to life.

A deeper dive into Outerknown’s manufacturing practices underscores their commitment to the environment, sustainable practices, and informing their customers. Every little detail has an impact, especially the ocean plastic buttons on the S.E.A. LEGS. The buttons actually list the map coordinates of where the recycled plastic was harvested; they are also made from corozo fruit or nuts. To keep worn or torn S.E.A Jeans out of landfills, they offer to repair, replace, or recycle them through a lifetime guarantee. Bestsellers from the brand include the cozy, heavyweight Blanket Shirt (made from 100% organic cotton) and the simple, sleek Neptune Tank Dress (made from hemp and Tencel Lyocell).

Outerknown’s sustainability practices also include sensible partnering. They partnered with Breitling to introduce econyl to Breitling’s luxury watch, crafting a heritage timepiece with NATO straps made from regenerated nylon. For every watch sold, Brietling donated $1,000 to the ocean conservancy. Outerknown took that econyl from their board short business; 100% of those trunks are made with recycled and renewable econyl fibers from recycled fishing nets.

Outerknown’s message to its customers and the world extends to its website, which offers an

incisive look at their positions on fashion, materials, and sustainability — along with a highly appealing men’s and women’s line. They have changed the outlook on fashion by being so involved in the environment, and aren’t afraid to pull out the bullhorn and proclaim it (among other avenues, they advertise on CNN). They care about their products and how they will have an impact on people and the environment.

Rareform Backpacks

Hikers and mountaineers are another highvolume outdoor group highly dependent on a clean environment and the sustainability practices it requires. Which is what brothers Alec and Aric Avedissian realized in 2013, when they started Rareform Backpacks in Southern California. They began creating sustainable luggage and recycled backpacks by using billboard vinyl and keeping them out of landfills.

Billboards are one of the most wasteful products, due to the combination of short shelf life and lack of recycling, plus the sheer volume: in 2019, an estimated 450,000 billboards lined America’s roads and highways. The average lifespan of an advertising billboard, which averages 12 feet x 48 feet, is only four to eight weeks before it’s taken down. Now, many of them have a new destination besides the landfill: they are shipped from throughout the U.S. to Rareform’s warehouse to be washed, hand-cut and sewn together into unique designs.

What’s cool about Rareform is that no two bags are exactly alike, and they’re designed to turn heads. So will their material composition, which is durable, waterproof, comfortable, unique, light weight, eco friendly, and veganfriendly. They make cooler bags, messenger bags, duffle bags, totes, backpacks, wallets, fanny packs, travel accessories, wristlets, surfboard bags, hats, and keychains. Also featured is TPU waterproof lining, a nylon-lined interior that fits most laptops up to 15 inch with ease and includes strong quality YKK zippers, which can be found in all products.

Rareform’s story began on the popular TV show Shark Tank. Since then, they’ve been able to recycle over 50,000 pounds of billboard vinyl a month. Rareform products can be found in 350 retail stores across the country, in addition to Whole Foods, Patagonia shops in Japan, and on BestBuy.com. Big brands and companies are reaching out directly to partner with their billboard waste, not the least of which is Disney.

Like many sustainable fashion companies, Rareform gives back to environmental causes: 1% of their annual sales go to nonprofits that sustain our natural playgrounds, in this case.

Gucci Off The Grid

Gucci Off the Grid is an extension of Gucci Circular Lines, which implements a circular production to reduce waste by reintroducing byproducts back into the supply chain. It minimizes the brand’s use of new raw materials and explores all manner of regenerated textiles. This concept of circularity bends the straight line from product to consumer to landfill by designing clothes with their “end of life” in mind instead. The goal is to ensure as many “lives” as possible for a garment by using materials that can be broken down, recycled, and made into something else on a constant loop.

Gucci is one of the first luxury brands to commit to a circular future, starting with Gucci off the Grid, a 37-piece unisex line of sporty daywear and accessories made from organic, recycled, or bio-based materials. Among their products are backpacks, shoes, shoulder bags, mini bags, hats, duffle bags, wallets, tote bags, credit card cases, vests, passport cases, pouches, jackets,and pants with gaiters.

The main material behind all of this, which we mentioned before with Outerknown, is Econyl. It is sourced entirely from regenerated materials like fishing nets and carpet flooring. The econyl offcuts are recovered from Gucci’s manufacturing and then recycled to create new Econyl materials as part of a pre-consumer fabric take-back program. Leather scraps from the collection are also recovered and upcycled as part of the Gucci-Up program, which led to the reuse of around 11 tons of leather scrap materials and saved approximately 4,500 tons of carbon dioxide in 2018, according to the company.

The brand has been following a ten-year plan, committing to amplify its focus on social and environmental sustainability. This sustainable business model was announced in 2015, and Gucci has aimed to hit specific milestones by 2025 like reducing its environmental footprint and decreasing greenhouse gas emissions. ■

Patagonia

No good article on sustainable practices in the fashion and outdoor industry can be complete without catching up with the godfather of sustainable fashion, Patagonia, now approaching 50 years as the trailblazer into this industry.

Patagonia is a designer of outdoor clothing and gear for outdoor sports such as climbing, surfing, skiing and snowboarding, fly fishing, and trail running. Since he founded Patagonia in 1973 as a rock-climbing outfitter, Yvon Chouinard has dedicated his life and his company’s mission to creating eco- and earthfriendly products, and employing workers and manufacturing operations in the same country. Currently, Patagonia owns and operates offices in the United States, the Netherlands, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Chile and Argentina. They also own 70 stores worldwide.

Patagonia has always focused on making highperformance products which leave the tiniest footprint possible. While the footprint of their full supply chain accounts for 97% of the company’s carbon emissions, the emissions associated with their owned and operated facilities is just 3% — attesting to this highly sustainable, eco-friendly practice. Put simply, Patagonia has always emphasized cleaning up their own house, and promoting that philosophy through their products and messaging.

Along with that, Patagonia was using recycled nylons and plastics for a good 25 years before it became de rigueur in the fashion industry. They began with plastic soda bottles in 1993, becoming the first outdoor clothing manufacturer to transform trash into fleece. They turn unusable manufacturing waste and worn-out garments into polyester fibers to produce clothing such as hard shells, boardshorts, fleece, and Capilene base layers. This reduces the company’s dependence on petroleum as a source of raw materials.

Polyester is an important fiber in Patagonia’s clothing line. It allows them to build lightweight materials that dry quickly and can be used in a variety of applications, including trail-running tops and yoga tights. It also blends well with natural fabrics, such as cotton. However, it is the ecological side that delivers the larger benefits: for Fall 2020, 84% of their polyester fabrics are made with recycled polyester, reducing CO2 emissions by 8% (or 11 million pounds) compared to virgin polyester fabrics. In the ocean, they turned 35 tons of plastic fishing net into hat brims. Patagonia continually invests in new technologies to make its supply chain and products more sustainable.

Finally, Patagonia takes care of its suppliers who take care of the earth. More than 550 farmers are part of their Regenerative Organic Certification Pilot Cotton program, and 66,000 workers are supported by their participation in the Fair Trade Program. ■