Sustainable streetwear brands, fueled by a commitment to rigorous sustainability practices, are experiencing rapid growth. However, this burgeoning market is not without its challenges. While aspiring founders are initially brimming with enthusiasm, the realities of costing and pricing often become a stumbling block as they move forward. In fact, as a tech pack designer, I’ve witnessed this firsthand: a staggering 90% of brands who meticulously prepare design and tech packs ultimately resort to producing garments with conventional fabrics. This shift is primarily driven by the high cost of sustainable materials and the fear that these garments won’t sell. Unfortunately, the scarcity and expense of sustainable raw materials pose a significant hurdle for independent designer brands, making it difficult to maintain affordability while scaling up production volume. These limitations and other challenges create a significant roadblock for the continued success of sustainable streetwear brands.
What is a Sustainable Clothing?
Sustainable clothing is clothing designed, produced, and used in a way that minimizes environmental and social impact. It’s about creating clothes that are good for you, the workers who make them, and the planet. The focus is to give the least stress to Mother Earth.
What Qualifies as a Sustainable Streetwear Brand?
Almost all industrial output results in some amount of pollution and exploitation. Sustainable streetwear brands must follow certain guidelines that make it not just a commercial but a responsible brand that cares about everybody and the environment. To qualify for a sustainable clothing brand the business has to follow some key principles and guidelines. Below are some of the key principles of sustainable apparel.
Usage of Environmentally Friendly Materials
Sustainable clothing designers use materials that have a lower impact on the environment. Bio-degradable materials like organic cotton, hemp, linen, etc. And those that are not can be recycled again and again for usage like recycled polyester. Those materials use less water and energy to grow and process. Moreover, they can often be biodegradable or recycled at the end of their lifespan. In this case, we are using the same material again and again. And those that perish, go back to nature with minimal harm to Mother Earth.
Ethical Labor Practices
Unethical labor practices in the fashion industry are quite common across the world. Asian and African countries are always being blamed for unethical practices. However, some European countries are also involved in unethical labor practices. The Italian leather industry is one example. Moreover, bigger brands outsource their production without checking the ethical labor practices of their vendors and swiftly blame the vendors. One of the basic principles of sustainable streetwear brand building is having an ethical labor practice across the supply chain. Sustainable clothing is made by workers who are paid fair wages and work in safe conditions. This means avoiding sweatshops and ensuring that workers have basic rights such as freedom of association and collective bargaining.
Reduced Waste
Waste reduction is one of the key features of sustainable streetwear brands. This starts from the design phase. The tech pack designer and the pattern master have the responsibility to come up with unique style ideas. Styles that optimize fabric usage by creating garment styles and patterns that minimize leftover scraps. Also, come up with styles that have multiple usages. Styles can be worn in multiple ways to encourage versatility and reduce the need for excessive wardrobe pieces. Sustainable apparel production aims to reduce waste throughout the supply chain. This can be done by using recycled materials, minimizing offcuts during production, and designing clothes that are meant to last. Sustainable clothing aims to design and produce functional fashion styles that can be used on multiple occasions.
Slow Fashion
Unlike Couture Apparel which changes in the blink of an eye, sustainable apparel’s trend moves at an ultra-slow speed. The idea is to make people understand that you must stick to the same trend and style for a longer period and yet look good. It’s about adopting a habit of buying less that you care to wear for a long time rather than buying cheap disposable clothing. Sustainable apparel is a growing movement, and there are more and more brands committed to making eco-friendly and ethical clothing. When you shop for sustainable apparel, you can look for certifications such as GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) and Fairtrade to help you make informed choices.
Conflict of Interest between Sustainable Clothing Movement and Corporate Business
The sustainable clothing movement and corporate business interests can often clash due to fundamentally different priorities. Anything that reduces the consumption rate of customers is not good for businesses and corporate lobbyists. The big businesses make their money through volume and with sustainable clothing movement, it restrict their agenda. So, they do not support the idea. There is a constant tussle going on between activists and the corporate lobby.
To understand the conflict of interest between corporations and the sustainable clothing movement, we should focus on their core goals and priorities. To understand the conflict of interest between the corporations and the sustainable clothing movement, we should focus on their core goal and priorities. The priority of a corporate business is to maximize revenue and profit through high volume and cost efficiency. To achieve this they follow fast-fashion trends with lower-priced disposable and trend-driven clothing. Moreover, they focus on short production cycles to meet quickly changing consumer demand. In contrast, sustainable clothing focuses on reducing environmental impact. This is possible by reducing resource use, pollution, and wastage. Promoting ethical labor practices by insisting on fair wages and working conditions. Sustainable clothing focuses on slower fashion cycles with higher quality and long-lasting garments.
There are very few brands that dare to follow the practice of sustainable clothing and yet do great business and branding in the world. Some of the best sustainable clothing brands are mentioned below. As a blogger and technical fashion designer, I do my research and am not compensated by those brands. I am giving my opinion and recommendation based on my perception and seeing their quality products.
(Create a Banner with the Logo of the Following Brands)
Patagonia
On the top of my list comes the brand “Patagonia”. This brand is known for its outdoor clothing and gear, Patagonia is committed to sustainability and ethical manufacturing practices. They use recycled materials and support environmental initiatives.
Reformation
Reformation is a women’s clothing brand that focuses on sustainable fashion, using eco-friendly materials and practices in their production processes. Their design is unique and has the potential to be on the trend for quite a long time.
Eileen Fisher
Eileen Fisher is the oldest of the brands I know as far as sustainable clothing is concerned. This brand is a clothing brand that emphasizes sustainability and social responsibility. They use organic fibers and recycled materials in their designs.
Outerknown
Founded by professional surfer Kelly Slater, Outerknown is a sustainable clothing brand that focuses on ethical production and environmentally friendly materials.
Alternative Apparel
Alternative Apparel offers a range of comfortable, casual clothing made from eco-friendly materials like organic cotton and recycled polyester.
United By Blue
United By Blue is a sustainable outdoor brand that removes one pound of trash from oceans and waterways for every product sold.
Amour Vert
Amour Vert is a sustainable fashion brand that creates clothing using eco-friendly materials like organic cotton, TENCEL™, and modal.
Pact
Pact is a sustainable clothing brand that offers affordable, organic cotton basics for men, women, and children.
ABLE
ABLE is a lifestyle brand focused on ending generational poverty by providing economic opportunities for women. They offer a range of clothing and accessories.
Nau
Nau is a sustainable clothing brand that creates stylish and functional outdoor apparel using environmentally friendly materials and production methods.