A Clothing Trend Everyone Needs To Follow!
Before we get started with ‘Sustainable Fashion’ let’s talk about trendy fashion. It has to be the only word gen-z and millennials think about all the time! I mean I don’t remember the last time I went out of my house without having care in the world about my outfit. There are so many ‘trends’ out there which celebrities are bringing in light and also many fashion bloggers, lifestyle YouTubers are trying to tell their audiences. I don’t think there is anything wrong with that. This extra fashion knowledge is making this generation look more presentable than ever! Here’s a quote I love…
Fashion is the armor to survive the reality of everyday life.
– Bill Cunnigham.
Now, I can probably talk about fashion and trends for the whole day. But that’s not why we are here! I am going to highlight a topic called ‘Sustainable Fashion’. If you have never heard of it, that is just alright because while reading this blog you will read so many interesting things and by the end of it, you will know how to be the fashion diva who is also saving the Earth.
Sustainable Fashion:
The first thing to know, sustainable fashion does not have only one definition or only one form.
- Sustainable Fashion can mean producing clothes in a more environmentally friendly manner.
- It can mean not purchasing new clothes but sharing, donating the worn clothes.
- Wearing a dress once does not make it unwearable or worn out. Wearing the same clothing a few times a week can help you purchase fewer clothes hence, sustainable clothing!
- Clothes can be recyclable. So, using an old cloth for various majors will only help you to cut down the extra purchase.
Sustainable Clothing Materials:
There are many factors when thinking about the sustainability of a material. The renewability and supply of a fiber, the process of the way an uncooked fiber has become a textile, the effect of dying of the fibers, the working situations of the human beings generating the materials, and the material’s general carbon footprint, transportation between production plants, chemical compounds used to preserve shipments sparkling in containers, transport to retail and consumer, how the material could be cared for and washed, the strategies of repairs and updates, etc. Trust me when I say this, there is a lot more than this to think while keeping in mind the sustainability of the product.
There are materials like cotton, bt cotton, organic cotton, naturally colored cotton. These materials are highly used in the fashion industry. because they are durable and compatibly less priced. The demand for these is so much that producers make a whole lot of money by only producing cotton clothes. Cotton uses lots of pesticides and insecticides which is harmful to the environment.
Now, let me introduce you to eco-friendly products that are just perfect and deserve a whole lot of attention!
- SOY FABRIC-
Soy fabrics can be derived from hulls of soybeans plants. This fabric is biodegradable, moisture absorbent, anti-bacterial. But it is not as long-lasting as cotton. Plus point of soy fabric is that it can be blended or made entirely out of soy fabrics. Because it is biodegradable, it does less harm to the environment or landfills.
- HEMP-
Hemp is a sustainable crop similar to Bamboo. Hemp seeds are processed into oil or food. It requires a lot of water to grow and its deep taproot system allows it to draw moisture in the ground. These hemp fibers are coarse so, they are used in making ropes than in clothing. But, because of modern technology, it is possible to make hemp softer and more suitable to be used as a clothing item.
- BAMBOO-
Bamboo fabrics are made from bamboo grass. The reason it is considered sustainable is that it requires no pesticides whatsoever. It is naturally disease and pest resistant. it grows faster than other trees or grass. Bamboos are slightly yellow colored so, during the process of making bamboo fabrics, it is mixed with some chemicals.
- MuSkin-
MuSkin is an alternative to leather made from the cap of the phellinus ellipsoids mushroom, a parasitic fungus that grows in subtropical forests. It is water repellent and contains natural penicillin substances that limit bacteria proliferation. It was founded by an Italian company called Zero Grado Escape.
- PET Plastic-
These plastics are usually your plastic water bottles, juice beverages, etc. These plastics are collected, compressed, baled, and shipped into processing facilities where they will be chopped into flakes, and melted into small white pellets. Then, the pellets are processed again and spun into the yarn-like fiber where it can be made into clothing. Because we are recycling the plastics, ‘PET Plastic’ comes under sustainable fashion!
Sustainable fashion is not a ‘trend’, it is our Future. It is the answer to how we are going to save our planet by taking small steps. This has been known for so many years but still, there are many fewer production companies who stop and think about sustainability and eco-friendly sides of clothing.
As a consumer we have so much power to change the world just by deciding what to buy.
Ethics + Aesthetics = Sustainable Fashion.