IS SUSTAINABLE AND ETHICAL FASHION POSSIBLE?
The undesirable sides of the fashion industry, the misuse of resources, land contamination, and social injustice have all been widely documented in the media, but what exactly has been done?
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lthough progress is apparent with the slow fashion movement that brought ethical fashion shows in Paris, New York, and London, pervasive challenges vividly remain as seen with the Rana Plaza textile factory disaster that killed 1,129 workers just 8 years ago. And despite the emergence of sustainable fashion lines to swing increasingly concerned consumers, hesitancy remains with numerous greenwashing controversies surrounding major fashion brands, creating distrust in the community, and hampering overall progress in ethical fashion. “The commercial fashion industry accounts for up to 10% of global carbon emissions, equivalent to all flight and shipping combined”
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Friend of the Earth, fostering a sustainable trend. Friend of the Earth recently launched its sustainable fashion certification standard to combat the emergence of greenwashing in the industry, and to contribute to the sustainable fashion movement by validating the claims of fashion companies through traceability of their production processes. The certification offers the highest degree of supply-chain transparency through rigorous auditing procedures, orchestrated by internationally accredited auditing bodies. By employing years of relevant expertise through the authenticating of sustainable agricultural products, Friend of the Earth is equipped with demonstrated practice capable to credibly assess fashion companies’ ethical claims. Fast Fashion, the damaging trend The idea of fashion has not always resembled an obsession of novelty. Older generations attached intrinsic importance to clothes, treating fabrics as unique pieces of artisanship, sentimental symbolisms, and passing
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the cherished garments down family lines. Contemporary ideas however have vastly transgressed, where garments are no longer inherited treasures but resemble disposable, single-use pieces of hedonism. “When we put on our clothes, we may forget we’re wearing the products of cotton plants, flax, sheep skins, and so forth. We wear agriculture, in essence”, Paolo Bray, Director of Friend of the Earth “100 billion pieces of clothing are produced annually” The sustainable fashion movement has garnered momentum towards transforming our perceptions of clothing through conscious consumption, emphasizing longevity in usage, reuse, and recycling, and extends to promoting the production of garments using environmentally friendly fabrics. Friend of the Earth: Sustainable Fashion Standard There are currently 12 fashion brands from 4 continents that have collaborated with Friend of the Earth to contribute to meaningful change in the industry.
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